When it came out
in 2001 after almost going straight-to-video, Richard Kelly’s Donnie Darko earned the distinction of
becoming one of the 21st century’s first cult films. This was back
in an era when cult status had to be earned through word of mouth, late night
viewing on cable, as well as VHS rentals just as the DVD market was killing it.
Kelly’s certainly has all of the ingredients required for underground
discovery: a bizarre plot involving time travel, striking imagery, a soundtrack
filled with hits of the era, a first time director and an eclectic cast.
Looking back on
the movie’s plot now one might think it’s the result of a fever dream. I know I
watched this thing sometime in the mid-2000s, probably when it was playing on
TV one night, and that it involved a jet engine falling from the sky and not
smushing Jake Gyllenhaal to smithereens because a freaky-looking rabbit got him
out of bed at the right time. I also remember that what bothered me the most
was not the rabbit, but that there seems to be a plot hole with the reason the
rabbit existed in the first place. However the movie clearly made an impression
since I don’t think I have watched it since and yet all these details still
feel pretty fresh.
For some reason Richard
Kelly decided to set his story in the 1980s, which still works today given pop
culture’s current fascination with that particular decade. One evening teenager
Donald “Donnie” Darko wakes up because of a voice that gets him out of bed and
leads him face to face with the aforementioned rabbit. As if the rabbit’s creepy
face was not enough, the rodent tells Donnie the world will end in 28 days. The
following day Donnie wakes up on a golf course and walks back home only to find
that a jet engine has crashed smack into his bedroom.
Then it gets
weird. As Donnie tries to find out what has happened, what is happening, and
what will be happening in 28 days, an interesting cast of characters make an
impression on his life. Some are very helpful, such as a science teacher (Noah
Wyle) who shares theories about time travel. As a basis for comparison Donnie
references Back to the Future, which
he found to be very futuristic. That’s an especially dated opinion nowadays
since we have gone past the date when Marty McFly does go to the future.
The cast also
includes Drew Barrymore as a supportive English teacher, Patrick Swayze as a
motivational speaker, and Maggie Gyllenhall as Donnie’s on-screen sister, which
fits perfectly since she is his real-life sister. As the doomsday date
approaches Donnie uncovers truths about these people, some good and some very
dark. Meanwhile that rascaly rabbit is still haunting Donnie and sometimes
giving him suggestions as to how to deal with the characters he encounters.
What does this
all mean, and what is Kelly trying to say? I honestly still don’t know. Just
like with Back to the Future I
sometimes go over the intricacies of the time travel element and find myself
stuck in a time paradox. I mean, if the rabbit is getting Donnie out of bed to
warn him the world will end in 28 days, and 28 days later Donnie realizes he
should never have left the bed in the first place, doesn’t that the rabbit
caused…oh never mind. It seems I’m stuck again.
Fortunately, just
because the plot of Donnie Darko is a
tangled web it doesn’t mean it’s a bad movie. Gyllenhaal for one is great as
Donnie, believable as a teenager living in the American suburbs while dealing
with a situation (almost) scarier than high school. I also enjoyed how, like
some great David Lynch movies, this is one of those stories that shows the
darkness hidden beneath those seemingly pristine suburban neighbourhoods. The
revelations about Patrick Swayze’s character and how some characters react to
it, is especially poignant.
Interestingly,
Richard Kelly has only directed two movies in the almost two decades since Donnie Darko. First there was Southland Tales (2006), unseen by me but
I heard the apocalypse is again a plot point. Then there was The Box (2009), which I did see and
found intriguing but a bit too dour in the end. The man certainly has
imagination and I look forward to seeing whatever he cooks up next. I
just hope he does it soon. Sometimes when you look at the world it feels as
though that rabbit is talking to all of us and that the 28 days are almost up.
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