Everyone, at some point, has had a dream that they are certain is real. Recently re-popularized by The Matrix, the real world versus dream world discussion was old even when John Keats asked, “Was it a vision, or a waking dream … do I wake or sleep?” Written and directed by Richard Kelly, the movie Donnie Darko offers a highly original and challenging take on this age-old question. As a sleepwalker directed to action by a giant bunny with a demonic face, Donnie lives a life that seems to transcend the boundaries of possibility. Kelly succeeds in creating a highly complex story that is simultaneously peculiar and logical, and a likely cult classic.
With a limited theatrical release in October 2001 and a recent rerelease as Visions Cinema’s midnight movie, Donnie Darko has resounded after Sept. 11. In a film where a falling airplane destroys a home, a self-help guru declares, “All over America people have come together to join hands, people who believe that human life is absolutely too important … to be controlled by fear.” These references aside, the film is a disturbing and challenging look at the teenage psyche.
The title character, a schoolboy brilliantly played by Jake Gyllenhaal (Bubble Boy, October Sky) is a teen dealing not only with hormones and competitive siblings, but schizophrenia to boot. Unlike his sisters who go on Star Search (Daveigh Chase) and are accepted to Harvard (Maggie Gyllenhaal, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind), Donnie sees a psychiatrist regularly and won’t take his medication.
The movie begins with Donnie waking on a random mountain road. The setting, to be revisited at the end of the movie, is serene, and Donnie looks awake, if slightly disoriented. Sitting up in bed with a strange smile, he takes a walk to the local golf course. Here, he meets Frank, a demonic bunny, who tells Donnie that the world will end in 28 days. Donnie wakes up on the green the next morning, returns home and discovers his sleepwalking has saved his life—a jet engine mysteriously fell into his room, and not even the FAA can figure out what happened to the rest of the plane.
Donnie discusses the loneliness of man and the questionable existence of God with his shrink, finds love in newcomer Gretchen (Jena Malone), and learns about time travel from his physics professor, a mild Noah Wyle . As Donnie overcomes his loneliness, his ideas of God and fate merge into a hope for time travel. Donnie feels that if God exists, the future is predetermined, and with the proper equipment, can be entered.
The plot proceeds to throw the viewer into a complex world of bunny-induced destruction and dialogues on Smurfs’ sexuality, with the tone swaying from horrific to hilarious. The movie as a whole is hard to categorize as simply science-fiction or drama. What makes Donnie Darko great is its ability to encompass what Donnie himself calls “the whole spectrum of human emotion.” While the plot may overload the viewer with twists and turns, Jake Gyllenhaal’s ability to follow the sudden emotional swings inherent in Donnie’s complex of neuroses saves the viewer from becoming entirely lost.
In addition to a strong cast, the soundtrack is striking. Relying on music from the film’s time period (the ‘80s), it perfectly compliments the style without overpowering it. The final minutes are mind-bogglingly inexplicable yet conclusive, and the music is haunting. As the events of Donnie Darko come full circle, eerie lyrics float invisibly over a montage of scenes: “The dreams in which I’m dying are the best I’ve ever had.”
Although set in 1988, Donnie Darko is a timeless examination of reality and imagination. Without the neon and spandex, poofy hair and acid-washed denim typical of movies from this period, the film delves into a psychology that mirrors the consciousness of the period. Bizarre yet universal, Donnie Darko can be guaranteed a long run at Visions, at least until it brings back The Rocky Horror Picture Show.
Donnie Darko is showing Friday and Saturday Nights at midnight. Visions Cinema is located at 1927 Florida Ave., N.W.
