Review of Donnie Darko (2001) by Joey S — 29 Jul 2013

Donnie Darko is weird. It's also funny, creepy, and suspenseful, not to mention incredibly entertaining, but more than anything it's weird. It blends the 80s teen drama with a psychological thriller and complex science fiction to form this unusual but completely unique movie that continuously shifts between genres.

There's an ominous man in a bunny suit, some teen romance, hilarious dialogue, and a mind-boggling amount of time travel logic, and it all somehow works together quite nicely. Donnie Darko (Jake Gyllenhaal) is a sleepwalking 16 year-old in the small town of Middlesex, VA who wakes up one night to hear a creepy voice telling him to follow it outside.

He does, and the voice is revealed to be that of Frank, a man in a bunny suit who tells Donnie the world will end in about 28 days. Shortly after this, a massive jet engine collapses through Donnie's bedroom that, had Donnie not left the house to talk to Frank, would have killed him instantly.

In the coming nights, Frank begins to tell Donnie to commit acts of arson in his sleep, and the plot becomes increasingly intricate as judgment day draws closer. Of course if I just said that I would be leaving out the phony motivational speaker Jim Cunningham (Patrick Swayze), Donnie's love interest Gretchen Ross (Jena Malone), and that Donnie's younger sister Samantha has a dance team called Sparkle Motion and sometimes I doubt Donnie's mom's commitment to it.

There is a lot going on in the movie, but it's all tied together by Donnie's encounters with Frank and the impending apocalypse on October 30. Jake Gyllenhaal is great in the lead role, and he gives Donnie just the right amount of angst, anger, and moodiness to make him a sympathetic character.

Patrick Swayze is also fantastic as the cheesy and very fake Jim Cunningham, who argues that all decisions are based out of either fear or love. Cunningham provides quite a bit of humor, and the movie definitely has elements of comedy mixed in with the darker aspects of the story.

Donnie Darko is a mystery of a movie. Think of it as David Lynch for teens. Even if you don't fully understand the story, there's a lot to appreciate about the movie's genre-defying plot and entertainment value, and, love it or hate it, it will leave you with quite a bit to think about once you're done.