Review of Donnie Darko (2001) by William T — 30 Jul 2013

A while ago I put Donnie Darko away on my Netflix to do list and before I knew it was on its way out so I beat the clock to actually watch it. That was a long time ago and after seeing it I had no idea how to review it. I took a day or two to think about the ending and even went to the internet to see what actually happened and after I read a few things I decided I needed to see it again. I was fixed in this world and when I went to watch it again it was gone. I waited a few months and bought the director's cut on blu ray and I watched it again and the second time was so much more satisfying than the first.

The story behind Donnie Darko is complicated to say the least. We follow Donnie, a troubled high scholar who just wants to be normal. It is hard to be normal when he is on psychotic medication and he hallucinates about a bunny rabbit named Frank telling him to do things in his sleep. Jake Gyllenhaal, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Patrick Swayze, and Drew Barrymore each have their own short storylines that tie into the main plot so perfectly. The writing in this movie was one of the best I have ever seen. Personally, the idea of time travel is so interesting and the idea of a tangent universe was new to me and I was hooked immediately. After seeing this movie I wanted to write something like it and it inspired me to say the least.

Each character did such an amazing job with the strangeness of Barrymore and the odd feeling with Swayze. Their individual stories are almost as good as the main one following Donnie and his love interest. Gyllenhaal delivers in this movie as Donnie. He is troubled and another strong interest of mine if psychology and the mind. Donnie is incredibly gifted, smart, and opinionated. His story is so vague enough to keep the audience interested in the story as well as crept out. Frank was a scary character with a strong voice and seeing the bubble trail thing was unexpected.

Noah Wile and Drew Barrymore are the only two teachers Donnie connects with in the entire school and their relationships are remarkable. With Barrymore especially, Donnie connects with her and her teaching style. Her role is never fully clear but she is effective. Maybe if I go back and watch it I will notice something else. That is the thing with this movie which is very rare, it gets better and better the more your watch it over and over. Noah Wile is a science teacher of some sort and after Frank mentions time travel Donnie goes to him for answers and every scene with Wile and Darko are together, my mind was blown and I was so interested. The conversations about wormholes and tangent universes and whatnot were so fascinating and it only works in a movie.

The main relationship is between Donnie and Gretchen. Their relationship is so weird and cute at the same time. From the introduction of Gretchen she had a strong connection with Donnie and their relationship builds slowly and unexpectedly. Donnie has so much going on and as his methods of picking up girls are farfetched and unrealistic but it was good enough for me. I still can't figure out what Gretchen saw in Donnie, you know because he is crazy, but I think she related to him and that was fine for me. Their relationship was unrealistic but for the universe the movie takes place in I bought it. Their ending was, in my opinion, controversial so let's get into it.

I want to spoil this ending so bad and dive deep into my own thoughts but I really shouldn't. The entire movie builds up to one date, October 30, 1988. The movie is broken up into chapters and as the date approaches the scenes get more intense. It is supposed to be the end of the world and Donnie is afraid of the date and anticipating it. The beginning of this movie is slow and confusing but it picks up quickly. The beginning may be the one flaw but it has that one scene to keep it alive to keep the audience invested in the rest. Most of the questions are answered with more questions but the answers we get are so satisfying and the ending is outstanding. The star of this movie is the writing and the ending saved this movie from disaster and I still think about it every now and then. I am still trying to wrap my head around it because it left an impact. Out of all the confusing movies with a big ending this was one of the best. I felt so lost for the entire movie it was hard to stay invested but there was always that one scene to draw me back in and the ending was the icing on the cake. A total mind blow, especially the last shot. It was sort of an Inception shot at the way end with the top.

Overall, Donnie Darko has a cult following of a fan base so consider me a member. The clever writing kept me thinking and the ending was shocking and amazing. This movie is probably one of my favorites ever. Probably in my top 20 of all time. I noticed so many little things like in the beginning the first shot with Donnie's mother, she is reading IT by Stephen King and I took that as a sign. Spencer from iCarley and Seth Rogan are also in the movie very briefly but of course I notice that. Even the lyrics of the sings tied into the scenes perfectly and when Mad World came on at the end I lost it. Need I even say it, WillyT Seal Approval.