requiem for a dream close-up scenes

  Requiem For a Dream is a film by Darren Aronofsky released in 2000 based on the book by Hubert Selby Jr. The reason why I wanted to write about the close-up scenes in the movie is related to the short photo roman movie made by Chris Marker, La Jetée that we watched last week in our studio class. La Jetée impressed me a lot in terms of close-up photography and of course its visual, emotional, and communicative sides. So that I am focusing on the close-up scenes and their meaning from one of my favorite movies Requiem For a Dream.

   I think close-ups are one of the most important and memorable shootings. Because rather than giving a whole point of view, it gives the most important and the specific part. Although every scene in the movie has significance and meaning, some scenes need to be more prominent and more impressive than the rest, as in most of the things in life. Close-up scenes give that privilege such as conveying the emotional states and it provides empathy with the actor' and actress's situation. close-up scenes penetrate the audience and it is as if we are experiencing every different emotion, every different event. The sharpest and most sincere way to give emotion and integrate is to get closer. Getting closer means seeing the undeniable and disturbing scenes that the audience does not want to see. Close-ups are the shots that allow the audience to reach a determined point which is a bit risky at the same time. When I look at the story of the movie, the excess of the scenes that need to be emphasized and their strong influence are understood, the excess of close-ups in the movie has a very meaningful and impressive place. I believe that close-ups are one of the most important shooting techniques, both emotionally and empathetically. In addition, multiple close-up shooting techniques exist such as medium, extreme, and insert. Darren Aronofsky and the cinematographer Matthew Libatique wanted to focus more on extreme close-ups. And its reason is very obvious considering the narrative going on.

                                                                                 

I like to use the close-up or exaggeration technique in my photographs or other visual works I do.  Because in some cases, it feels better to focus on the single and most important thing rather than look at the general on broad. It feels like close-ups complete the emphasis and abstract deeply. If this movie hadn't been shot in so many close-ups, maybe it wouldn't have given the audience so much emotion. Once again, I understood how to go to excessive places only with shooting techniques.