So recently I watched this movie called Donnie Darko and I liked it. It’s one of those cult classic films that nobody really knows about aside from its small devoted fanbase. I probably would have never heard about it if I hadn’t seen a video that briefly mentioned it. (If you want to know it was a video of this guy sharing his opinion on what movies he thinks are overrated. I guess this means I like overrated movies and my edgy contrarian persona has been shattered.) The movie is about this high school guy who has an imaginary rabbit friend named Frank who tells him the world is going to end in twenty-eight days, six hours, forty-two minutes and twelve seconds. Which sounds odd at first but as I’ve stated before I think these strange wacky plots are really interesting, especially when executed well, and this movie does.
Another thing that I’ve stated before: movies that overexplain things really bother me. Just let me figure things out on my own, I don’t need to be spoon fed exposition. Donnie Darko goes in the opposite direction and doesn’t explain anything. Maybe it goes too far in that regard. When I watched the ending I just sat there thinking, “What just happened.” Out of context scenes awkwardly cut into each other and aren’t ever explained. This is the kind of movie that really needs to be watched more than once because not even a genius can piece all the clues together on the first viewing. Actually, I don’t think a genius could piece it together after even ten viewings because this film is the kind of movie that is really ambiguous, the kind of movie where you can spend hours thinking of theories and possible explanations, the kind of movie that people spend entire blog posts analyzing. I’ve heard that the director’s cut adds more scenes that give more information, but I’ve also heard that the director’s cut butchers the soundtrack and tampers with the dialogue, so I would just stick with the theatrical release if I were you.
This film came out in 2001 (I think) and with a title like Donnie Darko I was expecting some early 2000s emo stuff to come with it, but I was pleasantly surprised because there were only about two scenes that made me recoil. If someone said this movie came out in the 80s or 90s then I would have believed them because it has that sort of retro charm. Probably because it takes place in 1988.
The soundtrack is phenomenal. Rarely do I ever notice the soundtrack for movies other than a single song or two, but this movie really has songs that nail the tone of its world and sound great at the same time. In fact I think the only problem I have with it is that the ending (which is supposed to be really sad and emotional) plays this song that has become sort of a meme now so it’s hard to take seriously. (The song is called Mad World, it’s the one that goes All around me are familiar faces.) That’s not the movie’s fault but it still kind of sucks.
A few nitpicks: some of the scenes don’t seem to transition well into each other, Donnie’s actor seems a bit too old to make a believable high schooler, Donnie commits a bunch of crimes in the movie and is somehow able to get away with them, and lastly, the countdown to the end of the world isn’t utilized very much. It’d be cool to see Donnie slowly get more panicked as time runs out but throughout the entire movie he never seems to concerned with it and there’s no suspense at all. Although I’m not sure if this is a fair criticism since the drama isn’t really about whether or not Donnie will be able to save the world. It’s more about if he will even choose to do so.
So, do I think you should watch this film? My answer: no. I don’t think any of the people reading this would like it very much as it’s only for a specific type of person to enjoy (hence the cult classic status). Khoi, Bien, Y Vien, TQ and TL are probably too young to watch such a dark and gritty films and I don’t think they’d understand it anyway. TD I don’t think likes to think much when she watches things and Khang would probably hate it just because I like it. And none of the adults would care for it much. I’m not sure what sort of movies they’re into but it certainly isn’t this.
In conclusion, this is the best movie I’ve seen in a few years. It’s the sort of movie that sticks with you after you watch it. The sort of movie that, after the credits roll, you just sit there thinking about it for a long time. The meaning of the movie could be talked about for hours and even if you don’t care about messages and themes and stuff like that I still think enjoyment could be squeezed out of it. (Though if you’re not analyzing and theorizing after you watch you most likely weren’t that interested in the first place.)
And since TQ keeps begging for it I’ll state my thoughts on her blog. I think her opinion is WRONG and she is just a HATER.
In all seriousness I think I should start toning down the sarcasm because apparently nobody understands any of my jokes and people just actually think I’m an idiot. It wouldn’t be a joke anymore if I’m the only one laughing. So from here on out this blog will only be about SERIOUS and IMPORTANT topics.
TQ I am very sorry for calling your blog the big stinky and for calling you stupid. Your blog is not worse than Y Viens and I did not mean to offend you with my words. You have a very high intellect for a ten year old. However if you want an even higher intellect you should watch Donnie Darko because it is for intellectuals such as myself. You see what I did there? I put an entire movie review before the apology to make sure that you read it to see why you should watch Donnie Darko even if you won’t like it. Unless you just skimmed through the blog until you got to this point which I hope you didn’t do. If you skimmed through my blog please scroll back up and read why Donnie Darko is the greatest movie since Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel.
so guys, I hope dyou enjoyed my blog. Don’t bother responding because your opinion is wrong and you’re just a hater. sayonara!