Donnie Darko
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skyline_music
- Posts: 31
- Joined: Thu Mar 23, 2006 6:51 am
Donnie Darko
I think this could have possibly been the best movie ever made..... what do you all think>?
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ivanlexbert
- Posts: 146
- Joined: Wed Mar 22, 2006 2:31 pm
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ivanlexbert
- Posts: 146
- Joined: Wed Mar 22, 2006 2:31 pm
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skyline_music
- Posts: 31
- Joined: Thu Mar 23, 2006 6:51 am
you guys have to see this movie... it is pretty tricky to explain... i might as well copy a review of it...
"The world is going to end in a little more than twenty-eight days. Donnie Darko knows this because Frank, the human-sized rabbit he hallucinates, told him so. Donnie Darko is the provocative new movie from first time writer/director Richard Kelly. This movie defies any normal sense of categorization. It has elements of teen comedy, wicked satire, horror, suspense, science fiction, and various other genres all colliding into one, bizarre, compelling, and very watchable movie. The year is 1988, and the Darko family lives in the midst of suburban ****. Darko (Jake Gyllenhaal, Bubble Boy, October Sky) is troubled. He is schizophrenic, not taking his medication, and up to this point, is prone to antisocial behavior and sleepwalking. This all changes when a jet engine crashes into the Darko residence. The only problem is that no commercial airliner is missing an engine. The Darkos world is turned upside-down, foreshadowing even greater events for ****.
Donnie Darko is so fascinating because there is no point in the film where it is clear where Kelly is going. One moment, he will have the characters vigorously discussing the **** habits of Smurfs, the next moment he will have other talking about the wormholes and the possibility of time travel. Time travel does figure prominently in the story, although its actual implications emerge later in the film. The beginning of the film deals with Donnie, and his efforts to comprehend Frank's message. Frank also compels Donnie to act in odd ways, causing acts of strange acts of vandalism. Aside from his mental problems and violent tendencies, Donnie is different frpm other kids. He can see beyond the superficial, and possesses the ability to think. That's why he vehemently dislikes his teacher Kittie Farmer (Beth Grant, Rock Star, Pearl Harbor) and her blind adoration of self-help guru Jim Cunningham (Patrick Swayze, Get Bruce, Black Dog), who partitions the world into love and fear. As the purported end of the world nears, Donnie's condition worsens. His hallucinations are more vivid, and his actions more dangerous. He is either on the verge of losing his mind or on the breakthrough of some grand epiphany.
Gyllenhaal lends a chilling performance to the film. His face exudes that of innocence, so when he looks menacingly into the camera, it is truly eerie. Watching him with his head bowed, eyes looking up and holding an axe is just great. He combines the varied emotions of rage, loneliness, and angst into a good portrayal of one messed up kid. It seems that Darko's only anchor to the real world is his girlfriend Gretchen Ross (Jena Malone, For Love of the Game, Stepmom). Maybe because she's new to town, she accepts Donnie and all his eccentricities. Kelly's oddball story gets away with much. Come on, a life-sized talking bunny? By combining such disparate elements, he keeps the viewer on edge. Nobody knows what to expect next. The purpose of the Cunningham character, aside from poking fun at self-esteem, is almost purely for laughs. He contrasts some very funny humor with excessively dark imagery, and it works. Kelly also refuses to talk down to the audience. He throws in some heady concepts with minimal explanation, expecting the viewer to know what he is talking about. The ending may let some people down, but overall, Donnie Darko is an unsetting, highly original movie that deserves a look."
hope that explains something, but go hire it out!
"The world is going to end in a little more than twenty-eight days. Donnie Darko knows this because Frank, the human-sized rabbit he hallucinates, told him so. Donnie Darko is the provocative new movie from first time writer/director Richard Kelly. This movie defies any normal sense of categorization. It has elements of teen comedy, wicked satire, horror, suspense, science fiction, and various other genres all colliding into one, bizarre, compelling, and very watchable movie. The year is 1988, and the Darko family lives in the midst of suburban ****. Darko (Jake Gyllenhaal, Bubble Boy, October Sky) is troubled. He is schizophrenic, not taking his medication, and up to this point, is prone to antisocial behavior and sleepwalking. This all changes when a jet engine crashes into the Darko residence. The only problem is that no commercial airliner is missing an engine. The Darkos world is turned upside-down, foreshadowing even greater events for ****.
Donnie Darko is so fascinating because there is no point in the film where it is clear where Kelly is going. One moment, he will have the characters vigorously discussing the **** habits of Smurfs, the next moment he will have other talking about the wormholes and the possibility of time travel. Time travel does figure prominently in the story, although its actual implications emerge later in the film. The beginning of the film deals with Donnie, and his efforts to comprehend Frank's message. Frank also compels Donnie to act in odd ways, causing acts of strange acts of vandalism. Aside from his mental problems and violent tendencies, Donnie is different frpm other kids. He can see beyond the superficial, and possesses the ability to think. That's why he vehemently dislikes his teacher Kittie Farmer (Beth Grant, Rock Star, Pearl Harbor) and her blind adoration of self-help guru Jim Cunningham (Patrick Swayze, Get Bruce, Black Dog), who partitions the world into love and fear. As the purported end of the world nears, Donnie's condition worsens. His hallucinations are more vivid, and his actions more dangerous. He is either on the verge of losing his mind or on the breakthrough of some grand epiphany.
Gyllenhaal lends a chilling performance to the film. His face exudes that of innocence, so when he looks menacingly into the camera, it is truly eerie. Watching him with his head bowed, eyes looking up and holding an axe is just great. He combines the varied emotions of rage, loneliness, and angst into a good portrayal of one messed up kid. It seems that Darko's only anchor to the real world is his girlfriend Gretchen Ross (Jena Malone, For Love of the Game, Stepmom). Maybe because she's new to town, she accepts Donnie and all his eccentricities. Kelly's oddball story gets away with much. Come on, a life-sized talking bunny? By combining such disparate elements, he keeps the viewer on edge. Nobody knows what to expect next. The purpose of the Cunningham character, aside from poking fun at self-esteem, is almost purely for laughs. He contrasts some very funny humor with excessively dark imagery, and it works. Kelly also refuses to talk down to the audience. He throws in some heady concepts with minimal explanation, expecting the viewer to know what he is talking about. The ending may let some people down, but overall, Donnie Darko is an unsetting, highly original movie that deserves a look."
hope that explains something, but go hire it out!
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webexplode
- Posts: 119
- Joined: Fri Apr 28, 2006 8:03 pm
Director: Richard Kelly
Donnie Darko, the debut feature from writer/director Richard Kelly, is part psychological thriller and part science fiction mystery. The title character (Jake Gyllenhaal), a teenager in his last year of high school, is suffering from all manner of delusions and hallucinations. He sees and does the bidding of a six-foot high rabbit wearing an insect mask, and, at times, appears completely dissociated form his surroundings. He is visiting a therapist and taking medication, but neither solution is working. Donnie is getting worse, but is it because he's descending deeper into a web of mental instability or because he's really seeing and experiencing these things? These are questions that the movie leaves unanswered until the end.
For much of the running length, Donnie Darko focuses more on Donnie's relationships with his sisters, parents, and girlfriend than on the science fiction aspects. This is meant to humanize a non-traditional protagonist and make him more "accessible" to viewers. It also allows the climax to have an emotional component (in addition to explaining the storyline's assorted, convoluted weirdness). Donnie Darko has a slow, methodical pace that allows the narrative to breathe; unfortunately, there are times when Kelly falls prey to the easy trap of self-indulgence. Selective edits would have made Donnie Darko tighter and more gripping, and, as a result, a better motion picture. As it is, there's a little too much redundancy in what's on screen. In addition, the highest-profile actress in the cast, Drew Barrymore, is playing a part deserving of less screen time - but, of course, since Barrymore is Donnie Darko's biggest selling point, her supporting character is featured more often than is necessarily good for the movie. Still, despite its flaws, this is a compelling motion picture, and offers the kind of "fresh" experience extended by the likes of Pi and The Sticky Fingers of Time.
One aspect of Donnie Darko's production that's definitely worth mentioning is the special effects. The movie was made on the kind of low budget typically associated with independent films, yet the visual effects are first-rate (one in particular looks like it was lifted out of James Cameron's The Abyss). With the price for this kind of CGI work in a steady decline, it is now becoming possible for all directors - not just those working with $50 million-plus budgets - to employ convincing, and occasionally eye-popping, special effects. Tools that were cutting edge a decade ago have now become commonplace. Donnie Darko proves that it's possible to do science fiction with visual effects in the independent film arena. This is just another area where the line between mainstream and indie movie-making has become increasingly blurred. Perhaps the only remaining difference is that smaller efforts like Donnie Darko use effects in service of an interesting story, while too many Hollywood productions think of the plot as a bothersome adjunct to their CGI eye candy.
© 2001 James Berardinelli
For much of the running length, Donnie Darko focuses more on Donnie's relationships with his sisters, parents, and girlfriend than on the science fiction aspects. This is meant to humanize a non-traditional protagonist and make him more "accessible" to viewers. It also allows the climax to have an emotional component (in addition to explaining the storyline's assorted, convoluted weirdness). Donnie Darko has a slow, methodical pace that allows the narrative to breathe; unfortunately, there are times when Kelly falls prey to the easy trap of self-indulgence. Selective edits would have made Donnie Darko tighter and more gripping, and, as a result, a better motion picture. As it is, there's a little too much redundancy in what's on screen. In addition, the highest-profile actress in the cast, Drew Barrymore, is playing a part deserving of less screen time - but, of course, since Barrymore is Donnie Darko's biggest selling point, her supporting character is featured more often than is necessarily good for the movie. Still, despite its flaws, this is a compelling motion picture, and offers the kind of "fresh" experience extended by the likes of Pi and The Sticky Fingers of Time.
One aspect of Donnie Darko's production that's definitely worth mentioning is the special effects. The movie was made on the kind of low budget typically associated with independent films, yet the visual effects are first-rate (one in particular looks like it was lifted out of James Cameron's The Abyss). With the price for this kind of CGI work in a steady decline, it is now becoming possible for all directors - not just those working with $50 million-plus budgets - to employ convincing, and occasionally eye-popping, special effects. Tools that were cutting edge a decade ago have now become commonplace. Donnie Darko proves that it's possible to do science fiction with visual effects in the independent film arena. This is just another area where the line between mainstream and indie movie-making has become increasingly blurred. Perhaps the only remaining difference is that smaller efforts like Donnie Darko use effects in service of an interesting story, while too many Hollywood productions think of the plot as a bothersome adjunct to their CGI eye candy.
© 2001 James Berardinelli
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