Unique, Odd, Subtle, Bold...I Could Go On....

Rating: 10/10 (24 January 2011)

One night I was browsing threw channels, bored as hell, and I come across a peculiar movie on of all channels MTV. Jake Gyllenhaal is in an completely empty movie theater, beside him a snoozing Jena Malone, while only a seat away is a way is a man in a demonic bunny suit. I have hundreds of other choices. but I chose this film,which was half over and that I knew very little about. And yet I could not look away, and loathed every commercial between each segment. After that brief encounter I went to my local f.y.e. and bought the DVD, the director's cut to be exact. And ever since, this has been one of my all time favorite films.
the atmosphere set up by the ominous way it's shot is just heart wrenching. Every time I watch it I can not take my eyes away for even a second. Richard Kelly is just a f*cking genius. it mixes so many genres, among them sci-fi, thriller, horror, even a teen drama I suppose. It's all blended together so excellently, it feels like a genre all its own. Heightening and sharpening this is just great, ominous, dark and gripping cinematography that definitely gives off the feel of a horror, but it is laden with so many other aspects. the choice of setting, both in time and place, allows the soundtrack to fit in quite well. Let alone the great songs, the score by Michael Andrews is just haunting and embodies the film perfectly.
And the cast is so damn great! Everyone was so perfectly attuned to their character, and they all were were so enjoyable to watch. Whether it be Beth Grant as the conservative Kitty Farmer, or the other performance I enjoyed so much, that of Holmes Osborne as Mr. Darko. Patrick Swayze was awesome and funny, and Jena Malone played the very intriguing Gretchen Ross. The images of Frank are probably some of the most terrifying and memorable shots I can recount.Jake Gyllenhaal will forever be Donnie Darko to me. His performance is so similar to a phase we all go through in our lives, and undoubtedly some of us still struggle with it daily. Audiences will just feel so connected with these characters that they become real, which explains why many a fan read the book and probably believe this film is truly non-fiction. Despite the perplexing story I can almost see myself in his position.
There are so many ways to interpret this film I could write three reviews really. It is obviously many things wrapped in one. Some view Donnie as a symbolic Jesus, while some others a complex story of 'possibilities'. I view it primarily as Donnie Darko's journey to enlightenment in a world he fills isolated both physically and spiritually. Along his journey Frank is guiding him towards the ultimate crusade to save all of mankind in more ways than one, destroying the chains of conservative philosophy, seemingly religion and fate itself, which is displayed threw Drew Barrymore's character and others. I highly recommend this film to anyone who is willing to think deeply about what they are viewing, and those who want mediocre predictable trash will not find it here. I also recommend viewing the The Director's Cut, though regardless it will take repeated viewing s to fully grasp it all.
So, with all that said, I only have one question: Oh, please, tell me, how exactly does one suck a f*ck?" Good old Donnie Darko