Confusingly Brilliant

Rating: 10/10 (22 October 2018)

Donnie Darko is a very thought provoking movie. It starts off just odd with your typical socially awkward teenager and a family that seems very stereotypical and standard for any Hollywood movie. It isn't until Donnies first "dream" with Frank that the movie takes a very serious turn from your typical Hollywood cinema. These "dreams" that Donnie experiences are very eerie and put the audience in a sense of unease and unknowing as to what is going on. I wont go into a lot of detail to avoid spoilers but this is very much purposeful for later in the movie. The idea of having this "imaginary friend" from a teenager helps explain that while adults an try and find ways to help, they will never truly know what is going on in a teenagers head.
This is a theme throughout the entire film. The mind of a teenager cannot fully be understood unless you're in their shoes and experiencing everything they are. This and the theory of time travel that gets brought up throughout the film add to even more confusion. While the directors cut helps explain all this confusion, the theatrical cut really makes the audience think more. Trying to understand the teenage mind is tough enough to understand, but adding a more complex topic as well makes for a very confusing movie but is very effective at making the audience think. This movie combines these elements expertly in a way that is absolutely confusing but once you take the time to think about what you are seeing, it all starts to slowly make sense. Donnie Darko is definitely a movie that needs to be seen more than once in order to understand all the elements at play.