"Donnie Darko: The Director's Cut"
DVD Review
by Chris Alexis
| MOVIE: **1/2 (out of 5 stars)
DVD EXPERIENCE: **** (out of 5 stars) STARRING Jake Gyllenhaal as DONNIE DARKO Jena Malone as GRETCHEN ROSS Drew Barrymore as KAREN POMEROY James Duval as FRANK Beth Grant as KITTY FARMER Maggie Gyllenhaal as ELIZABETH DARKO Mary McDonnell as ROSE DARKO Holmes Osbourne as EDDIE DARKO Katharine Ross as DR. LILIAN THURMAN Patrick Swayze as JIM CUNNINGHAM Noah Wyle as DR. KENNETH MONNITOFF Rated R Studio: Newmarket Films and 20th Century Fox Directed by: Richard Kelly Back to DVD Review Home |
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Many people have heard of this film, but few people have seen it. It’s something I had heard mentions of in such magazines as Entertainment Weekly and heard people at work mention it, and my curiosity was perked. Finally, I got a chance to catch the film on the Director’s Cut DVD and have to say, my mouth hung open at the end of the film. I just didn’t get it. I had no idea what I had just seen.
This film is about a teenager, Donnie Darko, who survives a freak accident as a jet engine falls into his bedroom from the sky. The only reason he survived is because he imagined a six foot tall demonic bunny by the name of Frank calling him out of his room before the engine falls. In his mind, Donnie is made to do various acts of destruction around town at the command of Frank.
It’s hard to say more about the film for two reasons. The first is that it’s so complicated it’s hard to put into a single paragraph, and secondly to even try to do so would give far too much of the film away.
The only reason I understand the film at all is because of the commentary on the DVD with Richard Kelly, the director, and Kevin Smith. Smith was in no way involved in the making of the film, but he works well for the conversations that they have and only then does the film make a lick of sense.
I don’t know if Richard Kelly made the film hard to understand on purpose or if it just came out that way. It makes it hard for the average movie-goer to really enjoy a film if they don’t know what the heck is going on. Although it had some neat and creepy imagery and was surprisingly star-studded for such a little film, it was hard to get through at times. Not only was it confusing, but it moved at the pace of drying paint. I can appreciate a slow moving film, building toward a satisfactory climax so long as the story draws me in. Even halfway through the movie, I still felt like I was at the door, waiting to be let into the story.
Although I did not enjoy watching the special features on this DVD, I have to give the filmmakers kudos for putting so much on there. The first special feature I watched was a “production diary” that has optional commentary by the Director of Photography. Although it’s just a feature, it looks very amateur in the way the camera is handled and the way it’s edited. It really reminds me of watching old home videos of old birthday parties from when I was little. Although the commentary certainly adds to it, without it, it’s very boring.
Another irritating feature, perhaps the most annoying of all of them was a feature called “They Made Me Do It Too” - The Cult of Donnie Darko. This is a completely pretentious segment. Made me outright angry almost after it went on for a while. Not only are the camera angles way too “artsy-fartsy” for my taste, but it interviews all these British people who believe that American audiences are too stupid to understand the film. Like I said, I didn’t get the film when I first watched it, but that doesn’t make me some kind of cinematic moron.
The storyboard-to-screen feature is something that is somewhat common on a DVD. It’s neat to see the storyboards above the scenes that play and how a vision in the head of an artist can translate to a full scene.
What really freaked me out was “#1 Fan: A Darkomentary.” I don’t know if this is a joke or not, but it is freaky! The title card at the beginning states that there was a contest to see who was the “number one” fan of the film. They apparently asked for submissions on the website for the film and this was one submission. It is of what looks to be a late high school or early college age man who is obsessed with the film far beyond a healthy point. His room is studded out in “Darko” memorabilia, from numerous copies of the initial DVD release to screen caps of the film, to a little “shrine” to Frank the Bunny. He even literally stalks one of the actors from the film, ambushing him from a corner, pushing a microphone in his face and asking weird questions. It gets really weird when the fan visits the San Diego Comic-Con. Again, it’s so weird, I don’t know if this is really some weirdo kid or if it’s a giant joke on the filmmakers. Clearly, they weren’t in on it as they all seem truly creeped out talking to this guy.
Overall, if you like to watch films that are really “deep” and that can stir conversations for interpretation, then this might be the film for you. If you like for your movies to at least movie some logical sense that you can get into, then you may struggle with this film. It’s got a lot of neat things going for it, and some parts I really enjoyed, but I’d suggest listening to the commentary if you really want to understand the film for what it’s supposed to be.
Specifications: Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound. Widescreen (2.35:1) - Enhanced for 16x9 televisions. Spanish subtitles. English subtitles for the hearing impaired.
