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Topic~ BCT's Epic 169 Movie Watch-Through (mostly '00s): Topic 1 [THE LIST] ~
BlueCrystalTear
10/06/22 11:53:38 PM
#50:


Donnie Darko (2001)
Written and Directed by: Richard Kelly
Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Jena Malone, Drew Barrymore, Maggie Gyllenhaal
Previous status: Never seen

"Have you ever seen a portal?"

Well, since the last psychological thriller about a schizophrenic nut went so well, I thought I'd give this one a go, too. I mean, it's October. I should prioritize the movies with more horror vibes, and this one definitely cut it.

Thing is, I wasn't expecting something so low-budget, but hey, I'll judge it in that manner. It surprised me at first that a mega A-lister circa 2001 like Drew Barrymore would be in such a movie, but then I read she financed it, and thus she took on the role best suited for her: The English teacher who tells Gretchen to "sit next to the boy she finds the cutest." It was that - plus the jet engine and the Patrick Swayze infomercial-like documentary about fear - that made me start to doubt the events of this movie as reality. The jet engine made it clear that Donnie was just plane weird.

...sorry, I had to. My apologies. He IS weird, though, and the movie makes the most of it, telling some of the story through the psychotherapy sessions - things that they didn't have in the budget to show. Thankfully, these are dispersed throughout the movie, so there isn't one point that's so heavy on them that the story drags. I do wonder what these pills he was taking are - after all, this was October 1988, as was obvious even before the screen card due to Elizabeth's words: "I'm voting for Dukakis." With four words, you just established the very month of the setting, and also established that Elizabeth had just turned 18 y/o. Donnie was thus 16 y/o. But back to my point: I don't know what kind of mental health medications existed back then. I thought antidepressants weren't a big thing until the 90s. There's also how the Darkos' kitchen looked - it didn't look like any kitchen from that time period I've ever seen. More flowery wallpaper was necessary.

Gretchen was fascinating to me. She was drawn to Donnie's dark mystery - despite her stepdad being a total fucking psycho who had caused her and her mom to reinvent themselves. I don't see this as too dissimilar from Donnie; he too has serious mental health problems. But Gretchen showed that she was a keeper by asking a very dysregulated Donnie if he was okay, then told him to sit down. I need a woman like that. Someone who will recognize when hinges are coming loose and will screw them back in, no matter how long that takes. I thus liked Gretchen accordingly, and was devastated to see her killed off in the original timeline.

However, on the opposite end of the spectrum, we have the shitbag health teacher, Mrs. Farmer. Seriously, what a total Karen this woman is, and I hate her guts, especially how she's ableist trash who blames Donnie's mental illness on his parents. And she makes some connection between Graham Greene and Bonanza that makes no sense at all. Wrong Greene - we're talking about a writer, not an actor. The worst part, however, was how she showed up to ask Rose to accompany the young dancers (11 y/os shaking their butts? Uhhh..... no thanks) to Los Angeles for the tournament. Apparently defending a pedophile is a much more pressing need than her own daughter's dreams, and how dare Rose want to stay home to make sure her disturbed son doesn't do anything stupid. Rose isn't the one lacking commitment here, it's Mrs. Farmer.

The mystery of "Frank" was intriguing too - and then it turned out he's Elizabeth's boyfriend, and the rabbit costume was real. The wut? Did Donnie perhaps see that thing and that gave form to the voice in his head? It's also worth noting the juxtaposition between Sparkle Fever dancing to "Notorious" and Donnie torching the manor, especially given how his notoriety is increasing and that the jackass who lived there was a pedophile. The same guy who accused Donnie of being afflicted by fear, even though Donnie had the testicular fortitude to tell him he's a fraud to his face. Quite the contradiction. And if Mrs. Farmer likes him, that means he must suck too. I also lol'd at how Donnie found his wallet and weaponized it, much like he'd weaponized the flash card Mrs. Farmer gave him about the same concept by shoving it up her

As for the ending... the plane engine going back in time is weird, especially since we know Samantha survived. I'm surprised Donnie didn't "get up to use the bathroom" when he saw the date, but I think this meant he might not have wanted to live, especially not without the best thing that ever happened to him... who turned out to be alive at that time. I'm still trying to process all the plotlines here: Frank's prophecy must've been that Donnie dies by playing the Song of Time. The time reset must've meant the actual timeline had only Donnie die. There was a lot of full circle here (the plane, the location of the time skip, the thieves), even though this movie was a mess. I think the mess was deliberate, because Donnie was a mess himself. What a mind fuck that whole ending was. I loved it. And, since Tarantino influenced me here, I had thought something was out of order about the plot. The time travel was used as a plot device in a different way, but it was a good way. Really, only the last half hour was truly thrilling - everything before that was buildup.

While I wouldn't say this is as amazing as Black Swan, possibly because I watched that first (or its higher production value, or the hot women, or the using Swan Lake as an allegory more effectively than "The Destructors" is here, or that it's less of a slow burn), I definitely still enjoyed this one. There were a few things that were unclear, like why Drew Barrymore's character got fired just for doing her job, or how Donnie had the gun on him for so long, or the setting inconsistencies. But this is still a solid movie, one that I will revisit at some point. Not as soon as Black Swan, but soon enough. A 5/5 (though not a gold).

@Johnbobb I've moved your nomination back to Mulholland Drive. I'm also tagging you so you can read this!

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Come check out my movie watchthrough topic:
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/boards/8-gamefaqs-contests/80167031
... Copied to Clipboard!
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