- Can a director simultaneously be both unoriginal and avant-garde? Richard Kelly comes close with Donnie Darko, a film that would be visually and thematically novel, were it not for the career of David Lynch. As it is, the film seems more like a rehashing of old ideas with enough directorial flair and acting talent that the experience is not a total loss. Deeply rooted in the Dukakis-era 1980's, the film opens with its eponymous character (Jake Gyllenhaal) waking up on a random street and biking home to the sound of INXS. It seems young Donnie suffers from some sort of unspecified ailment that may or may not be schizophrenia requiring him to take pills that may or may not be placebos. It's been a while since he's wanted to burn down any abandoned buildings, but maybe that 6-foot tall talking rabbit that only he sees will change his mind.
- About the rabbit, his name is Frank (James Duval) and he looks like a cross between Harvey and a bad acid trip. The first time Donnie sees Frank, the rabbit lures him outside to tell him precisely when the world will end. While he's out that night, a jet engine (sans jet) crashes through the roof of Donnie's home, sparing his family (Mary McDonnell, Holmes Osborne, Maggie Gyllenhaal, and Daveigh Chase), but obliterating Donnie's bedroom. In Donnie's mind, this counts as a reason to believe what Frank says. As their relationship evolves, Frank starts convincing Donnie to do bad things, like break his high school's water pipes or burn down the palatial home of a local motivational speaker named Jim Cunningham (Patrick Swayze). In the meantime, Donnie has to struggle through an average schoolday, which means hanging out with his new girlfriend Gretchen (Jena Malone), dodging the local bullies (Alex Greenwald and Seth Rogan), dealing with teachers, good (Drew Barrymore and Noah Wyle) and bad (Beth Grant) alike, and plenty of sexual confusion (just ask his counselor, played by Katharine Ross).
- But here's the thing: Donnie isn't crazy! Frank is real, and he's a time traveler in a bunny costume who somehow came back to tell Donnie about the end of the world. Actually, it's only the end of Donnie's world since he's going to be in that bedroom the next time the plane crashes. Incidentally, all of this has something to a treatise written on time travel by a mailbox-fixated woman referred to as "Grandma Death" (Patience Cleveland). The book mentions wormholes, so it's probably legit. Also, Frank isn't a real rabbit but a guy at a Halloween party who accidentally ran over Gretchen with his car. And the jet engine was from the plane carrying Mrs. Darko and daughter back from Samantha's dance performance in a troupe called "Sparkle Motion." But maybe none of this really happens now that Donnie dies? Dude, I love Tears for Fears!
- As is probably obvious, I found the film's messages to be a bit muddled. In the version of reality where Donnie lives, his mom, sister, and girlfriend all die, and Cunningham gets arrested as a child pornographer. Frank probably gets arrested for manslaughter, too--after all, he was wearing a full bunny costume while driving a car. In the version where Donnie dies...well, it's not obvious. Maybe his mom and sister still go on that plane trip, in which case we've got the same body count and a probable pedophile on the loose. Like I said, things don't quite work out. If you want a more thoughtful examination of the value of one's life or death, try A Christmas Carol, It's a Wonderful Life, or The Last Temptation of Christ. If you want a better expose of the seedy side of suburban 80's life, try Blue Velvet or Twin Peaks. If you want more interesting talking bunnies, go with Watership Down. The movie knows about all of these works, but it doesn't come close in quality to any of them. The result is memorable for its strong cast, 80's soundtrack, and a few well-directed scenes, but forgettable in most other respects.
- I had difficulty listing Drew Barrymore in the good teacher column since she made the entirely inappropriate suggestion for Gretchen to sit next to the boy she thought was cutest. But maybe it's all in Donnie's head! That's so meta.
- I watched the Director's Cut, for what it's worth.
- Maybe there's nobody in the theater because they tried to double bill Evil Dead and The Last Temptation of Christ?
