Donnie Darko

Donnie Darko

Seing a film that has a big aura cult around it always has two  inclinations. First, you have the urge to finally watch a film that has  so much praise and love. You hear and read so much about that you are  already sure to see a nice picture. Cult films, have this blind love  about them, the people who defend them will love the film even if its  story lacks of structure or if the film has passed the test of time. The  second inclination is the fact that all this expectation and good word  about a film often disappoint the viewer, like the time I show Pulp Fiction to my girlfriend. I told her so many good things about this film that she was waiting for something that she didn't saw...

Donnie Darko is in my opinion a cult succes for a good but not  great film. Half way through the film I didn't knew what to think about  it, but at the end when everything unravels and when every pieces of the  puzzle fells into its right place I kinda liked what I saw. Even if the  ending is a little too heartwhelming in my opinion I think that the  bizarre parts of the story get their redemption at the end.

The way I feel about Donnie Darko is like the way I feel about Blue Velvet one of my favortie film of all-time. This is clearly a film about  American suburbs and conformism and those are come of the themes aborded  in Lynch's film. However, on the metaphorical and symbolism, the 1986  film surpasses by far the one of 2001. By the way, this is not a  comparison between the two films because both are very different it's  just their atmospheres and settings that feels the same.

Donnie Darko (Jake Gyllenhaal) is a teenager that has mental problems.  He has an imaginary friend he calls Frank, that influence him on doing  mischiefs. One day there is a new girl (Jena Malone as Gretchen) in town  and he quickly falls in love with her. Their love is mutual, it gives  him a stability in his life, but he still has his imaginary friend and  it conducts him to the eve of Halloween to an event that will change the  life of many people of his town forever. The story is told with  intertitles that create a countdown until Halloween. But the viewer  don't know what will happen on the trick or treat day. Donnie seems to  know what will happen and he dares it very much. Weird and unexplained  events populate this story and sometimes it just embarass the viewer  that will always get a wrong track on the outcome of the plot. Taken  scene by scene the story has many levels and touches many genres. The  greatest scene of the film is when we have somekind of an unedited  camera movement that pass on every important character of the film with  only a sad song (I don't remember his name) that fits perfectly well in  that scene.

On the acting side, the Gyllenhaals give good but not great  performances, Jake is always over the top and his creepy look is always  on the edge of being plain funny. Maggie is ok but her part is more  supporting than anything else. I was surprised to see Patrick Swayze and  a very good and sexy Producer Drew Barrymore (I would have taken more  of her in Darko). Funny thing too a young Seth Rogen as one of the bullies...

For Donnie Darko, I had expectations and I think they were  satisfied but not in the way thought they would be. I don't know why I  thought Donnie Darko was a cheesier film than what I saw. I liked it but  I didn't loved it. I think a second view could give me a better  perspective of the whole film as an ensemble. I have to give to Richard  Kelly the praise that his scenario is rich and that he knew how to  distract his viewer from the way he intend to put him through.

Recommendations: Le charme discret de la bourgeoisie, Duel

Donnie Darko

Mixing science fiction with what could almost be a coming of age story, Donnie Darko captured a decade with a creative eye and injected a certain amount of realism to all its inhabitants. It is a film filled with tragic characters that would do nothing more than try and make a difference in someone else’s life through selfless acts. I was Head Over Heels for this film and the impact it had on me as a movie fan looking for something different is why it makes this list.

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Recommendations: High Plains Drifter , Dalkomhan insaeng , Dial M for Murder

Donnie Darko (2001)

Whether the theatrical or director’s cut, Donnie Darko was perhaps the trippiest and cultish movie of the decade. It’s probably the real inspiration behind tv show Lost.

Donnie Darko: Through a Glass Darkly

"Beware the Jabberwock, my son!
The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!
Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun
The frumious Bandersnatch!"
Lewis Carroll-Through The Looking Glass

Donnie falls through the looking glass darkly towards the end of the world, his perceptions distorted by psychotic fugues: does Frank the black hare lead him towards salvation…or self-destruction? Director Richard Kelly has crafted a remarkably transcendental narrative that questions the very philosophy of human existence and our place in time, and shrouded the enigma in an innocuous high-school melodrama.

Donnie Darko’s mentor is Frank, a six-foot tall bunny rabbit that, like Jimmy Stewart in HARVEY, can only be seen by the protagonist. Unlike Stewart’s pooka, this creature’s motives are not so well defined and Donnie finds himself lost in a lonely world of disconnected relationships and angst, his Jabberwock guide with glass-black eyes, jaws that bite and claws that catch!

A film that demands repeated viewings and remains lovingly vague, allowing each viewer to reflect and stand in uffish thought. Frank’s eerie beckoning call saves Donnie’s life and time begins to unwind; he is given the date of the apocalypse when the sky will open up and swallow reality. As the film unravels, Donnie’s behavior becomes more erratic…but he begins to discover himself, buried beneath the numbing medication and hypnotherapy, where the cure kills the self while saving the whole, leaving an empty shell of a boy. Donnie is living and breathing, making human connections and falling in love, his actions inspired by the phantom hare to make change, to sow a form of creative destruction. Donnie’s fate is like the flight of a sparrow through the cellar doors of hell, ending with a snicker-snack that leads him galumphing back towards his chosen path, and he chortles with joy because he understands he will not die alone: he carries with him forever the good deeds and companions, the lives he has touched, and in a crescendo of foreknowledge realizes his sacrifice has saved his true love. Final Grade: (A)

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Recommendations: The Birds, Breathless (Jean-Luc Godard, 1960), Funny Games

All reviews copyright Korova, Ltd. Visit Alex at his Home Theatre Blog, http://korovatheatrepresents.blogspot.com/

Last updated: 2010-02-25 07:40:51 by AlexDelarge

Donnie Darko — 9, The Directors Cut — 8

This is only the second time i have watched this movie. The first time i watched the regular version and i had no clue what was going on. When the movie ended all i could think was WTF?!?!?!?!?!?! screaming trying to understand what i had just seen for the last 112 minutes. It was so oddly amazing that i wanted to watch it again to figure out more, but i never did.

Then along came the Directors cut, which has an extra 20 minutes of footage and it actually explains a whole bunch of stuff, but the best part about it, is that you still have no idea why he did what he did at the end (I won’t spoil it, its worth not knowing).

All in all this movie is fantastic, I could have gone without seeing his younger sister do a dance thingy in the middle of the movie. That nearly made me gag, just because i hate that kinda thing. But with how much you have to pay attention to this movie just to understand it was amazing. I love movies that leave you wondering what the hell happened. With that in mind, the directors cut was not as good as the original.

I recommend the directors cut to people who don’t like to figure things out on their own and want their hand held though a movie. For those of you with a mind I highly recommend the original.

The scoring on this deviates a little bit from my regular scoring beings as that I am giving the original a whole solid point more because it left me thinking about the movie for a lot longer than the directors cut. That is why there are 2 scores in the title, and down below.

Base Score = 7/10
+1 for having to figure stuff out
-1 for Sparkle Magic (his little sisters crapfest)
+1 for an ending i still cannot understand
+1 for having 2 of the 3 Gyllenhaal’s in a movie. (Jake and Maggie, and yes they are also siblings in real life as well)
=9/10

Directors Cut
-1
= 8/10

Last updated: 2010-01-12 01:44:32 by Tolll

Donnie Darko

I purposefully avoided this film for the longest time. The poster and DVD cover creeped me out and really turned me away from the film as it gave me the impression that this was a horror film.
I belive this is one of the few times Jake and Maggie Gyllenhaal have been on screen togther. Make no mistake this is Jake’s movie, though. Maggie is just there in a supporting role as his sister (big stretch, huh?) Before this, though, I believe Jake’s only starring role was in Bubble Boy.Quite a change in direction, I’d say, not to mention the proof that he can really act.
Jena Malone really gives a great performance and is an underrated actress. Patrick Swayze, Noah Wylie, and Drew Barrymore’s appearances are nothing short of surprising and their roles are crucial to the film.
I’ll be the first to admit that this film confused me the first time I saw it, but each time I see it, things get clearer. Some films just do that I guess. Especially these psychological types, but I will admit that it is a pretty solid film. A person can really start to feel for Donnie as he’s going through his journey, especially at the end. not to mention care for him and his new girlfriend. If you’re into psychological thrillers, then you’ll enjoy this.

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