Subject: Review: Donnie Darko (2001)

From: Jerry Saravia <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 28 Oct 2002 19:40:36 -0000

DONNIE DARKO (2001)
Reviewed by Jerry Saravia
October 27th, 2002
RATING: Three stars and a half

"Donnie Darko" is a unique delight - a fast-paced, surreal oddity likely to
leave audiences with lots of questions. And to make matters more interesting, it
is a teen film, but not quite a romantic comedy or some sex farce with gross-out
jokes that have become du jour. This is a thinking man's John Hughes picture
crossed with the cleverness of something like "Back to the Future" and with
enough preternatural events and sequences to remind us of David Lynch. 

Jake Gyllenhaal plays Donnie Darko, a high-school teenager with mental problems
and a supposedly schizophrenic side. He often talks to imaginary friends, and
the latest is some person dressed in a bunny suit and an insect mask named
Frank. Donnie's home life is normal for the most part. His parents (Holmes
Osbourne, Mary McDonnell) are not the typical kind who argue and bicker at every
convenience so that we are reminded they are a dysfunctional family. When Donnie
curses at his sister (played by real-life sister Maggie Gyllenhaal), their
mother simply says, "please stop," while the father grins.  Meanwhile, every
night Donnie sleepwalks and often leaves the house, ending up in hilly streets
or golf courses. He takes medication, and sees a therapist (Katharine Ross) who
frequently hypnotizes him. Then a strange event takes place. A fallen airplane
engine crashes through Donnie's room. The plane in question minus an engine is
never found. The event changes everybody. But Donnie sees this as some sign, as
evidenced by Frank who tells him he has 28 days before the world will end in
some sort of apocalypse. But is the bunny foretelling the future or the past?
Who will listen to Donnie? His parents? His dubious physics teacher (Noah Wyle)?
His English literature teacher (Drew Barrymore)? His new girlfriend (Jena
Malone)? Or is the town's reclusive neighbor known as Grandma Death who has the
answers?

Seeing the film twice, I realized how off the mark I was initially on Jake
Gyllenhaal, whom some of you may remember from the nostalgic "October Sky." My
first impression was that Gyllenhaal's performance was robotic and unfeeling,
sort of a droopier-eyed version of Tobey Maguire. The truth is that he does give
a fine performance, along with some low-angle stares that are reminiscent of
similar, angry stares from Stanley Kubrick's films. It is a restrained
performance of a teenager looking for answers and questioning authority.
Gyllenhaal's Donnie character is nicely balanced between angry arguments with
the family and quiet, reflective moments with his therapist. Also worth noting
is his bemused smile when waking up in strange places - it adds to the film's
hypnotic power. 

This is writer-director Richard Kelly's first foray into filmmaking, and what a
startling debut it is. He is a director that obviously relishes actors, in the
same way that Cameron Crowe does. Kelly allows perfect use of close-ups when
needed to allow us to identify with the family and especially with Donnie Darko.
Mary McDonnell shows compassion with utmost sincerity as Donnie's mother, in
contrast to Holmes Osbourne as Donnie's father who is detached and jocose. I
also marvelled at Maggie Gyllenhaal who is as precious, sweet and sarcastic as
any other sister I have seen in movies. 

"Donnie Darko" has a questionable climax but I think it is in keeping with the
movie's theme of how unexplained events can change a person, if not a whole
family, even a small town. Donnie Darko is on to something - he is searching for
meaning in life and in the universe (he has an interest in time travel). His
girlfriend is searching for peace and beauty in the world. It is rare in movies
today to see young people engaged in such rational thoughts. That is part of
what makes "Donnie Darko" so refreshing. 

For more reviews, check out JERRY AT THE MOVIES at
http://www.geocities.com/faustus_08520/Jerry_at_the_Movies.html 

Post any comments at http://moviething.com/members/movies/faust/forum.shtml 

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X-RT-ReviewID: 803773
X-RT-TitleID: 1110922
X-RT-SourceID: 875
X-RT-AuthorID: 1314
X-RT-RatingText: 3.5/4