Requiem For A Dream ending explained: what happened to Marion?

Requiem For A Dream was released on October 6, 2000. Directed by Darren Aronofsky, the screenplay was by him and Hubert Selby Jr. The film is an adaptation of Hubert Selby Jr.'s namesake 1978 book, and it was produced by Eric Watson and Palmer West. The synopsis of the film reads,

The drug-induced utopias of four Coney Island people are shattered when their addictions run deep.

The film met with positive critical response and grossed $7.4 million at the box office. Ellen Burstyn also received Best Actress nominations at the Oscars and Golden Globe Awards for her performance. Let us take a look at its ending.

What is the plot of Requiem for a Dream?

A still from Requiem for a Dream | Image via Rotten Tomatoes Classic Trailers

Requiem for a Dream focuses on four people from Coney Island who get addicted to drugs. As the film moves forward, their addiction slowly worsens as they get deep into delusion, which directly affects their life as well as their mental well-being.

What is the ending of Requiem for a Dream?

Towards the end of Requiem for a Dream, the lives of all the characters reach a climax, and it's complemented by the quick cuts in the edit. Tyrone and Harry plan to become drug dealers, and they leave for Miami so that they can buy directly from the main provider. But the arm of Harry gets gangrene, and he has to be hospitalized. Looking at his situation, the doctor calls the police, who then arrest the two. Harry's arm has to be amputated by the doctors.

Meanwhile, Marion is in dire need of money while she is going through the withdrawals. She contacts a pimp named Big Tim who asks her to perform, along with other women, infront of several men. The men assault her, which traumatizes Marion, and she returns home to use heroin. The relationship between Marion and Harry also falls apart after going through so much.

Sara, on the other hand, receives a spam call that pretends to invite her to a game show that she likes. In order to fit a dress, she starts consuming some pills that suppress her appetite. She eventually becomes addicted and starts hallucinating. Towards the end, we see her getting admitted to a mental institution where people are treating her badly.

Harry keeps having a dream throughout the film where he is standing on a pier and has a vision of Marion. As he tries to approach her, she vanishes. This recurring dream might indicate that the two were never meant to be together because of their addiction.

Requiem for a Dream goes beyond showing the side effects of drug addiction. It touches upon the cause of chasing a distant dream. Through Sara, we get to see how loneliness and isolation can affect a person. She feels lonely even while being surrounded by people.

Jennifer Connelly, who played Marion, spoke to Vanity Fair about her character's arc and ending.

"Her [Marion's] life, it was so far away from my own and it felt like an opportunity to really use my imagination and try and build something, build a character. And I spent a lot of time with people who were very generous with me, who really shared their experiences with me."

What do you think of the film's ending?