Donnie Darko film review

Donnie Darko film review

Considered a cult classic by many, misunderstood by others, there’s no arguing that Donnie Darko (2001) is one hell of a film. Is it a horror film? Is it a psychological thriller? Critics have been trying to label this film ever since its release but it is difficult. The film does deal with some quite horrific ideals but it’s not scary in the sense of jump scares and popcorn flying out of buckets. With its irresistible misery and twisted plotline, it’s a film that can be rewatched over and over again whilst still finding more things to love and understand. The casting choices are great, with Jake Gyllenhaal taking the title role as a schizophrenic teenager who is told by a grotesque-looking rabbit (called Frank, naturally) that the world is going to end in 28 days. As the film progresses, you can see Donnie gradually becoming more disturbed and him trying to understand the meaning behind his troubling visions. Not for the faint hearted, his journey ends up becoming a chilling experience for both Donnie and the audience.

Richard Kelly (director) expertly uses the artificial exploitation of the American-dream lifestyle to emphasize Donnie’s inner turmoil: houses with white picket fences and carefully mown lawns contrast perfectly with Donnie’s unnerving hallucinations and a darker, more twisted side to time travel. There is a kind of beauty in nothing making sense at first glance, but by the end of the film, it all clicks into place. In particular, some of the more distressing scenes are filmed in such a way that the audience feels like they’re hallucinating and this adds to the dissociation and oppressive intensity of the film. It would also be fitting to mention the incredible choice of music to accompany the film. In fact, I would argue that in many of the scenes in the film, it’s the chilling music that makes the atmosphere so downright creepy.

What’s so enthralling about this film is the way it manages to combine so many different topics whilst still having a distinct purpose. Kelly manages to combine romance, reality, the future, time travel, mental illness and horror into nearly every scene which is important and necessary for the conclusion of the film to be understood. This perhaps explains why it has so much of a cult following and why it continues to maintain such a respected cinematic status. Despite its somewhat puzzling ending, this doesn’t take away from the rest of the film; it instead adds to it and makes you want to watch the whole thing again: the definition of a brilliant film. You are left with so many questions that all you can do is sit in silence as ‘Mad World’ plays in the finishing sequence and press replay. Overall it’s a film that will stay with you long after the final credits roll. Donnie Darko has a concept and plot surrounding it that is so unique I doubt you will ever see anything like it again.