Directed by:
Richard KellyScreenplay:
Richard KellyCinematography:
Steven PosterComposer:
Michael AndrewsCast:
Jake Gyllenhaal, Holmes Osborne, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Daveigh Chase, Mary McDonnell, James Duval, Patrick Swayze, David St. James, Seth Rogen, Jena Malone (more)VOD (3)
Plots(1)
Donnie is a troubled high school student: in therapy, prone to sleepwalking and in possession of an imaginary friend, a six-foot rabbit named Frank, who tells him the world is going to end in 28 days, 06 hours, 42 minutes and 12 seconds. During that time he will navigate teenage life, narrowly avoid death in the form of a falling jet engine, follow Frank’s maladjusted instructions and try to maintain the space-time continuum. (Arrow Films)
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Reviews (15)
Well, by the ending I was sitting there like something poached. All it takes is one wave and you kind of freeze up – I mean, I did. I had kind of counted on how Donnie turned out, well not exactly, but I knew he would sacrifice something dear to him. Definitely an interesting film worth seeing, and I think, though I haven't seen it unfortunately, the director's cut would have been the better choice. Otherwise, I have nothing else to add. Any more words Donnie Darko has taken from me.
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It is said that some films age like fine wine, but it is actually more appropriate to say that we appreciate them more or differently as we ourselves age. Donnie Darko is the ultimate eruptive debut and a distillation of everything that its creator had done before. Mainly, however, Kelly succeeded in presenting a multi-layered depiction of growing up through the use of sci-fi motifs and a mysterious narrative. When you’re the same age as the protagonists, you may – like the protagonists themselves – concern yourself the most with finding an unambiguous answer for the meaning, causality and internal logic of the narrative. Paradoxically, with the passing of years, you begin to appreciate the fact that the purpose of all of the fantastical motifs and WTF elements is to enable the film to deal with and expressly depict the broadest possible range of thoughts and emotions churning in the adolescent body. The title character thus attempts to find answers to the existential questions of fate, free will and predestination, he wants to destroy and create, to live and die, he is angry at everything, everyone and himself, but he wants to be loved, or at least to get laid. Kelly created a sophisticated labyrinth full of misleading alleyways that, however, help to further examine the various sides of the protagonist, who, like all teenagers, is the centre of his own world. And that offers viewers several levels of pleasure and engagement, whether as metaphor, story, construct, mystery, projection screen or mirror. Donnie Darko is thus to adolescence what Fight Club is to masculinity.
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Donnie Darko is definitely not an ordinary movie about a completely ordinary teenager who has no delusions whatsoever about some oversized rabbit. It has an incredibly engaging atmosphere and tries to draw the viewer into the plot, only letting go near the end where the shocking (at least to me) reveal occurs. The actors are great and convincing – especially young Jake Gyllenhaal and Drew Barrymore. The screenplay is indeed a convoluted and bizarre example of a dramatic mystery, and even though I certainly didn't understand everything that should have been understood, I stand by the fact that this is an original premise full of twists and turns, especially in space-time. And the last few minutes, when we see edited shots of the film's heroes while "Mad World" is playing was a powerful albeit very confusing experience for me. In short, a film that doesn't need to be fully understood, because there is still plenty to think about for a long time.
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An unorthodox story about a high school “geek" is an impressive movie adorned with excellent acting, a well-written and original screenplay and a completely absorbing dense atmosphere. Despite all of this I can’t shake the feeling that from the whole movie somehow protrudes the fact that it could be a tiny bit better than it finally is. I would be very interested in seeing the twenty minutes longer Director’s Cut. If that’s good, I would definitely raise the score to five *.
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Hypnotic, captivating, and unclassifiable in terms of genre. It contains sharp satire, elusive sci-fi, and playful originality, yet I cannot communicate Donnie Darko to an unfamiliar viewer. It completely deviates from the norm in the scenes with the rabbit, excellently builds up the ending, and above all, shows for the first time that Jake Gyllenhaal truly has talent. An unforgettable, although far from flawless experience.
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