By: Michael Yagi
Review of 'Donnie Darko'
Genre: Science Fiction Horror Thriller Drama, etc.
Director: Richard Kelly
Year: 2001
As I was viewing this movie, I realized that you'd have to keep a very
open mind to actually enjoy it. Director Richard Kelly attempts to
fuse many different genres together but just barely manages to keep
your attention on the main element of the story. You'd need a second
look to understand the multi-faceted aspects of this movie. In terms
of its entertainment value, I'd say it's a reasonable shot at making
an intriguing science fiction movie. But it's nothing spectacular and a
little over hyped.
The movie is set in 1988 and Donnie Darko is the main character,
playing a teen in angst. A near fatal freak accident, involving a jet
engine cra****ng into his room, changes his psyche and he suffers
hallucinations of a giant demonic looking bunny prophesizing words of
doom. During the course of the movie, he becomes interested on
theories of time travel and in turn starts pondering the notion of
fate. Do the words of the evil bunny coincide with the space and time
theories of Steven Hawking? Through all this, he tries to live his
life as full as he can, perhaps knowing in the back of his mind that
he doesn't have much time before the end of the world comes. All the
events after the accident lead up to this 'apocalypse'. Although, not
a shocking ending, it makes sense in its own weird way.
One of the things I noticed about this movie is that it tries to cover
a load of genres and a range of issues connected to the late 80's.
The strange thing is that it's not at all confusing, but it sidetracks
so far from the main story sometimes you wonder where it's getting at.
The cut scenes can be very abrupt and the script a little messy. But a
second viewing could help you see through all the issues related to
the storytelling. Jake Gyllenhaal does such an excellent job playing
the moody dark character. His psychotic episodes are played out well
and not at all overacted. I must say that this is a great debut
feature for Richard Kelly, his second film One Hour Photo is more
streamlined direction and is very creepy indeed. Overall, the movie
doesn't sparkle, but it's thoughtfully written and the direction seems
solid.
6.4/8- Unique story but gets off track. The movie has subjects that
cover a wide array of themes, but it's nothing spectacular.
(c) 2004 Eight Trees CineMANIA
http://www3.sympatico.ca/myagi/index.htm
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X-Language: en
X-RT-ReviewID: 1285877
X-RT-TitleID: 1110922
X-RT-AuthorID: 10641
X-RT-RatingText: 6.4/8
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