Donnie Darko (review)
Donnie Darko. DVD. Written and directed by Richard Kelly, 2001.
9/10
I am bewildered. I do not want to sleep. I do not want to do anything else. I just want to sit and think about it.
I don’t understand this movie, but I love it.
This is some kind of cult movie, as far as I’m aware. Anyone have some sage words about it? I feel like some bits were missing. What’s the director’s cut like?
I have only seen the director’s cut. I watched it on Christmas Day last year. My brother was sitting next to me offering a running commentary along the lines of “this bit wasn’t in the original version” and “they had a different song playing here”. Apparently there were some stills from the old lady’s book in the director’s cut that weren’t in the original, and according to my brother it makes (a little) more sense with those.
Your reaction is very similar to mine. A few days later I saw I Heart Huckabee’s, and I sat down and had a long discussion about whether that film displayed an existential philosophy. Talk turned to Donnie Darko and I have come to understand most of the narrative arc as a kind of “time pocket” created when what was ‘supposed’ to happen does not happen. I felt it was tragically ironic that the most ‘authentic’, affectively honest time of Donnie’s life wasn’t real – it was a freak accident caused by a freak accident.
I might totally have got it wrong, though. There is more I would say about this film, but I have to work now.
Mel
22 Mar 05 at 10:30
I don’t think you got it wrong. I read the Wikipedia article about Donnie Darko, and it says very much the same thing. Apparently Donnie somehow ended up in an alternate universe where he wasn’t in his bedroom to be crushed by the airplane engine, and had to save the whole universe from collapsing by restoring things to their proper state, by sending the engine through a wormhole to the main universe, thus killing himself.
Honestly, the whole time-travel/alternate universes thing wasn’t what hooked me about the movie. It did add an eerie, unsettled feeling to everything, but that was only valuable because it served to make the school-related scenes more poignant. I love teenage angst films.
I was looking forward to seeing Huckabees, but I guess I’ve missed it by now. Will have to wait for the DVD.
Ben H
22 Mar 05 at 10:59
still haven’t seen donnie darko. Would absolutely LOVE to. :(
myst
24 Mar 05 at 13:41
I took my man suit off the other day and took a walk in the hallway. I got to the end to find a mirror. i turned around and another mirror was behind me, so i turned once more and the original mirror bent inwards to form a half circle. i started walking backwards but didnt get very far until i ran into the mirror behind me. they were closing in on me. before i could escape the mirrors formed a reflective circle around me. I looked in the mirror and saw infinities of realms. i started to jump trhough different realms going deeper and deeper into the mirror. after jumping through the 28064212th realm i tripped and fell down. Shattering the glass on impact, i fell through intoa plane were time doesnt exist. I have retyped this message the same day for countless months. If i find my mansuit i will make sure to give it a wash.
Harvey McNarsh
3 Aug 05 at 1:38
i don’t really understand the movie, i mean why couldn’t donnie have just left his room the second time the jet engine hit his house? he would still be alive and the events that happened would have already happened, thus the world would have been saved?
grant
30 Jan 06 at 12:23