Lost Reviews #11

Donnie Darko
Richard Kelly

--With The Box soon to be released I expect that I'll revisit Donnie Darko. I'm curious as to what I'll think about it because despite the quality of writing in this review I consider it one of my more thought out and interesting reviews.--

Donnie Darko is described by many as a cult classic. It is difficult to completely understand which is what fascinates so many of its viewers. However, the first time I saw this recently after its release I was neither fascinated nor entertained. Richard Kelly’s final cut was not much better. I failed to notice any differences aside from the length but that was only because of the time it had been between seeing it for the first time.

I understand what is so liked about this movie. It keeps you guessing for most of the movie however it answers very few of the questions asked. To accept this film, you must accept the fact that time travel could have taken place, a boy could be psychotic enough to obey a rabbit and you also have to believe that several other freak occurrences are possible. Richard Kelly realizes that the magic of the movies makes all of these things possible and he puts them together however, that is where the film goes sour. It forces the viewer to accept too many things at once and by the end we receive no explanation.

If there is a strong point in the film it is the acting. Jake Gyllenhaal turns in his best performance as Donnie. He makes his psychotic character believable simply by his very dark mood. However, this is only one of the aspects we need to accept and it doesn’t bring us any closer to answers. The supporting cast of Maggie Gyllenhaal, Jena Malone and Mary McDonnell also hold their own as Donnie’s family and girlfriend.

This film is now hailed by critics and certain groups of viewers. This must be partly due to the fact that it is such a mystery. It is the same reason that any David Lynch movie is liked. However, like a David Lynch film, without getting any answers and at the same time, not being able to make any decisions about the film on my own, I’m unable to accept it as a good film. It is certainly an interesting film to study and one can question its intentions endlessly, however until the answers are revealed I will see it as an intriguing piece of artwork, rather than a cult classic.
11/29/04