Rating of
4/4
Mind. Blown.
memento_mori - wrote on 08/20/13
Possible Spoilers
You know when a movie comes along that makes your jaw drop in the ending because you finally understand what you've been struggling to understand the whole movie?
Yeah, Donnie Darko is one of those movies.
Richard Kelly should make films more often. I know his last effort 'The Box' was not a large success, but I think he is an amazing screenwriter and director.
I loved everything about Donnie Darko. Its immature humor, its time travel, its characters, its cinematography, its acting, everything.
There's not a single loose end in this film, I simply watched everything fall into place exactly as I wanted it to. And it makes sense! The laws of physics and time travel can be confusing in other films, but here it's clear.
I really wish this film had been nominated for Best Editing and Cinematography at the Oscars that year, because the camera angles, framework and use of slow motion were spectacular. Especially the scenes between Frank and Donnie were so well edited and cut.
The acting by Jake Gyllenhaal is so expressionistic and heavy. He placed himself into my mind and I wanted to know what was going on in his.
The dialogue is written almost specifically for each character, because every line uttered by every person seems like it would come from that particular person. I just adored the scenes where Donnie went on ten second rants to teachers about fear and love.
But the best thing by far would have to be the spectacular ending. I got exactly what I wanted, and that's a rare thing, because I'm a very picky viewer. The sacrifice made and expressions of the characters after are just heartbreaking and mind-blowing.
It gives me goosebumps when I think about how well-made this film is. It had me hooked from the first minute and blew my mind by the end. This is a great science fiction mystery film, and one of the few cult films I absolutely love.
