Donnie Darko
Amazon.co.uk Review
Donnie Darko is a thought-provoking, touching and distinctive offering from relative newcomer, Richard Kelly (II). It’s 1988 in small-town America and Donnie, a disturbed teenager on medication and undergoing psychoanalysis for his blackouts and personality disorders, is being visited by a being in a rabbit suit whom he calls Frank. It’s this anti-Harvey that saves Donnie from being crushed to death when an airplane engine falls from the sky onto his house. This is the beginning of their escalating relationship, which, as Donnie follows Frank’s instructions, becomes increasingly violent and destructive. Added to this is Frank’s warning of the impending apocalypse and Donnie’s realisation that he can manipulate time, leading to a startling denouement where nearly everything becomes clear.
“Nearly everything”, because Donnie Darko is a darkly comic, surreal journey in which themes of space, time and morality are interwoven with a classic coming-of-age story of a teenage boy’s struggle to understand the world around him. The film leaves the viewer with more questions than it answers, but then that’s part of its charm. Performances are superb: Jake Gyllenhaal underplays the mixed-up kid role superbly and Donnie’s episodes of angst positively erupt out of the screen. There are also some starry cameos from Mary McDonnell as Donnie’s long-suffering mother, Patrick Swayze as Jim Cunningham, the personal-development guru with a terrible secret, and Noah Wyle and Drew Barrymore as Donnie’s progressive teachers. Undoubtedly too abstruse for some tastes, Donnie Darko‘s balance of outstanding performances with intelligent dialogue and a highly inventive story will reward those looking for something more highbrow than the average teenage romp. –Kristen Bowditch
Donnie Darko is a very difficult movie to characterise and assign to one or even two genres, which is also part of its appeal and fascination. It opens with the title character (Jake Gyllenhall) waking in his pyjamas, with his bike lying next to him, on a highway overlooking his hometown of Middlesex, set in an idyllic tree covered valley. Straightening up he looks out toward the rising sun on the horizon and with a knowing smile he re-mounts his bicycle and makes his way back home to the tune of Echo and The Bunnymen’s ‘The Killing Moon’ in what is an excellent opening sequence. Right from these first few frames it was obvious that I was about to witness something very original and it had me hooked.
Donnie Darko is inspired (I would guess) by the weird combination of Philip K Dick, Wes Anderson, JD Salinger and the classic James Stewart movie ‘Harvey’. It announces the arrival of two great new talents in Writer/Director Richard Kelly and the young actor Jake Gyllenhall, in what is a hugely original, ingenious and entertaining movie. Set in 1988, around Halloween time, this movie has the conventional leafy-suburbia-plus-high-school setting, which alludes to the horror genre of Carrie and Halloween but it is no horror movie. It also has specific elements that suggest that it’s a psychodrama about a young man with schizophrenia but this is not ‘A Beautiful Mind’. It also ponders the possibility of time travel but this is not science fiction. Stranger still, Donnie Darko is unusual in that (unlike most retro 1980’s pictures such as The Wedding Singer) it actually has a very cool soundtrack drawn from the period of my youth, which includes contributions from the likes of Echo and The Bunnymen, Tears For Fears and Joy Division.
So, what is Donnie Darko about? Well, without giving up too much of the plot, Donnie is continuously visited by a 6 foot tall rabbit named Frank, which unlike the Pooka in the classic ‘Harvey’ is both visible to the audience and strangely satanic. Frank tells Donnie that the world is going to end in 28 days six hours and forty two minutes but not to worry as everything is going to be all right. Guided by Frank he narrowly misses being killed when an engine from a 747 crashes through his house whilst he is lying sleeping on a local golf course and the plot thickens when it becomes apparent that the aviation authority has no record of any aircraft losing an engine. Donnie is of course undergoing therapy with a local shrink and hypnotherapist played by Katherine Ross (The Graduate, Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid) and the suggestion is of course that Donnie is hallucinating, for as his sister says “he hasn’t been taking his pills”. One of Donnie’s recurring visions suggests that he can see the future before it happens and so he becomes obsessed with the possibility of time travel and a book written by a retired teacher, who is now a scary old recluse, ‘The Philosophy of Time Travel’. There are also many other sub-plots including Donnie being inspired by his English teacher (Drew Barrymore) and Graham Greene’s short story ‘The Destructors’ into some playful vandalism. In addition to this Donnie’s subversive thoughts and actions begin to undermine the stability of the local community that is strangely gripped by a slimy fundamentalist guru played by Patrick Swayze.
Much of this movie is darkly comic and there are some great scenes including a conversation between Donnie and his therapist, where she asks him what he thinks about at school. Like most teenage boys he inevitably replies “having s*x” before proceeding to unbutton his trousers about to m*sturbate. There is also a scene where at a PTA meeting Donnie’s mother challenges the local bigot by asking “Do you even know who Graham Greene is?” she confidently and proudly replies “Oh please! I think we’ve all seen Bonanza”.
Personally I loved this movie but whether or not you enjoy this movie probably depends upon how far left of centre you like your movies. If you are not a fan of independent cinema or movies by the likes of Wes Anderson and David Lynch then you probably wont like this. However there is much to recommend in Donnie Darko, not least the cast, which includes, Noah Wyle (ER), Mary McDonnell (Dances With Wolves), Maggie Gyllenhaal (Confessions of A Dangerous Mind) and the previously mentioned Patrick Swayze, Drew Barrymore and Katherine Ross. Jake Gyllenhaal’s exquisite comic timing and laidback personality endows Donnie’s existence with a dreamlike quality at odds with his teen angst and the suburban paranoia of his surroundings. Meanwhile writer/director Richard Kelly creates a wonderful sense of tension and keeps you guessing throughout the movie that even after the final titles have rolled you are still left to mull over what you have just witnessed.
Whilst critics may argue that Donnie Darko fails as a psychological study and/or horror movie, you cant help but feel they are missing the point, as it deliberately avoids easy classification to a specific genre and instead concentrates on being intelligent, ingenious and highly original. Closing appropriately to a cover version of the old Tears For Fears song ‘Mad World’ and the lyrics “the dreams on which I’m dying are the best I’ve ever had”, neatly ties up the previous two hours and what was for me a very satisfactory cinematic experience. Destined for cult status this undoubtedly deserves five stars!
Rating: 5 / 5
Watch out! Amazon list this as Region-Free. It’s not, it’s Region A. It’s listed on both UK and US Amazon incorrectly…
Rating: 4 / 5
I have watched many films and most of them live up to my very low expectations, transparent, easy to watch and understand and pleasing to the eye. This is where Donnie Darko is so spectacularly different to any other film. I have watched it twice now, each time gaining a little more understanding of its religious and philosophical conitations.
Donnie Darko is a highly intelligent, troubled young man, who suffers from visions of a 6ft entity in a hideious bunny suit, these visions tell Donnie that the world is going to end and tells him to perform increasingly violent acts (which he does). The film indicates to the viewer that this bunny may be divine intervention, a time traveller or could this just be a product of the boys apparent mental health problem. The film also focuses on Donnie coping with the pressures of every day growing up in a disfunctional society and this fact is amazingly echoed with the last track ‘Mad World’ by Gary Jules.
An unbelievable moving, funny, thought provoking and unusual film. Seeing is deciding.
Rating: 5 / 5
I have never been so moved or effected by a film like this before, ever. Don’t watch this on your own – you’ll need a hug at the end, a physical gesture to acknowledge what you’ve all just been through. A turbulent, disturbing and hypnotic tale, the many subplots juggle the mind through many phases, with the uncomfortable sense that you are never in control. As Michael Andrews’ superbly haunting rendition of ‘Mad World’ hits you at the end, you’ll be fighting for breath. Cinematic genius like this does not appear often…
Rating: 5 / 5
When i was recommened this film by a good friend, i initially thought that it would be a normalish-ish teen movie, one however with a slightly absurd front cover. Yet, i was proved very wrong from the beginning. Ive seen “A Beautiful Mind” which also deals with the subject of Schizophrenia, but in Donnie Darko this is portayed in a more simplified manner that is easier to relate to for someone of my age. This is probably because the lead characters are of the same age as myself – so therefore their experiences seemed similar.
However, the time travel theories that are used in this film are rather confusing to grasp the first time you watch it if you arn’t used to those kinds of plot basis.
Yet, on the second watching many things that could have been confusing come clear and fit into the plot well.
The way the music lyrics of “Mad World” supplement the film well as they ambiguously reveal the meaning and the end of the film.
I found this film very clever and quite haunting as it really give you something to think over after you have watched it. The performances from all the actors were very creditable, but especially the one of Jake Gyllenhaal (being cute and all) but also for sucessfully portraying the difficult role of Donnie Darko.
Well worth the money – please buy it – i think all initial misconceptions will be proved wrong and you will greatly enjoy it!
Rating: 5 / 5