Donnie Darko (US Dir-Richard Kelly) I first stumbled upon Donnie Darko on release in 2001 when David Lynchs magnificent Mulholland Drive was released around the same time. I am not sure if they were released on the same weekend but i remember Donnie Darko being compared to Mulholland Drive because both films were of the same Lynchian tone & carried an enigma about them. Richard Kellys Donnie Darko is every bit as atmospheric & moody as a David Lynch film but comparisons to Mulholland Drive only extend that far. Mulholland Drive was a magnificent Mystery Thriller but Donnie Darko has far more fantastical concepts dealing with Metaphysics, Time Travel & Tangent Universes. Set in 1988, Donnie Darko perfectly captures the sights, sounds & spirit of the day to the point where a viewer fed only late 1980s cinema would feel they are watching a film from that era. Its not about big hair, shoulder pads or outlandish colors at all either, its all about ATMOSPHERE! Sure there are tunes from the era but Donnie Darko is a film grounded in reality which makes the viewer buy into the more fantastical elements of the story without even realising it. The authentic presentation of 1988 includes real life happenings of the day such as news coverage of the political battle between Dukakis & Bush, as well as a realistic depiction of high school life which in the 80s themselves were usually of a comedic nature. Donnie Darko does indeed have more than a few moments of Comedy but they are not only of a dark nature, they are also appropriate to the story & never simply thrown in to ensure an easy laugh. Most of the Comedy in the film stems from the dialogue of the characters in the form of regular talk among friends. This not only adds to the realism but again, once the mood changes to something darker & creepier the viewer has already been drawn into the world & the characters enough to go with the flow & believe what they are seeing. Well written characters & genius concept are at the heart of Donnie Darko, but the soul of the film is created by the actors who all perform their roles with utter conviction. Jake Gyllenhaal plays Donnie Darko, a troubled teenager whose emotional problems & outspoken nature have landed him in therapy but behind his over emotional outbursts & reputation as a sleepwalker, Donnie is also an intelligent young man with a hunger for the truth about life & a new found fascination with Time Travel, its possibilities & its consequences. Donnie is visited in the night by an imposing figure in a grim looking Bunny Rabbit suit who tells him that the world will end in 28 days. Donnie wakes up outside...Did he dream? Did he really encounter this prophet of doom while out sleepwalking? Donnie is unsure but upon returning home he finds that while in his absence his bedroom has been destroyed by a fallen plane engine. His cheating of death sets off a chain of events that Donnie begins to interperet as connected while at the same time feeling manipulated by unknown forces who are steering his mind to move his body to commit acts of vandalism. However each act of vandalism results in an occurance or a revelation which seems to work toward the greater good both in Donnies life & those he cares about. As Donnies search becomes more & more obsessive his outspokeness becomes limitless as do his very actions which continually seek to challenge a fate which may or may not be. I will not go anymore into the meaning of the film because quite frankly i would give the game away but lets just say that when its all said & done Donnie Darko is a film about redemption on several levels. Dreams & in particular the significance of a shared dream is touched upon with precision & will definetly strike a chord with those of us who have experienced a shared dream with another or even felt they have inhabited someone elses dreamspace(i have felt the latter before!). The film is not steeped in religion nor does it preach, although there are several characters in the film who portray those stereotypes! Donnie Darko is leans firmly toward the Agnostic & does not confirm nor deny that there is a god behind everything. This is where an open minded viewers own philosphies will determine the truth about what the film is about. This is the beauty of Donnie Darko, in that it allows each viewer who understands it to each come away with their own personal conclusion. I do not believe in a god but i fully believe in the power of the mind being capable of more than most people are willing to comprihend. Donnie Darko could be read as many things but again everyones full interperetation will differ in some way. Some believe Donnie found a way to travel on Gods Channel & thus change a fate set to occur. Some believe Donnie had a premonition dream of what would happen over the next month & decided to stay in his bed to change the destiny of all involved, except his own. Whatever you believe, Donnie Darko will be a film thats analyzed for many decades to come. The ending of the film is beautiful & sad at the same time, yet there is a happiness felt for a particular character who may seem to be the loser but infact is the winner who found the TRUTH the were looking for & in the end, THAT TRUTH is worth more than the life on Earth they have lived. As stated Jake Gyllenhaal is brilliant as the title character in a performance that announced the arrival of a talented young man who went from strength to strength in a very versetile career(Zodiac, Prince Of Persia, Brokeback Mountain, Source Code, Brothers, Jarhead etc). Jakes sister Maggie also appears & performs well as his sister as do Mary McDonnel & Holmes Osbourne as their parents. Other supporting playing include a strong performance from Jena Malone, an understated turn Drew Barrymore, & a charming but...*youll see* Patrick Swayze who fits the 80s setting perfectly. Richard Kelly directs the film superbly as he utilises several camera techniques, many of which emphasise the idea of time being something which can be slowed down or sped up & the use of music during these sequences is spot on. Songs with lyrics that touch upon time & dreams feature heavily on the soundtrack & are not merely thrown in to convey the 80s vibe. The soundtrack is truly stunning actually if you have a GOOD taste in 80s music :) Echo & The Bunnymen, Joy Division, The Church, Oingo Boingo & Tears For Fears are a few of the artists featured but the sole new recording for the soundtrack comes courtesy of Michael Stipe soundalike Gary Jules who performs an early Tears For Fears song called Mad World & arguably makes it his own. The soundtrack is not merely a compilation record of 80s hits either as there are some wonderful additions of both Classical & Opera while the score by is one of the most atmospheric ever recorded & reeks of true American Gothic! Donnie Darko is in my top 10 films of the 2000s & a film i could watch over & over without ever growing bored of the concepts, the characters of the setting. Richard Kelly later released a Directors Cut of the film but IMO it was little more than a dumbed down compromise which added a few random scene insertion that were already unecessary for the original cut so what they could possibly add to the revised cut is anyones guess. The original cut may take a few viewings to fully understand but a film that reaps rewards on multiple viewings is a film that will hold up for decades later. Richard Kelly is undermining his own genius by releasing a sanitised cut that will only make one cringe on repeat viewings! Richard Kelly would follow up Donnie Darko with another film that delved into Metaphysics & the concept of Tangent Universes. That film was the ambitious Southland Tales & sadly that film were unfairly savaged by clearly STUPID critics! I loved Southland Tales & while i dont feel its quite as fluid as Donnie Darko, it certainly is a great film in its own right! youtube/watch?v=ZZyBaFYFySk&feature=youtube_gdata_player
Posted on: Fri, 13 Jun 2014 11:37:16 +0000