Donnie Darko (2001)

Director:

Richard Kelly

Writer:

Richard Kelly (written by)

Release Date:

30 January 2002 (France)

Genre:

Drama | Mystery | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

Life is one long insane trip. Some people just have better directions.

Plot:

A troubled teenager is plagued by visions of a large bunny rabbit that manipulates him to commit a series of crimes, after narrowly escaping a bizarre accident.

Plot Keywords:

Rabbit | Teacher | Vision | Insanity | Death

Awards:

11 wins & 10 nominations

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Jake Gyllenhaal	...	Donnie Darko
Holmes Osborne	...	Eddie Darko
Maggie Gyllenhaal	...	Elizabeth Darko
Daveigh Chase	...	Samantha Darko
Mary McDonnell	...	Rose Darko
James Duval	...	Frank
Arthur Taxier	...	Dr. Fisher
Patrick Swayze	...	Jim Cunningham
Mark Hoffman	...	Police Officer
David St. James	...	Bob Garland
Tom Tangen	...	Man in Red Jogging Suit
Jazzie Mahannah	...	Joanie James
Jolene Purdy	...	Cherita Chen
Stuart Stone	...	Ronald Fisher
Gary Lundy	...	Sean Smith

Also Known As:

"Donnie Darko: The Director's Cut" - USA (director's cut)

MPAA:

Rated R for language, some drug use and violence.; Rated R for language, some underage drug and alcohol use, and violence. (director's cut)

Runtime:

113 min | 133 min (director's cut)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Portugal:M/12 (director's cut) | Iceland:16 | Spain:13 | Hungary:16 | Brazil:14 | New Zealand:M (director's cut) | Sweden:11 (TV rating) | Sweden:15 | Australia:M | Canada:14A | Canada:G (Quebec) | Czech Republic:15 | Finland:K-15 | France:U | Germany:16 | Hong Kong:IIB | Ireland:15 | Italy:T | Japan:PG-12 | Netherlands:12 | New Zealand:R16 | Norway:15 | Portugal:M/16 | Singapore:NC-16 | South Korea:15 | UK:15 | USA:R | Canada:A (Ontario)

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Pandora Cinema

Trivia:

There are many comic book references that show up through the film. Gretchen comments on Donnie's name as sounding like a superhero, to which he replies "What makes you think I'm not?" Many characters have alliterative names (Donnie Darko, Cherita Chen, Frankie Feedler, Daye Dennis, Joanie James, Sean Smith, Donnie Dickson) like many comic book heroes (Peter Parker, Bruce Banner, Susan Storm etc.). Also, it is believed that Donnie is a superhero, as he has powers and he uses them to save others.

Goofs:

Incorrectly regarded as goofs: The unmarried Jim Cunningham wears a wedding band throughout the film. According to Richard Kelly, this is an element of his untrustworthy and mysterious nature.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Elizabeth:I'm voting for Dukakis.

Movie Connections:

Features Watership Down (1978)

Soundtrack:

Stay

the dreams in which I'm dying are the best I've ever had

"Harvey" meets "The Mothman Prophecies," as a troubled teen starts hallucinating a horrific 6-foot-tall bunny rabbit that brings him dark forebodings about death and disaster in the very near future. A streak of "Heathers" is mixed in as well, with trenchant satirical observations of high-school life in the late '80s (story set in Oct. 1988), involving a priggish teacher, a self-help guru (Patrick Swayze!), and a put-upon fat girl at the fringes of the herd. Finally, a whiff of "Back to the Future," in the form of a local eccentric who just may have discovered the secret of time travel, but a secret that has more to do with spirituality than technology.

A lot goes on here. There's a meditation on the possible overlap between madness and the ability to perceive the divine. There's a demonstration of why, in the Bible, angelic messengers (if that's what "Frank" can be taken to be) are often so terrifying that they have to start by saying "Fear not." There's an enlistment of what martial artists refer to as the "ki" (or personal energy, emanating from a person's midsection) in the type of time travel depicted here (the term "ki" is never used in the flick, but the term "path," another word for Tao or "Way," is). Quantum physics theory about wormholes is tied to the Fortean phenomenon of things falling unexplained from the sky, in a way that's more pivotal, and therefore more interesting, than the gratuitous rain of frogs in "Magnolia."

Time travel paradoxes and ironies enter the picture as well. One character (no spoiler!), whose life is saved by Donnie's ultimate trip back in time, wouldn't have died in the first place if he hadn't dragged her along to the opening of the wormhole. Another character (again, no spoiler!), whose truly terrible secret comes to light in the wake of an arson investigation, must go unexposed as a result of that same time reversal, since the arson now won't happen. Surely that's no oversight on the part of the screenwriter; it must be an acknowledgment of the choices and trade-offs in life, as well as of a confidence that no such terrible secret can remain hidden forever.

Somehow this pastiche works, largely on the strength of good performances. Jake Gyllenhaal is appropriately moody and, also appropriately, not always likeable in the title role. Drew Barrymore, who executive produced, appears as a frustrated first-year teacher. The movie's often dreamlike atmosphere is enhanced by the cinematography, the subdued but effective special effects, and the choice of the music on the soundtrack, which includes '80's pop tunes, of course, and a haunting original song (over the end credits) titled "Mad World."

Not for all tastes, but better, stranger, and more complex than I expected.