Drifting on the Darkside...

Rating: 10/10 (3 June 2002)

For me, "Donnie Darko" certainly was an otherworldly film experience. This movie has everything: comedy, tragedy, and time travel. Yes, you heard me correctly. I said time travel. I waited for months to see this movie and when I finally saw it, I was blown away.
Jake Gyllenhaal plays the film's title character, Donnie Darko. When we first meet Donnie, it's obvious that he is a very disturbed individual. He's a borderline schizophrenic and has an imaginary friend named Frank, who just so happens to be a giant monster rabbit. When Donnie is nearly crushed to death by a falling jet engine, his "friend" Frank tells him, that this is a sign of an impending apocalypse. Frank then informs Donnie that the end of the world will occur in twenty-eight days and during that time; he must commit several acts of violence. This means vandalizing the school, defacing private property, and burning down the house of a local self-help guru.
This is a remarkable piece of artwork right here. So many elements of science fiction that were thought to have died in the eighties are brilliantly brought back to life here. Jake Gyllenhaal, who has done some pretty amazing things in his past, is excellent as the disturbed Donnie Darko. First time director, Richard Kelly, makes a very impressive debut here as well. I really think that it is best to view "Donnie Darko" with an open mind and it's best to be prepared for anything this movie is going to throw at you. Once you begin watching this film, you may not be able to take your eyes off it.
"Donnie Darko" succeeds largely because instead of suckering the viewer into thinking that this will be just another freaky science fiction flick, it instead pulls you into its own dark world. This explains the title of my review "DRIFTING ON THE DARKSIDE" because when you watch this movie, you may start to slowly DRIFT into the DARKSIDE of your personality. Donnie Darko himself has a Darkside that is clearly present in every facial expression. His Darkside is his schizophrenic personality, which we see when he talks to Frank and goes on his "missions".
When I saw this film for the second time, I kind of felt a strange euphoric feeling coming over me. No, I was not under the influence of any drugs when I watched this. It's really weird though. I don't normally get any kind of feelings when I watch movies, well maybe a few, but this one was the exception. It may have been because of all the topics being discussed in this film. All the stuff about time travel and the destinies that God sets for people are a lot for the mind to take in one blow. I mean if you really try to think about this movie, I mean really think about it; you are going to be in for a total mind trip.
I really like the concept of time travel that this film presents us with. One of the concepts shown in the movie is the wormhole. These "wormholes" as they're called, will open up right in front of a person without them even knowing it. When we first see these wormholes, it is almost as if they are leading that person to a destination. It seems to me that with the way the wormholes are formed on people that their destinations may never be reached.
However, it does seem that if the wormholes do come to an end somewhere, that time will be when that person dies.
Then there is the mystery surrounding the origin of Donnie's "friend" Frank, the giant monster rabbit. ***SPOILER*** Although we quickly learn that Frank is imaginary, soon elements in the story begin to arise about the possibility that he may very much be real. This becomes most evident to us when Donnie is speaking to Frank in the movie theater (they're watching "The Evil Dead"). Donnie then asks Frank to take off his stupid mask. Frank then tells Donnie to take off his stupid "man" costume. It is now that we see what Frank looks like without the mask. What we see is not pleasant.
The ending to "Donnie Darko" may prove to be one of the most confusing and enigmatic conclusions to a film I've ever seen. I've seen this movie four times and I still don't fully understand the ending, but I'm starting to. All I know is, that you would have to really have paid attention to all the stuff about time travel to fully understand what happens in the end.