Review of Donnie Darko (2001) by Christopher E — 15 Aug 2017

A little bit weird, but an interesting story and a nice beginning to Jake Gyllenhaal's career.

Donnie (Jake Gyllenhaal) is a bright and charming high-school student who also has a dark and willfully eccentric side; he does little to mask his contempt for many of his peers and enjoys challenging the authority of the adults around him. Donnie is also visited on occasion by Frank, a monstrous six-foot rabbit that only Donnie can see who often urges him to perform dangerous and destructive pranks. Late one night, Frank leads Donnie out of his home to inform him that the world will come to an end in less than a month; moments later, the engine of a jet aircraft comes crashing through the ceiling of Donnie's room, making him think there might be something to Frank's prophesies after all.

I'll be completely honest. I watched this movie at 5 AM in the morning, so I don't have a ton to say. I won't be able to go in depth because I was a bit too tired. Does that mean my opinion of this film is sound? Probably not. But I felt like I got enough of a grasp on it to know how much I liked it. I also imagine this film getting better time. Anyways, here we go!

My favorite part of this film was the snarky and unexpected dark humor. It's not a heavy comedy by any means, but it has plenty of weird and funny moments that totally work. The jokes in this film land and considering it's not a comedy first, it just makes the laughs an extra bonus.

The screenplay was well written and very interesting. It was a very cohesive script that flowed well and tied in very well. The story was able to unfold at a nice pace and it was a very intriguing plot. It's totally weird in a sense, but I do like the underlying messages that align with time, fate, and all that good stuff.

In the end, I don't really have much to say. This is just a quick write on my general thoughts about the film. The acting worked well, the screenplay was well written, and it was an interesting story. It's a little bit too weird in the sense that not everything made sense in the end, but I definitely wouldn't mind watching it again.