Perfect, Compelling, and Out of This World

Rating: 10/10 (23 April 2008)

Donnie Darko. I think of every movie I have ever watched, this one has stuck the most, and has certainly stayed in my mind for the longest. I am almost ashamed to admit that I spent the better part of three days watching this film. Eight times in three days.
When I first saw Donnie Darko, I was a little confused. Was it a teen drama? A black comedy? Sci-fi? Or just a trippy indie flick? The answer is really what Darko is about. It's perception. It's every aspect and genre of this movie that makes it so perfect.
The performances, to begin with, are pretty much fantastic. Jake Gyllenhaal proved that he wasn't just a pretty face by portraying the best interpretation of a NORMAL teenage boy I've ever seen, even disregarding the extra issues Donnie had to deal with. He has a love/hate relationship with his bratty sister (spot-on performance by Maggie Gyllenhaal), an up and down, constantly developing love for his mother and father, a need for acceptance and understanding, love, sex, knowledge, and normalcy. He's incredibly creepy and sometimes even mean while remaining likable, relatable and making the audience feel for him, but never come too close to pity.
Mary McDonnell delivers and amazing part as Donnie's mother, who's careful involvement in Donnie's life seems believable and makes us all wish we had a mother like that as a teenager. The always wonderful Jena Malone makes us wonder why she stays with Donnie yet completely understand why she understands him. Holmes Osbourne, Patrick Swayze, Noah Wyle, Katharine Ross and Beth Grant are among the many underrated actors involved in Darko.
The only performance that was not spot-on was Drew Barrymore as Dr. Pomeroy, the smart, bold English teacher. She seemed to be trying, but the truth is she didn't quite make it.
The combination of music and stylism contribute to the atmosphere of the film. It stays true to it's name with the ever contrasting color schemes. In the bright classrooms of Donnie's catholic schools, there are kids and teachers in colorful eighties clothes, but the mood quickly changes as Donnie is sent into Frank's world. The lighting dims, Donnie's "other" side emerges, and the entire mood of the film changes effortlessly.
The pop tunes are unexpected and still manage to fit perfectly, and the ending selection of Gary Jules' cover of the Tears for Fears song, Mad World, is haunting in the truest definition of the world.
There is no question that Richard Kelly put his head and heart into writing Donnie Darko, and although it can become discouraging when, especially after watching the Director's Cut, Kelly believes the ambiguous, mysterious POINT of Darko is meant to be a strictly sci-fi view, we can all continue to watch the film and imagine the many different interpretations.
Donnie Darko is the most connective film of the 20th century, perhaps long before that, and probably long after. The fact that it's sometimes difficult to put together the pieces just proves that Donnie is the embodiment of every average teenager: the world isn't always easy to understand. Life isn't always in black and white. And at times, it can seem very, very dark.