Requiem for a Dream and the Hip-Hop Montage

Much of Darren Aronofsky's film, Requiem for a Dream, is characterized by his use of a technique called the “hip-hop montage.” A hip-hop montage is a rapid series of actions depicted in fast motion to the accompaniment of non-diegetic sound. Used mainly to depict drug use in Requiem for a Dream, these hip-hop montages serve to give the film, or at least the portions involving drug use, a wild, frenetic feel, drawing the audience more firmly into the world of the characters.

The section of Requiem for a Dream that I have chosen to examine (30:50 to 30:57 screen time) is part of a longer hip-hop montage, depicting the main characters cutting and selling heroin on the streets in order to make money, as well as purchasing store space for one of the characters (an aspiring designer.) This section is interesting both visually and aurally, but also illustrates one of David Bordwell's main points about classical Hollywood cinema: the presence of parallel plot lines. While Requiem for a Dream by no means conforms to all of the standards set forth by Bordwell, it does at least possess one of the narrative guidelines that he put forth. It is however, interesting to note that even the stranger films produced in our times can possess what are considered to be the the defining elements of “classical Hollywood cinema.”

The first shot of this montage is of the three main characters, Seymour, Marion, and Ty, cutting up the heroin they've purchased in order to sell it on the streets for a profit. The camera is placed above the table, looking directly down at it, and the shot is framed so that all we can see of the characters are their arms as they go about the business of cutting up the heroin. All of the action is seen in fast motion, causing the hands of the characters to become a blur. Like most of the shots involving drug use in Requiem for a Dream, this first shot draws the focus to the drug itself, with the characters being pushed out to the periphery, and even then showing nothing that really serves to identify them. Buy doing this, Aronofsky seems to be emphasizing the loss of identity that inevitably comes with drug addiction. The three characters in the film all eventually lose a part of themselves to their addiction (all of the characters suffer the loss of their hopes and ambitions. Seymour also literally loses a part of himself as his arm is amputated due to an infected injection site.) The framing also serves to give a hint at the mindset of an addict by drawing focus first and foremost to the drug itself, rather than the people physically handling it. The sound in this shot is similar to that of bees buzzing, which further heightens the sense of urgency hinted at by the fast motion.

The next shot is of Seymour, one of the main characters, standing near a closed-up boardwalk stand, looking for clients to purchase his heroin. The sound in this shot is diegetic, as it is the sound of the buzzing fluorescent lights lining the boardwalk. This shot is shorter than the last, and for most of it Seymour's face is turned away from the camera, which has the effect of making him seem less like a true character and more like just another sketchy drug dealer. This shot is filmed in regular motion, which causes it to stand out from the previous shot of the three main characters cutting up the heroin. The main effect of this shot is to draw the viewer into the seedy world of the drug market, with the background of the boarded-up boutique being the most notable feature onscreen.

The next shot is a closeup of a packet of heroin being handed off from the dealer to the customer. This shot, like the one before it, occurs in real-time, as opposed to the first shot of this sequence. The shot is accompanied by the sound of a record scratch, and it is framed so that only the hands of the two people are visible against the dark background. Like in the first shot, by not showing anything but a small portion of the characters onscreen, Aronofsky emphasizes the shadiness and anonymity of the world of drug addicts.

The cut to the next shot is abrupt, as is the shot itself. The next thing shown onscreen is the hand of the drug dealer as he pockets the money given to him by his customer. This shot is accompanied by the sound of a cash register. It's very similar to the previous shot in both length and framing, as it's incredibly brief and shows only the hand of the drug dealer. Like the previous shot, its main purpose seems to be to drive home the gritty, dirty feeling of the drug market.

The next cut is also very rapid, and it is to a close up of a hem being sewn on a sewing machine. The sound in this shot is, unlike that of the previous two shots, diegetic, as the sound of the sewing machine itself is very prominent. This shot is an interesting break from the previous two. It still upholds the same tight framing of the last two, but doesn't retain the same gritty feel. It also depicts an entirely non-self-destructive act, another thing that sets it apart from the other shots in this montage. It is in this shot that we see Bordwell's idea of parallel narratives coming into play. Up to this point in the montage we've been seeing the realization of Seymour and Tyler's goal, which is to earn enough money by selling heroin on the streets to buy a pound of pure cocaine. This shot however, shows us the advancement of Marion's goal, which is to eventually become a famous fashion designer. Even though these two goals are separate things, this shot serves to link them, buy showing the means by which Marion's quest to become a designer is being funded.

The next shot jumps right back into the gritty underground of the back alley drug market. Again, like all of the other shots in this sequence, it is very tightly framed, showing only two hands. One of the hands is Tyler's, while the other belongs to the person to whom he is selling the heroin. The sound here is a voice-over of Tyler saying “Naturally,” though it is unclear whether it is meant to be diegetic or not. The voice over provides a strange contrast to the image onscreen, as Tyler's voice sounds warm and friendly, two things not normally associated with underground drug deals. The goal in this shot is the same as in the others in this montage, which is to provide a dirty, dark feeling to the audience.

The next shot is one of the more interesting in the montage, showing an extreme close up of two people kissing. The people are assumed to be Marion and Seymour, and it is here that we are given a glimpse at another of the movie's parallel story lines, which is that of Marion and Seymour's relationship. The sound in this shot is entirely diegetic, and it is framed in the same way as the others in this montage, showing nothing but Marion and Seymour's lips. This shot stands out as it depicts something other than a shady drug deal (something that in fact seems remarkably wholesome for this movie) in the same way that it depicts the drug deals, which serves to foreshadow the fate of Marion and Seymour's relationship.

The next shot is a polaroid photo of the character Seymour standing in newly rented store space, accompanied by the sound of a flashbulb going off. This shot again takes a break from detailing the Seymour and Tyler's attempt to earn money by selling heroin in order to show a development in Marion's quest to become a designer. Again, it seems to suggest a link between the selling of drugs and the financing of Marion's attempts to become a designer.

The last shot in the section I have chosen is a repetition of the first shot in the sequence, so formally it is no different. However, by showing this shot twice, Aronofsky hints at the circular nature of the process of trying to earn money by selling drugs, which becomes even more apparent later in the film when, after earning a large amount of money, the characters are eventually reduced back to having nothing after spending it all to fuel their own addictions.

By using the hip hop montage technique and compressing many shots into a small amount of time (nine shots in seven seconds), Aronofsky successfully conveys the frantic, hurried, dark, shady, and dangerous feel of the underground drug market to the audience. The furious pacing creates an uneasy sensation to those watching, while the strange mix of diegetic and non-diegetic sound creates an unstable and confused atmosphere. Finally, Aronofsky also uses this technique as a way to simultaneously advance the numerous parallel story lines that occur in this film and provide a causal link between seemingly unrelated events that happen.