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Donnie Darko 2001 |
Review by Jonathan Cornwell |
Directed by Richard Kelly
R, 120 min. (language, drug use, violence) |
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Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Jena Malone, Drew Barrymore, Patrick Swayze, Noah Wyle, Mary McDonnell
Producers: Sean McKittrick, Nancy Juvonen, Adam Fields
Screenplay: Richard Kelly
Cinematography: Steven B. Poster
Distributor: Newmarket Films
Released: 10.26.01 (Limited) |
Rating:
  (out of ) |
26-year-old director Richard Kelly, whose debut, Donnie Darko, is an astonishingly-accomplished effort for a first
time director, shows a depth and grandeur in his filmmaking that gives hope to a dwindling industry desparate for new
ideas. He joins a group of other promising young directors such as Christopher Nolan and M. Night Shyamalan to provide
the backbone of future quality filmmaking. There's an ingenious quality at work here - it's not something you can easily
describe, but you sure feel it. Donnie Darko involves a teenager who has hallucinations and visions that lead him to believe
the world is about to end. A brooding, dark atmosphere encompasses a picture that uses a late-80s setting to visit several
questions about life, God, and even a satirical science fiction angle that leaves the viewer with an appreciated open-endedness
that makes further discussion desirable. Much in the tradition of Memento or even Mulholland Dr., Donnie Darko presents
the pieces, makes few explanations, but adds up to an enjoyable couple of hours in the theater.
The story is complex but not impossible to follow. Donnie (Jake Gyllenhaal, October Sky) is a disillusioned youth in
his final year of high school at a prep school in surburbia Virginia circa 1988. He's brilliant, but his constant hallucinations
or visions of a giant rabbit (whose presence apparently saved his life from a jet engine that fell into his bedroom) that warns him of impending doom in 28 days has his life headed towards chaos. His parents
(Mary McDonnell and Holmes Osborne) send him to a shrink (Katharine Ross), whose hypnotic sessions with him allow
her to only scratch the surface of a troubled mind. Donnie's teachers (Drew Barrymore and Noah Wylie) notice his
intelligence and cautiously give him advice on how to proceed in life, while his girlfriend, Gretchen (Jena Malone), tries
to understand his growing contempt for everything around him. Donnie's visions lead to curiosity about time travel and
his apparent role in a time loop of some sort. He can see things just before they happen, and what his eventual role in
the future will be. The question is, will he follow the rabbit's instructions?
Kelly uses fascinating scenes to propel his story from ordinary to intoxicating. He uses subtlety, bizarreness, and a talented
cast as effective tools in a formidable arsenal of ideas. Whether it's the various 80s music hits combined with jargon of the
time, or the simple humorous but intelligent conversations between his characters, there's something unique about his
film. One thing's for sure - you're never bored.
Donnie Darko seems to lean on science fiction as its driving force - time travel is seemingly the film's main storyline but not
necessarily so. Its unique conclusion lends itself to several possible meanings, none of which is definitive by any means.
It's simply impossible to close every story thread, to tie every knot. Instead, Kelly has given the viewer several themes
to chew on, and, undoubtedly, will prove to be the film's strength or weakness, depending on which side the viewer falls.
For me, Donnie Darko represents a bold statement for such a young director, one that signals a new kind of movie-going
experience that should flourish in the near future. With successes like Donnie Darko, it also provides a glimmer of hope
that mainstream Hollywood productions can soon emerge from their comfort zones and test the waters of unbridled vision.
© 2001 Jonathan Cornwell
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 | Masterpiece - Film perfection |
| Excellent - A Must See |
| Good - Highly Recommended |
| Fair - Worth seeing |
| Average - Viewable, but not recommended |
| Below average - View at own risk |
| Poor - Avoid at all costs |
| Very poor - An embarassment to the film industry |
| Zero | Awful - One of the worst films ever made |
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