A Belated Easter Special - Donnie Darko - Film Review
This is the closest thing we're getting to an Easter special this year. It's got a bunny rabbit, well, a man dressed in a bunny suit. Close enough, right?
Also, one thing I want to say before I get into the review: I am going full spoilers, if you've never seen this movie, get off this review and watch it, because I feel it's best to go into Donnie Darko blind. That's what I did.
Donnie Darko is directed by Richard Kelly and stars Jake Gyllenhaal, Jena Malone, Drew Barrymore, Beth Grant, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Mary McDonnell, Katharine Ross, and Patrick Swayze.
Plot
How do I describe Donnie Darko? Well, a troubled teenager named Donnie Darko (Jake Gyllenhaal) receives a disturbing vision that the world will end in twenty-eight days. With the help of various characters, including a six-foot rabbit called Frank, he slowly discovers the mysterious physical and metaphysical laws that govern his life and that will lead up to the destruction of the universe.
Review
Where do I start with Donnie Darko? Well, I think it's a movie you might have to watch a few times before you probably get it, as this is my first viewing. I had to go to a YouTube video explaining the ending to understand it.
Also, I watched the director's cut so I have no idea which is better, but I know there are some differences, like the director's cut is more clear while the theatrical cut isn't. I know the music was changed in the opening because they couldn't get the rights to Never Tear Us Apart by INXS in the theatrical cut so they used The Killing Moon by Echo and the Bunnymen. Some fans are pretty split over which is better, original or director's cut. I'm gonna have to go with the director's cut because that's the only one I've seen.
SPOILERS AHEAD! I warned ya.
There are many theories as to what is really going on, the most popular one is that when the jet engine enters Donnie's room, it creates a Tangent Universe. A Tangent Universe is an alternate universe that's like ours, but is very fragile and can collapse at any second, destroying itself and the Primary Universe, which is the universe that we live in, and this is where most of the movie takes place.
During his time in this universe, Donnie is led by Frank the Bunny, who is killed by Donnie in the Tangent Universe. Because of all the time traveling, Frank is able to lead Donnie through various situations that he has to go through to get to where the jet engine has to be to get back to the Primary Universe.
Frank dies in the Tangent Universe, making him part of The Manipulated Dead, they do what I just explained in the last paragraph. Donnie is a Living Receiver, he was closest to the Artifact, the jet engine, at the time when it crashed in his bedroom.
An Artifact is an object from the Tangent Universe and it has to be sent back to it's universe within 28 days or all existence will be destroyed.
Gretchen (Jena Malone) is a girl who Donnie meets at school and plays an important role near the end of the movie, and she is killed in the tangent universe, and somehow travels back in time and is being manipulated by a higher being making Donnie do all the things he needs to do perfectly to get the Tangent Universe back to the Primary Universe.
At the end of the movie and everything is back to normal, Donnie is killed by the jet engine and Gretchen sees his body being carried out on a stretcher, as this is before they met, she does not recognize him.
Gretchen is part of the Manipulated Living, the Manipulated Living are often the close friends and neighbors of the Living Receiver. They are prone to rather irrational and bizarre behavior. This is the result of their task, which is to assist the Living Receiver in returning the Artifact to the Primary Universe. Donnie's teacher (Drew Barrymore) waits for him in the classroom with the words "Cellar door" written on the chalkboard and tells him that it's the most beautiful words put together in the English language. I don't think anyone would decide to just write those words on a chalkboard and wait for someone.
Got it? Yeah, I know it's confusing too. It's from the Philosophy of Time Travel book. It is very confusing and I'll probably have to watch this movie a few more times to understand it.
Now let's get into some funnier, non confusing moments in the movie.
A few scenes with Kitty (Beth Grant) are pretty funny, like when she starts that dance group with a bunch of young girls, Donnie's younger sister being one of them, called Sparkle Motion and is almost driven to tears when she realizes that other people really don't care about it as much as her. "Sometimes I doubt your commitment to Sparkle Motion" and when she's with Donnie and his parents at the principal's office at the school with Donnie and his parents and tells them "He asked me to forcibly insert the lifeline exercise card into my anus!" and watching Donnie's father try to cover up his laugh with a cough.
Donnie and his friends talking about Smurf sex is one of the funniest parts of the movie. Also, the scene with Donnie and the therapist (Katharine Ross) and she's trying to get him to talk about anything other than sex is really funny.
Donnie and his sister (Maggie Gyllenhaal) throwing insult toward another over dinner in the opening in the movie is really funny.
Another one is when Donnie is speaking against Jim Cunningham (Patrick Swayze) and calling him the Antichrist is really funny.
Let's talk about the cast. Jake Gyllenhaal is great as Donnie. I pretty much described him in the plot summary and talking about the whole Tangent Universe stuff so there's not much to say here.
Same with Gretchen, I described her already. Jena Malone plays her pretty well.
All the cast here is good so I'll just say that.
Donnie's parents are fine, can't think of much about them, same with his sisters, his teacher, his therapist, etc.
Patrick Swayze is in the movie as Jim Cunningham, and his house is burned down by Donnie. Frank tells Donnie to burn down his house to have him caught by police for child pornography. Because he's being tried, Kitty is unable to take Sparkle Motion to California so Donnie's mother (Mary McDonnell) takes them instead. Donnie's house is empty, so that means he can throw a party. This leads to the climax where Donnie kills Frank, which allows himself to travel back in time and save Donnie in the beginning (because he's a Manipuluated Dead). Then Donnie has the reason to fix the mistake in the universe and close the Tangent Universe properly. All this is to pull Donnie toward his destiny. Fun fact: if you go to this link, it'll tell you that Jim committed suicide on his golf course after the movie.
I've given this grade quite a few times this year and I'm going to give it again. Donnie Darko gets a 9/10.
There was a direct to DVD sequel a few years after it came out called S. Darko, but I have heard horrible things so it might be a while before I get around to seeing it despite having it in my collection.
This was one of the hardest reviews to write because of all of the research that needed doing.
Happy (post) Easter!
Previous review - Best F(r)iends
Next review - Friday the 13th
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