Greatly crafted film

Rating: 8/10 (18 October 2019)

In all, Donnie Darko is a story about an ordinary family in an extraordinary situation. From beginning to end, I was amazed by Donnie's different, yet rich and great personality, without it, the film would not have worked the way it did.
There are two storylines going on in the film, the ordinary life of the Darko family and the extraordinary one led by Donnie. The way the family interacts and lives with each other is a portrait of a rather positive outlook on society, as Donnie's parents and sisters are in most cases understanding and caring with him regardless of his mental illness. For Donnie, there is no pause on the extraordinary, for him the line between his ordinary and extraordinary life was always blurred. This led to him having visions and think about all that was happening at school, and other places were he should feel normal.
The film also does a great job at showing one of the not so good sides of society, in which the people at the top often dislike it when does underneath express their own views, have independent thought and even defy their "leaders". This is shown through the "manipulated living", to whom Donnie stands up to and defies, to the dismay of characters such as Jim Cunningham and Kitty Farmer.
One of the best things about Donnie Darko is the films' ability to shift the mood constantly from dark to lighter, even funny or vice versa. Donnie himself works as a great comedic relief, as he often makes funny jokes in the wrong moment that are simply great. The film can also be dark at times, such as when Gretchen Ross (Donnie's girlfriend) is run over and Donnie shoots the driver, Frank in the eye because of this. The ease to shift the mood really makes the film even better and more entertaining to watch.
The story itself and the idea behind it are just remarkable, the entire idea behind time-travel, the relations and bonds that grow between the characters and also the display of how hard a teenager's life can sometimes be. Time-travel is something that is seen quite a lot in film, and when overdone it gets boring and exhaustive. In this movies' case, it's completely different as it bring out a whole different view of what time-travel can actually be connecting it to the idea of people's fate and maybe even a power beyond us.
The ending of the film, in which Donnie doesn't leave his room before the plane's engine crashes into it is perfectly reasonable. Donnie had lived in the Tangent Universe (TU) a great 28 days, 6 hours, 42 minutes, and 12 seconds as the "living receiver" being guided by the "manipulated dead", Frank to save the Original Universe (OU), but things couldn't be the same in the OU when he came back, and he knew this. First off, he would have never met Gretchen and fell in love because he wouldn't have flooded the school and walked her home afterwards. Donnie and his friends come across an old crazy lady called Roberta Sparrow, whom has lived through a TU and saved it, but as a consequence she has been haunted by dreams and thus has become crazy. I think that Donnie believed this same thing would occur to him and didn't want to live a different life than that he had led in the TU. He had no reason to come out of bed, as in the start of the TU Frank called him out of bed because he had been chosen as the living receiver destined to save the OU. I believe he felt his purpose in life was completed and there was no use to continue.
All of the elements I previously mentioned are just what I think make Donnie Darko an amazing film, instead of a movie. This is so much more than a movie as it really makes you discuss and marvel at the genius behind it. It also shows real life situations, good or bad through a different lense that we are used to and this really makes you enjoy it. Donnie Darko had everything a great film needs and because of this I loved it.