Donnie Darko

For those of you that know me, you know that Donnie Darko is my favorite movie of all time, for those of you who have no idea who I am, you now know.

When I first saw this incredible film it was one of the most incredible experiences I had ever had watching anything really.  Reminiscent of the feeling I got once finishing Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey or his eerie The Shining (both of which I would recommend watching, if you haven't already).

For those of you who haven't seen the film, first let me say you should immediately find a copy and watch it.  I know it is on Netflix "Instant Que" but that may just be temporary.  If you have seen the film, please enjoy what I have to say about it and comment and discuss because that's what I'm here for!

Richard Kelly really knows how to wield a camera, one of, if not, the best young talents in Hollywood right now (although Donnie Darko was produced independently for only 4.5 million dollars).  From the opening dolly in on Donnie waking up in the middle of road coupled by the lens flare bringing in the title you know your in for a visual treat.

Frank talks to Donnie in the eerie bathroom scenes.

When I first watched this, to be honest, I was scared shitless at parts.  Some people ask me "How could you possibly be scared of a giant bunny?"  Let me say that when I watched this I was by myself in a pitch black basement that is already creepy enough.  But enough of me making excuses, this movie is legitimately scary at parts.  Making a giant bunny scary was quite a difficult task because at first glance, it sounds ridiculous, but Frank is everything but ridiculous.  Seeing him lingering slightly out of focus in the background of shots gives me the chills every time as well as the interesting voice work they did with James Duval.  Besides the metallic design of Frank's face, one of the most disturbing attributes were his movements.  I'm assuming they sped them up ever so slightly in post but that speeding up gives him a really unnatural feeling that is shocking to look at.  This is one of many strong points in the film.

One of my favorite sequences in the film is relatively early when the older kids hop out of the back of the bus at school.  The camera starts completely on its side disorienting the audience and rotates level as Donnie and his friends hop out of the back of the bus.  With Tears for Fears playing coming in as their feet hit the ground it instantly puts you in the 80's when the film is set.  Thankfully it was a faithful, and not ridiculous, portrayal of the 80's (although I wasn't yet born, it wasn't a stereotypical NEON EVERYWHERE sort of 80's setting, it was nice and subtle, unlike 2009's Hot Tub Time Machine, which is sort of a guilty pleasure of mine).  This sequence continues to flow between slow and fast tracking shots introducing essentially every character that has a role in the movie.  Kelly's combination of camera movement, slow motion smoothly alternating to normal speeds or even slightly sped up all in collaboration with the music sets a very surreal mood that is carried through out the movie.

I could go on and on about what I really liked about the film, but my favorite part is how much of it is up to interpretation it is.  I saw the Directors Cut before seeing the theatrical before the theatrical (which sounds like it was kind of a mistake because there is a decent amount of controversy from fans over which is better, personally I love both of them and can't really decide which I prefer) which has some scenes in here that I'm discussing that you may not have seen.  Both are incredible films, and rather different experiences seeing how essentially the "same movie".

My favorite scene, probably in all of cinema, is theatre scene followed by the talent show.  So much is going on that you must process and connect it's incredible.  The scene starts with a crane starting at the movies playing at the local cinema The Evil Dead and The Last Temptation of Christ.  Besides the fact that both of these movies were released in the 80's, Why are those movies even there? Why are they put together? Why does Donnie and Gretchen go to see the Evil Dead over The Last Temptation of Christ (aside from the fact it's a lame date movie)?

Frank and Donnie in the movie theater

These are all questions I have my own answers for but please, if you have a different idea, comment because there's rarely only ONE way to interpret these things, especially in a Richard Kelly film, he chooses his details very carefully.  The Last Temptation of Christ could be seen as foreshadowing for Donnie's act of self sacrifice in order to save the world at the end of the movie.  They may have chosen the Evil Dead because Frank shows up in the theater (the manipulated dead, I'm sure it wouldn't be too hard to describe as evil either).

Following the theater scene comes one of the finest cross cutting examples I've seen, although not immediately connected, both events are interlaced on a deeper level.  While Gretchen is conked out in the theater Donnie takes Frank's advice to "burn it to the ground" (referring to Jim Cunningham's, Patrick Swayze, house) while simultaneously at his Catholic school his sister is performing a rather provacative dance at a very young age.  Why are these two scenes cross cut?  My take is that because Cunningham is later revealed as a pervert (having a "kiddy porn dungeon"), burning his house while Donnie's younger sister is doing, as aforementioned, a provocative dance makes the cross cutting make perfect sense while giving it a much deeper meaning than "they're just happening simultaneously".

My teacher also brought up that the 80's was a place where the objectification of women began to take its roots.  Richard Kelly whom grew up in the 80's was adding another layer into his film in social commentary.  The whole love and fear "timeline" was also social commentary on lots of attitudes in the 80's that were very black and white.  The whole mindset that you were in control of everything, and everything depended on the individual is also brought up numerous times in the movie.

Donnie gazes off the Carpathian Ridge where he woke up at the beginning of the film, bringing things full circle as he uses the wormhole to travel back in time and effectively save the world by sacrificing himself.

Now on the the ending.  The ending is up to much debate.  The first time I watched this (directors cut) I was under the impression the whole thing was a dream because of the last chapter in the "Philosophy of Time Travel".  But after repeat viewings I'm under the impression that Donnie made a conscious decision to travel back in time so he could kill himself in order to prevent the world from entering a parallel universe hence saving it from total destruction. What are your thoughts on the ending?  Would you say that Frank was real, or just a hallucination caused by Donnie's schizophrenia?

This film opens up so many questions and not a whole lot are answered which leaves it wide open to interpretation.  Please feel free to comment and discuss!