Deconstruction of Requiem For A Dream Trailer

The trailer starts with an establishing shot of an empty living room with the television on.  Low key lighting is used, conveying a sense of uneasiness to the audience. This is followed by a split screen shot of a woman sorting her pills. There is a close-up pan of the different coloured pills on the table, indicating that the pills are a central part to the plot of the film. This further shown through the repetition of the voiceover used at the end of the trailer by the woman sorting the pills, where she says" Purple in the morning, Blue in the afternoon,  and orange is the evening." This suggests the woman may be addicted to these pills, again conveying addiction as one of the central themes of the film.


There are a variety of different camera angles and movement throughout the trailer. A fish eye is used in one of the scenes shown. This may be used to create a sense of disorientation for the audience, as well as a sense of uneasiness felt by the characters.  Close-up shots are used frequently throughout the trailer, also creating the same effect.

There is a close up of one of the characters in a nightclub, and another close-up of the lips of someone smoking, again conveying the theme of drugs to the audience. This is further shown through the close-up of an eye where the pupil grows bigger. This allows the audience to see the effect of a drug on the character. These types of shots allow the audience to see what is happening in a very creative way. This can also be seen in the shot of the orange, where it disappears in the next shot to show passing of time. Another shot showing this, is when one of the characters is walking down the street, whilst other people pass her in fast motion. This adds a sense of confusion for audience, linking to the conventions of a psychological thriller.

Fast paced editing is used in the trailer to show the variety of locations, as well as not giving too much away in what is happening in the trailer, as the genre of Requiem for a Dream is a psychological thriller, therefore not giving enough information to the audience in order for them to completely understand what is happening.