As a first time director you couldn�t hope to make a better finished product. Richard Kelly, not long out of film school here recruits superb talent and a wonderfully genre-morphing screenplay and comes out laughing all the way to the Oscars (if there�s any justice).
The story is based around troubled high-schooler Darko, a confused schizoid fantasist who becomes haunted by the figure of a demonic rabbit, Frank, who urges him to perform various rebellious acts like flooding his school and setting fire to the home of local self-help guru and secret kiddy-porn enthusiast Jim Cunningham (a great turn from the forgotten Patrick Swayze). When Frank�s instructions save Donnie�s life however, and the lines between fantasy and reality become almost invisible, catalysed by his hypnotherapy sessions, he becomes convinced that the end of the world is upon him.
Dark, funny, moving, and most certainly cryptic, Donnie Darko is a wonderfully crafted movie, like Back to the Future directed by David Lynch, right down to the contrast between the quiet suburban 1980s backdrop and the dark, twisted mental states of its inhabitants. Many reviewers have called it a �future cult classic�, most likely because possible meanings could be debated even after repeated viewings.
It also boasts a perfectly chosen soundtrack (Joy Division, Tears for Fears etc). In the title role, newcomer Jake Gyllenhaal puts in an immaculate performance suggesting a bright talent for the future, only Drew Barrymore�s slightly wooden turn as a high-school English tutor can be faulted. See it, then see it again. Superb. |
