Mind-numbingly bizarre

Rating: 7/10 (22 October 2018)

Have you ever been so confused by a movie you walk out of it still not really knowing what happened? For me, that is how I feel about the 2001 film Donnie Darko. At first I tried to solve the puzzles the filmmakers presented to us, but once the concept of time travel was introduced I knew I was never going to solve anything. Time travel is one of those things were if I think too hard about it I'll eventually go down the rabbit hole of no return. Now, I won't spoil the film as I feel you need to experience it in all of its mind-numbingly bizarre glory.
The film has many different genres in play from science fiction to action to drama, but the most unique thing is that director Richard Kelly fits in a coming of age story along with everything else that is going on. The fact that this part of the movie works so well is in thanks to Jake Gyllenhaal's performance as Donnie. He is genuinely creepy with his twisted smile, but the most impressive aspect is that he grounds the film in reality through his performance. Donnie experiences common human emotions like the fear of being alone and Gyllenhaal is so vulnerable in those moments that the audience cannot help but relate to him. The scene where he completely breaks down in his therapist's arms when he is talking about his loneliness is genuinely heartbreaking.
The lighting works to set the mood of the film. The narrative is really mysterious and the lighting (or lack of lighting) reflects that. In particular, the scenes with Donnie and Frank are always in darkness to reflect the dark nature of Frank and how Donnie is stepping into it through Frank. This also adds to the question if Frank is only a hallucination since the audience always sees him in shadow. The lack of answers is frustrating, but if the goal of Richard Kelly was to thoroughly blow his audience's minds then it was a success.