Requiem for a Dream Scene

Main character visiting his mother finds out she has been taking "uppers" for weightloss. Her way of justifying it is that she will soon be on TV in her favorite red dress on her favorite show.

[@babys0382]

The mother is one of the most tragic characters. Its so sad to see how vulnerable we are in our desperation for people's approval of us. :'(

[@beverlymcnamara9483]

Yuna Bby the pills made her manic. She was taking more than normal

[@Rene.A.D]

@@beverlymcnamara9483 that's the whole idea the movie presents us.. that these pills are highly addictive and have their effects diminished over time, so people take more and more to try to obtain the same high.

[@herbertwoods3617]

Fat fuck

[@baterickpatman]

she's desperate for approval? did we watch the same movie?? lol.. that is such a bizarre assessment. She's definitely desperate for connection, but approval? from whom?? people make some very bizarre observations. (I imagine you're thinking of approval from the audience on TV, which would be more like validation than approval, but that is still a VERY superficial perspective. the psychology goes deeper - what I LOVE about this movie). Maybe watch it again, and pay attention... it's not simply "a movie about drug addicts." In fact, I wouldn't even describe it that way unless my description reached at least 5 sentences. "Drugs are bad" was not my main takeaway... Nor that old widows with children who are grown and addicted to amphetamines are desperate for "approval" from someone ...of all the asinine things.. 🤦 Seriously tho, in all truth, I was actually gonna say that she was afraid of the mutant Nazi dinosaurs that were invading the US...

[@eatass5627]

@@baterickpatman dude she wanted to be on tv and look good. It was def for approval. Most of what we do is subconsciously or approval Stop being pretentious. Especially when you’re wrong

[@ldbboosha]

I... need to go call my mom.

[@jackwilliams6686]

+ldbboosha I know what you mean man.

[@da96103]

No need to call, just throw away her red dress.

[@cutekurby3312]

I actually ran to my moms room and hugged her for 5 minutes straight after see this movie

[@atanta169]

'It makes tomorrow alright' - best line ever.

[@emesh34244]

I bout dropped a tear at that part

[@donovan942]

If you know, you know man

[@scottb6662]

"The best thing I've ever done is capture Ellen Burstyn's performance on film." --Darren Aronofsky

[@shannonlamont]

Juice by Kathy, juice by Kathy, juice by Kathy oh, Kathy's got juice, Kathy's got juice, ohhhhhhhh Kathy

[@7CeLsO7]

Thank you for the quote. This masterpiece is now on Netflix.

[@bradmedicus]

One of the most riveting scenes ever made on film. Ellen Burstyn was robbed of the Oscar ... IMO

[@20yearsago88]

Ok Siskel

[@raymondsolisjr.1262]

No joke, for this scene alone she should have won it

[@elfsieben1450]

The Oscar is overrated anyway, as winning or not winning one has nothing to do with acting prowess, so I don't even think the phrase "robbed of the Oscar" does make much sense to begin with...

[@nobubble3037]

Agreed 100 percent! She is fantastic in this role.

[@aguirreautosales5134]

yeah she was a champion of acting. she beat herpes

[@devastatingthomsaw2302]

This movie is closer to reality than most documentaries. Its painful to watch...

[@raymondsolisjr.1262]

Best anti-drug movie that was ever made

[@kimmyfreak200]

@@raymondsolisjr.1262 what about basketball diaries? the restroom seen still haunts my dreams

[@Rene.A.D]

@@raymondsolisjr.1262 I don't see it as an anti-drug film. I see it as a real movie.. it shows the "4 seasons" of taking drugs..

[@whoknows868]

Great and terribly sad reality of this world.

[@barryobongo8833]

I’m glad he didn’t edit it down

[@azzyclark3860]

fucking insanely good acting

[@leandro0rsantos]

totally agree!

[@AtenRa]

I try...TRY to hold it in...but then her voice squeaks and breaks with "I'm oooold!" and the floodgates just bust open.

[@Dyals_Style]

Same here, makes me scared to get old.

[@MrAkshay8opeth]

+Dylan Brown fuck man! same story with my grandparents now! now they are lonely in an old fucking house!

[@rebdomine1]

+AKSHAY KARTHIK It makes me think of my Grandpa lying in hospice care, alone and in pain with a broken hip and all the weekends I could have gone to see him and didn't. Make sure you don't feel like me when they pass.

[@demo2382]

Thats nothing to be scared of. What should be scary is when you get at that age, there is no one around to love you and care for you.

[@anthonygil4923]

Same): I cried just reading the comment lol I’m such a crybaby

[@TheEtherny]

It is sad to know this is the life of most women at her age, husband gone, son gone, all alone.

[@technomancer0222]

TheEtherny hell, it would be all people who is alone, you know...

[@DeltaPi314]

Oh, yeah... poor helpless women that can't have a life on their own! Remember kids: If you're lonely ,and you don't want to be lonely, it's *all your fault* .

[@ghoulsaiyanpt240]

saul goodman reference?👀

[@HBMHD]

Call and visit your parents, while you still can.

[@stefankovacevic2596]

​@@DeltaPi314 she's a widow

[@Szini]

Why does this scene gets me all the time?...

[@1945joshuaruiz]

Szinisztusz it's sad. It makes you know how delusional and how accepted she wants to be. How being on that show will make her feel loved and a soembody especially by her son. It's the beginning of her downfall into insanity

[@johnnythreefour2902]

+Szinisztusz Because you know that someday you'll feel just like her?

[@kimmyfreak200]

+Szinisztusz its because she is a great actress

[@snazzym7740]

Because what she's saying is true. Her issue is not the drugs but why she turned to them - loneliness. One day she was a young girl with parents, siblings, aunts, uncles, friends, then had a husband and kid and now... Nothing. Just her alone in her empty apartment, nothing to do, nowhere to go. Just watching the days go by slowly until her son comes over once in a blue moon. Loneliness man, it's a real killer. Genuine loneliness, when you don't have that someone to come home to everyday and talk about your day or who's there to push you into doing things or there for you when you feel scared. Must truly suck.

[@POPDATA]

Im crying so bad

[@viralbuthow000]

Julia was great as Erin Brockovich, but Ellen should've went home with the Oscar.

[@hench1985]

Anybody could have played Erin Brockovich, not everybody could have played this role

[@temporarydive]

Definitely! She is superb in this role...✨✨

[@toddjeffrey1772]

They were both great, but I come back to watching this scene every so often. It's remarkably honest, inspiration for an aspiring filmmaker. And more valuable than any award could ever be.

[@DeltaPi314]

Nobody remembers erin Brockovich movie, we're still talking about this one.

[@andrewb439]

This scene is so sad, and so is the next when it shows Jared Leto's character break down in the taxi. The entire movie is depressing, but incredibly powerful.

[@ghostlyplanx6434]

Goddam right

[@IdgaradLyracant]

No better anti-drug PSA then this film.

[@Rene.A.D]

@@IdgaradLyracant It's not an anti-drug film. At least I don't see it that way

[@edwardfetner2513]

It's the best movie about failure in the last 50 years easy. Everyone has dreams at the beginning and they all end up with a swift reality check

[@sethjohnson2743]

Honestly this scene makes me look at elderly people so much differently. They've gone through so much in their lives and just to get left alone in the end is so tragic. Ellen portrays this emotion of desperation and loneliness so well it makes me want to cry for her.

[@kevins5845]

You missed the scene immediately after when he is driving home and he breaks down crying, that is the part that really got me. His mom is alone, she has nothing to look forward to in her mundane life except this TV show, he knows this and it kills him but he simply does not know what to do, he is a young man and has his own battles and issues, regardless no one wants their mother like that. What this movie shows me is that drugs and alcohol; while a great escape is not the answer, human interaction with the right people (not the other old ladies) is crucial. Something else I took is that you have to get out of your comfort zone, staying inside and wishing for things will get you no where, drugs will get you no where, you have to take initiative and change your life, get out and experience life! This is what makes a strong willed person. Fantastic movie, its sad and thought provoking but these are the type of movies that help us realize truths that we might have the courage to admit to ourselves, always strive for improvement, please dont get stuck in a rut of sadness and despair, find your happiness, its out there.

[@HAL-dm1eh]

I can tell you that every man that was close to his mother, who is now elderly and alone goes through this, drugs or not. As a son with your own life and its struggles there is only so much you can do for your mother. It rips your heart out and it's something that makes you feel helpless.

[@DeltaPi314]

How is any of that his fault? People can't socialize for you. People can't make friends or create social circles for you. That stuff is on you. Personally I never understood what is there in socializing that attracts people, It's just people making mouth noises about things I don't care about which I end up fading out eventually.

[@paraphil]

Robbed of an Oscar. Wonderful performance. Wonderful and beautiful actress.

[@campernocamping1]

Its scary when you see a reflection of someone you love in a fictional character that's mean't to be a dramatization of a personality archetype. But instead comes so frighteningly close to being a documentation of that archetype.

[@BakeHarn]

This scene alone should of got her the Oscar. Switching emotions in seconds while keeping the tone. Julia Roberts winning is one of, if not the biggest Oscar robberies. This is a beautiful and powerful scene

[@katykins2010]

Most heartbreaking performance in all of cinema

[@davidmcclelland8090]

My jaw never recovered from that drop when she not only didn't win the award she deserved for this, but from who beat her.

[@dave32566]

Amen

[@josephdicola2750]

She is by far the most interesting character out of this whole movie. Every other character is just a cliched drug addict, but she is just so innocent. Best performance in the movie!

[@FinnMcCoolOfficial]

omggg so offensive to drug addicts :((

[@RealityDysfunction85]

jesus my guy what a sort sighted point of view

[@PHATB0Y20]

The camera shakes and goes out of focus briefly when she says I'm old...the camera man was tearing up during this scene

[@jako3214]

Brody Provost I actually dont see that at all :/

[@RB01.10]

+Brody Provost I tried spotting it, but I didn't really catch it. Can you tell me at what moment please?

[@aNTRiQ]

Late answer but watch the clip again, and see that the picture isn't stable (look in the background).

[@BettinaBalser]

At first, he wanted to do another take. Then he realized that Burstyn was so unbelievable in the scene that a seasoned professional was crying, and he wisely decided to keep that take.

[@mazimadu]

No it doesn't, that's just your phone

[@alexandercarnegie7276]

Wow, this monologue, her acting, everything is just brilliant!

[@BloodylocksBathory]

This scene could have veered into levels of cheesiness, but Ellen Burstyn nails it perfectly. Also, there's the additional sad notion that even though Harry is in his own issues of addiction, he's still worried about his mother taking the medication.

[@MrSUPPaR]

If you look at the IMDb trivia page you can find this. "During Ellen Burstyn's impassioned monologue about how it feels to be old, cinematographer Matthew Libatique accidentally let the camera drift off-target. When director Darren Aronofsky called "cut" and confronted him about it, he realized the reason Libatique had let the camera drift was because he had been crying during the take and fogged up the camera's eyepiece. This was the take used in the final print."

[@jimbolic0809]

Can you tell me at which point the camera goes off? I watched it but cannot tell.

[@antwto8784]

don't blame him really, i would have been close to tears too if i was filming this

[@eugeniac9690]

This scene is an acting lesson. You're fucking amazing Ellen.

[@bryandowling4592]

How Ellen Burstyn lost to Julia Roberts that years blows my mind as no disrespect to Julia Roberts as she was very good but to beat one of the best female performances of the 21st century is just unacceptable.

[@dookeland8]

Jared Leto's accent is so fucking on point in this movie. You would never guess he was from anywhere but Brooklyn

[@whereisevan]

Ellen Burstyn in one of the single greatest cinematic performances of all time. For which she's gotten a pittance of recognition. Bums me out.

[@isaacerrypagogo98]

What I find so amazing is how Ellen even had an effect on the cinematographer controlling the camera for this scene! He had to leave the camera because he was crying. This was one of the more powerful scenes in the movie, and why Ellen didn't get that Oscar will be a mystery to me!

[@alonzo9772]

If only she put a stamp on the envelope. She didn't do that, so the TV people never got her application.

[@carlyyanne8]

Wow! I never even caught that! Lol. It all makes sense now lol

[@cadufecak1745]

+alonzo9772 she chose pills over stamps. pills are better than stamps. pills are a reason to live. its a reason to fit in a red dress. why should i even make the bed, and wash the dishes, and put the stamps. im alone! why should i ? i dont got no one to care for. im lonely. im oooold. :'(

[@gobbleswells2883]

Now when she gets the sun, she smiles....

[@vinchman9718]

Julian HOLY SHIT I NEVER NOTICED THAT

[@Jsd8675]

Wouldn’t it be RTS? Was there a return address?

[@alli13941]

such a beautiful and honest scene. As much as none of us wants to die none of us wants to get old and look in the mirror and see an old face or not be as important as we used to be.

[@hawrnball]

As fantastic as Julia Roberts was in Erin Brockovich, Ellen Burstyn deserved the Oscar for this scene alone. So heartbreaking.

[@aaronfreeman8143]

The camera starts dropping down at the end. The camera man starts crying at the end of the scene. Just brutal scene.

[@jako3214]

+Aaron Freeman Wth are you talking about lol :?? It's not 'just brutal scene' - it's A brutal scene Freeman. lol Adore this movie and this Oscar winning performance. I know most Americans skip like...every 4th beat but you seem reeally extra sl oo ow. Basing my accurate fact on THIS clip shown here (not anything beyond that). Still..I think my analysis on the typical slow/ ADD Americana way of seeing things (attention span) is basically made in Taiwan.

[@vinesaucefan8869]

+CowboyHobo He belongs on /r/IAmVerySmart

[@robertiese]

Sara Goldfarb: I'm somebody now, Harry. Everybody likes me. Soon, millions of people will see me and they'll all like me. I'll tell them about you, and your father, how good he was to us. Remember? It's a reason to get up in the morning. It's a reason to lose weight, to fit in the red dress. It's a reason to smile. It makes tomorrow all right. What have I got Harry, hm? Why should I even make the bed, or wash the dishes? I do them, but why should I? I'm alone. Your father's gone, you're gone. I got no one to care for. What have I got, Harry? I'm lonely. I'm old. Harry Goldfarb: You got friends, Ma. Sara Goldfarb: Ah, it's not the same. They don't need me. I like the way I feel. I like thinking about the red dress and the television and you and your father. Now when I get the sun, I smile. Man that scene was tooooooooooo sad. .

[@DeltaPi314]

Nah, just pathetic. If you can't give meaning to your own life you don't deserve the time of day.

[@shimmeringfairydust3275]

Ellen deserved the Oscar but this was a great movie that showcased the incredible talents of Mr. Leno as well. Jennifer Connelly was also superb.

[@atanta169]

Who is Leno?

[@MrSottho]

atanta169 Jay Leno of course, wasn't he just amazing in this scene?

[@atanta169]

Do you mean Jared Leto?

[@scootsmcgoots]

Javier Soto Jay Leno was in this?! *watches it again*

[@jako3214]

Elaine Snow Yep, to this day was absolute horse sh*t Hollywood politics that horse mouth Roberts beat Ellen. I cant stand Julia esp as a person but she can act okay in 'certain' movies. Erin B was a bland, typical Julia Roberts movie that was positively NOT worthy of an Oscar and NO way superior to THIS one scene alone!

[@ryebread7224]

Heart wrenching. Anyone who has ever experienced loneliness or addiction… whew boy… hits home like a ton of bricks.

[@DerelictWrath]

Julia robbed Ellen Burstyn. Period.

[@DerelictWrath]

Danielle Breau um. what? you're the one exploding at a stranger on the internet and I'm the one that needs to grow up? O.o

[@daniellebreau6090]

DerelictWrath I wasn't talking to you. I was talking to Mister Incognito. I have zero anger issues. Just annoyed with his repetitive comments. I agree that the oscar should have gone to Ellen.

[@DerelictWrath]

Danielle Breau 🤗

[@daniellebreau6090]

Mister Incognito, I just found that making fun of Ellen Burstyn's line "Im old" became unduly repetitive and thus very annoying. Thank you for writing to me. As for my part, I apologize for the tone in which I wrote those comments. They weren't kind. I do care that you've quit Meth and I do hope it's true. Nothing good can come out of that. Best of luck.

[@faconativo]

she deserved the Oscar, not Julia Roberts

[@skyesnowflakes]

She deserved the oscar. Her performance in this was incredible

[@ameliel1096]

This scene always makes me cry

[@troubl818]

That is just epic. I find understanding in older people as they focus on the littlest things that make them work as a being and how everything revolves around said littelst thing.

[@FernandoRamos-ec6bv]

Sarah reminds me of my mom. Even when I leave home, I feel like she too would be left all alone at home, aging. 😢

[@neha1123]

my heart swelled with warmth and empathy for you thinking about your mom.

[@bl0rian]

Don't try too hard it looks pathetic. Like your mom. Damnnnn. 0o0o0old

[@bl0rian]

***** Your mom looks pathetic and lonely sniff? LOLOLOLO

[@bl0rian]

Harambe 2016

[@bl0rian]

***** Harambe, Trump 2016

[@juanpijimenez9850]

her story was the saddest of the 4. i felt really depressed in the end because of how her life concluded :,(

[@jetsfan8710]

Julia Roberts won... Julia Roberts Won?!?!?! Julia Roberts WON?!?!?!?!

[@DeltaPi314]

Who is Julia Roberts?

[@Lite727]

@@DeltaPi314 lol

[@danwilkinson20]

A performance of a lifetime.

[@hineni53]

I cried thru this whole scene.

[@HAL-dm1eh]

She was hit with life without purpose or optioning out of her situation. She was alone and lost and a little bit scared. She got addicted to the pills because she associated the thrill of the first effects with new beginnings and something to look forward to, but the closer she came to actually succeeding at accomplishing her goal, the real world kept closing in again. She knew on a subconscious level that once that goal was accomplished she'd be left with the same alone, empty feelings again. She reached for the fast cheap thrill of the pills and fell into the worst spiral of addiction. She was Alice chasing the rabbit, and fell right down into the hole.

[@yasminsouza3997]

"Now when i get the sun, I SMILE."

[@kiandthehorsesx]

MASTERPIECE

[@vinzelrato]

if you pay attention, you'll see that there is something wrong with the camera. the camera operator admited to aronovsky it was because he broke down in tears while filming this scene....what a wonderful consecration to both Ellen Burstyn and Aronovsky

[@jhernandez626]

When exactly I haven’t been able to catch it

[@KleWdSide]

"You got friends, ma." "They don't need me." It seems to be the mindset for a lot of people who suffer from depression & loneliness issues. They think nobody cares about them and/or even likes them that much, but it's generally the polar opposite. After all, when Sarah's friends saw the state that she was in at the mental hospital, they were devastated.

[@rekunta]

It is CRIMINAL she didn't get the Oscar for this. This scene has so much truth to it that it's excruciating. The brief look she gives right after she says, "I smile!" (at the very end); of one such desperation, of poverty, of delusion, it shows she understands the pathetic nature of her existence, but is fighting with all of her might to counter. Very hard to watch. Substitute video games for a red dress, and you have my life.

[@no1pjfan]

When she says "I'm old" I think about my mom :/

[@nitramanyer7990]

Top notch acting right here fellers.

[@Szederp]

36 years old and crying like a child. This scene and that performance outshines the rest of the movie.

[@WolfataDoor]

The fucking onions in this scene.... The acting is so good it's viscerally depressing

[@craighicksartwork]

And this is how you act. Absolutely incredible.

[@oldugungibigel]

This movie changed my life

[@tygee829]

When she says they don't care with a smile and then looks down and the emotions are just there it's so raw and great acting and all but I feel like it was genuine and it got me like this scene was where I became an emotional wreck lol

[@ceridwenmillington3955]

Really powerful when Harry suddenly stops criticising his mum because he realises the wish to be on television isn't a whim. She is deeply lonely and broken in a way you can see Harry comprehend for the first time

[@danieladifoggia9019]

it`s such a shame she didn`t win an Oscar for this

[@tobeyntucker]

Hands down one of the congenial performances film ever seen.

[@RoopsUK]

I still cry whenever I watch this. Such a poignant and amazing film.

[@Marko3123]

bring tears to my eyes everytime..makes me go c my mom and spend the day with her..tell her I love her..make sure she knows

[@adriansympson]

This is one of the more powerful pieces of acting I've ever seen.

[@loudeves]

One of the greatest scenes i know in the cinema

[@medenilam]

She so deserved the Oscar for this!!! :(

[@hodzal5258]

She deserved an Oscar for this

[@LucasSilva-kv3km]

the best movie ever made

[@rcharmel9316]

No, the saddest movie ever made.

[@hamiltoncrete6741]

@@rcharmel9316 it is neither but Ellen in this performance is incredibly good.

[@sdcisk2799]

I think what's striking here is that we can all relate in some way.

[@anscomedy]

SDCISK yup we all wanna be accepted thats why she wanted to be on tv

[@thedrmat]

This scene alone is worth the entire movie; it gives away the desperation and loneliness Sara (Ellen Burstyn) was going thru. They say that she got so into character on it that she even made the Director of Photography cry.

[@Acechao111]

The way she smiles when she says "I'm lonely" is crushing.

[@chrismctague3498]

Ellen Burstyn deserved an Oscar for this. This film is a masterpiece

[@DivadMick]

she's an amazing actress.....this is one of my favourite performances by an actor/actress

[@CCecilia101]

This scene made me cry so hard, when I first watched it.

[@tylerjames251]

One of the best-acted scenes in film if you ask me. I always recall this scene when thinking of excellence in acting. The manic ups & downs in her voice & face - it's stunning.

[@lisa7229]

Best movie ever

[@88omair]

One of the best performances I've ever seen. An acting masterclass

[@rmlangille]

Man tears, everytime. Such a good scene.

[@terryosborne5928]

How Ellen didn't win an Oscar is beyond me!!! An absolutely stunning performance!!!

[@includao]

ne of the best acted scenes ever. Brings tears to my eyes almost. How Ellen Burstyn failed to win the Oscar for this I'll never know.

[@Lodskins]

I can't but help feel that this was a huge inspiration for Phoenix's joker.

[@Gabja]

What a wonderful woman, shes beautiful. She makes me cry, I wish I could help her

[@jonathankieranwriter]

This was one helluva of a “stiff drink required” movie, but despite its necessary darkness, it was brilliant. Burstyn’s characterization of an otherwise normal, lonely old woman descending into obsessive, pill-fueled psychosis is STUNNING. People have to see the entire character she plays from beginning to end to appreciate the sheer skill and genius of Burstyn’s reading. Julia Roberts wasn’t bad in the Brockovich movie that year, but it was a Lifetime TV Movie-level performance. *This* was an act of genius from start to finish. Burstyn was robbed. The only comparable Oscar screw-up in history (that I can think of) was Grace Kelly winning over Judy Garland in the 1950s, when Garland reached her zenith in ‘A Star is Born’.

[@37napa]

Breaks my heart. I remember seeing this for the first time back in 2000. I've been rewatching it over nearly two decades, and it wrecks me every time.

[@guillaumecal]

This is brilliant acting....... She made the movie

[@tony920226]

I have a single mother who raised me and did the best she could to provide for me. Now that I moved out to attend university, I couldn't help but to feel guilty that now she is living alone with no one by her side to care for her and make her feel appreciated every day. This scene is a huge wake up call for me and anyone else to just pause your daily routines and take a minute to do your best to show love and appreciation to your family and loved ones.

[@AshleySpeaks09]

Tony Piao ❤️

[@mujicama]

I'm really feeling this. Having a hard time finding a reason to smile and get up in the morning. It's so important that somebody said this.

[@heat4yoass]

I can’t watch this movie again. It stabs my soul hard af.

[@Webbula]

Amazing performance, I cry EVERY time I watch this.

[@carygoleman]

This scene gets me every single time, way too close to home

[@wompstopm123]

this movie makes me want to hug my mom while i still can

[@maxwellberman606]

I cried after watching just this youtube video, and It didn't even phase me when I first watched the movie.

[@richiebear1969]

Everyone behind the camera is in tears. Ellen was robbed of an Oscar by Erin Brockovich?!!! Are you f#$% kidding me?

[@Scorcher23]

This scene is absolutely heartbreaking Burstyn was robbed of that Oscar

[@elijahw06]

This scene is so sad for me, gets me every single time. I can't help it.

[@jorgecuarezma4035]

I recently left my house to try to live on my own and I've been havin some arguments with my mother. The first time I saw this movie was around 4:00 am and I was sleepy af but now that I'm watching this scene again it makes me feel a little sad and responsible for the sadness my mother is strugglin with since I left home :(

[@utubedestroysmytime]

More important to this scene is the bit after in the cab when Harry finds ways to numb himself

[@JeremyAvis1978]

How the hell did she not win an Oscar?

[@ansekinby]

i watched this film high of Kush and it was like a nightmare.