Alone Together

Darren Arnofsky’s Requiem for a Dream was released around the same time that Dr. Morrissey introduced me to Milton’s Paradise Lost. I haven’t been able to find the passage, but I swear there is a passage about being alone together. Anyhow, shortly after discussing this passage I saw Requiem for a Dream and one scene in particular stuck out as being connected to this idea of alone together. Harry (Jared Leto) and Marion (Jennifer Connelly) are in bed together but the screen is split so that each encompasses their own frame within the larger frame. The use of the split screen makes for a discordant image, as hands in one frame don’t meet with limbs in the parallel frame. It is a wonderful depiction of the concept of alone together; two drug addicted people who share the same space but trapped in their addictions are never truly together. From here, their relationship begins to slip apart as they enter the darker isolation that comes with addiction. This might be a stretch but I am going to throw Richard Linklater’s Before Sunset in here too. Before Sunrise and Before Sunset are two of the best American pictures of the last fifteen years, especially when viewed as two parts to one film. I should probably put the two together in a separate post but I also wanted to juxtapose a scene from Before Sunset with the aforementioned scene in Requiem for a Dream. After walking through Paris and sitting in cafes, Jesse (Ethan Hawke) and Celine (Julie Delpy) take a ride on a river boat where they discuss their missed opportunities. In this scene, both Jesse and Celine strike me as lonely people. They’ve both been longing for ten years to recapture the romantic night they had in Prague and wondering what might have been. But like the river, time only runs one way and for all their “what ifs” they can’t go back. Jesse especially seems lonely openly admitting that on his wedding day he was thinking about Celine and Celine, dusk dancing in her golden hair, fondly recalls how the morning light shimmered in Jesse’s beard on their last and only morning together ten years ago. During their separation, both have been in serious relationships but always dreaming of each other. The difference in their relationship with the relationship of Harry and Marion is both presented stylistically and in story. Unlike Arnofsky, Linklater’s style is more organic, allowing Jesse and Celine to occupy the screen together most of the time while letting their emotions isolate them. It is clear from the start that there is still a spark between Jesse and Celine but neither knows how to take it a step further. However, theirs appears to be a happier ending, slowly overcoming their doubts and fears and perhaps truly being together.

**Unfortunately, I can't embed the clip from Requiem for a Dream, so follow the link.