Cyrix’s Codex

Before last week’s “Top 10 Films Australian Love” by ABC, whenever I hear the name ‘Donnie Darko’, I inadvertedly think it was some sorta horror movie. Obviously, you can’t really blame me, with a title like that, and coupled with its film cover, showing some kind of freakish insect/rabbit creature.

However, all that changed last week. Donnie Darko came in at No. 4 in that poll, and it after that countdown/movie review program that I realised it was actually more of a sci-fi/psychological thriller/symbol-riddled mindf**k, than a horror flick. Designed to totally confused everyone except for the ultra-movie geeks, who obsessively watch it again and again while scribbling down notes in the process. *God bless them….* A bit like the movies Memento and Mulholland Drive.

Sypnosis: “Pay close attention. You could miss something” - movie line.

Donnie Darko is a bright, but very troubled high school student. He’s on medication for some sort of minor psychological problem. He has nice, caring parents, and an older sister. He also constantly sleepwalks at night. One night, while sleepwalking, he meets Frank, a 6-foot demonic rabbit (the freakish thing I saw on the movie cover). This bunny then tells him that the world will end in 28 days. 6 hours, 42 minutes and 12 seconds. When he wakes up on a golf course the next morning, he found out that an airplane turbine has crashed into his bedroom the other night. From then onwards, the movie tells us about Donnie’s interactions with the other fascinating characters in the movie, including a cute new girl, his English school teacher, a mad old scary-looking lady, a shady motivational speaker, his psychiatrist….. and of course, Frank. It soon becomes apparent that Frank is increasingly appearing in Donnie’s life more and more frequently (hallucinations? imaginations?), telling him to do certain bizzare things, such as burning a house down, or bursting his school’s water pipes. The reason for Donnie’s weird actions, and whether the world finally did end after 28 days, is revealed at the end of the movie.

What I thought: This movie just BLEW ME AWAY!!! Seriously. I’ve been moved by movies which potrayed heroism: Scheindler’s List, Gladiator, or uplifting ones: Shawshank Redemption before, but this was the first time that I’ve been been so affected by a melancholic movie. Make no mistake, Donnie Darko is a sad movie. You’ll instantly know why after you’ve seen the movie. The story is a strange, but very effective mixture of weirdness, mystery, hallucinogenic visions, sorrow and teen life experiences. But it’s absolutely NOTHING like any of those other ordinary teen flicks. This is HEAVY stuff. The way it’s shot is nothing short of brillant, conveying perfectly the hallucinogenic, drug-pumped kinda feel of the movie. Slow-motion shots of girls dancing, people walking, coupled with some very bright backgrounds behind characters. And the music is simply divine! Perfectly complements the melancholic mood and style of the film! Check out:

1. Gary Jules - Mad World (the most depressing and sad song I’ve heard so far… perfect…)
2. Tears for Fears - Head over Heals (my favourite song atm, obsessed with it’s 80’s upbeat piano rythmn and vocals!)

Jake Gyllenhaal is also simply terrific as Donnie. His nails his character perfectly as the weird, mysterious, but rebellious (and therefore, kinda cool) kid in class.

I don’t know how to exactly explain this, but Donnie Darko is one of those films which affects you quite profoundly. It will make you feel afraid of the possibility of dying alone (a theme in the film), and make instantly want to just tell your family and friends that you love them (*yuck!* )

And it’s also a veeeerrrryyyy confusing movie. Chances are that your first viewing of it will leave you very sad and a bit depressed, but having no idea what it was all about! However, thanks to the aforementioned movie-geeks, you can now easily check their sites to understand the whole movie. Its a movie-geek’s dream flick. Think The Matrix’s hidden symbolisms and dialogues with hidden meanings. There’s basically 2 major theories to explain the movie, the first saying that it has to do with parallel universes and time-travel, while the other states that its actually a parable of the story of Jesus Christ. It’s one of those movies where it’s ambiguous enough to allow for plenty of alternative theories to explain it. You take your pick

Overall, one of the last movies that I’d predict that would affect me so profoundly. But it did. And I’m glad that I saw it. It’s now one of my all time favourite movie. In a weird sorta way ABSOLUTELY MELANCHOLIC, BUT TERRIFIC.

Verdict: