Movie Review of Donnie Darko

979 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Cinematography eassay

Donnie Darko: A Review

What comes to mind when you think of a modern adolescent coming of age movie? Is it alienation, rebellion, probably first love? In Donnie Darko (2001), writer/director Richard Kelly employs all of these familiar themes; then he adds humor, witty satire, time travel, apocalyptic prophecy, and a bi-pedal, six foot tall nightmare of a rabbit, who instructs the young and confused Donnie Darko (Jake Gyllenhaal) through haunting visions and an eerie voice that runs through Donnie‘s head. Ok, so maybe this sounds like a plotline lifted straight from the WB's primetime lineup (minus the wit), but Kelly uses these seemingly absurd, unrelated elements to create an amazingly complex and clever story that Buffy could only dream of.

Donnie Darko begins with a panoramic, morning shot of a mountain range, setting the stage for a film as wide open as the landscape. The camera pans around, focusing slowly on a distant figure, lying unconscious in the middle of a mountain road. The silence is broken only by soft, sporadic blue notes, echoing from a piano. As the camera draws closer, the figure rises, giving the audience their first glimpse of Donnie Darko. With a chuckling smirk, he picks up his bicycle and heads back home. Immediately, Kelly forces the question, “Why the hell is this kid lying in the middle of road?” This is the first question that the viewer is forced to ponder and it is definitely not the last.

Kelly wastes no time establishing the film’s dark tone. Not even five minutes into the movie, an eerie voice instructs Donnie to “Wake up.” In a trance, he rises from bed and follows the voice out of his house and to a golf course. He finds the above mentioned rabbit, Frank, who slowly says, “Twenty-eight days, six hours, forty-two minutes, twelve seconds. That is when the world will end." Donnie's only response is, "Why?" He and the audience will spend the rest of the movie trying to find the answer. And, to make things more complicated, a jet engine (which can’t be accounted for) crashes through Donnie's room while he is asleep on the golf course. When he arrives home, he is faced with yet another question: why did Frank lead him out of his room and save his life?

The question you are asking now is, “How can you possibly call this a coming of age story.” The answer is exactly what makes the film great.

Show More
Related

  • Cognitive Development In On The Sidewalk Bleeding, By Evan Hunter

    1115 Words  | 3 Pages

    The evolution Andy has from seeing things idealistically to realistically, the ignorance to knowledge transition and the selfless rather than selfish decisions all bind together to demonstrate a maturing development; this is an often-required aspect found in stories of the coming of age genre. Furthermore, this growth is a candid experience that all adolescence will undeniably face and gaining this maturity is something that one must develop; it does not come with age alone. All members of society will go through this change at some point in life. These maturing experiences are the unavoidable guarantee of entering

    Read More

  • Film Review Of Schindler's List, By Steven Spielberg

    814 Words  | 2 Pages

    Schindler's List, by Steven Spielberg is an award-winning masterpiece - a movie which portrays the shocking and nightmarish holocaust in a three-hour long epic. The documentary touch re-creates a dark, frightening period during World War II, when Jews in Nazi-occupied Krakow were first deprived off , of their businesses and homes, then placed in ghettos and were then forced to labor for no consideration in camps in Plaszow, and finally they were resettled in concentration camps for execution. The violence and brutality of Nazi’s treatment towards Jews is a series of horrific incidents that are brilliantly showcased.

    Read More

  • Symbolism In Donnie Darko

    905 Words  | 2 Pages

    What would you do if a six-foot tall bunny rabbit named Frank came, and said that the world will end in exactly 28 days, 6 hours, 42 minutes, and 12 seconds. In the movie Donnie Darko directed by Richard Kelly. The main protagonist Donald Darko, also known as Donnie. Is sent on a mental journey through space and time, all while trying to figure out exactly what happens at the end of the countdown. After watching this film for the first time, it left me with many unanswered questions. I felt as though this movie was one that forced you to use your own interpretation, and imagination. It made me think about otherworldly possibilities, ideas, and if the concepts of time travel were actually possible. I turned to the novel How to Read Literature

    Read More

  • John Hughes Analysis

    866 Words  | 2 Pages

    Generations of kids have now grown up with John Hughes's teen movies, and they continue to speak to teenagers. John Hughes was able to create realistic teen dialogue in his movies, but more importantly, he was able to capture real teen dilemmas. It's no wonder that his films could transcend individual generational experiences.

    Read More

  • Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?

    1013 Words  | 3 Pages

    Coming-of-age stories commonly record the transitions—sometimes abrupt, or even violent—from youth to maturity, from innocence to experience of its protagonist, whether male or female. Greasy Lake by T.Coraghessan Boyle and Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been? by Joyce Carol Oates are great examples of traditional coming-of-age stories. The roots of the coming-of-age narrative theme are tracked in the male protagonist’s perspective for Boyle’s short story, while the Oates’ story captures the coming-of-age theme from Connie; a female protagonist’s perspective. In both short stories, the authors fulfill the expectations of a coming-of-age genre when they take us through the journey of rebellion and self realization, as the

    Read More

  • Analysis Of 'On The Sidewalk Bleeding'

    1064 Words  | 3 Pages

    Conclusion: The author Evan Hunter, of the story, “On The Sidewalk Bleeding” successfully demonstrates the theme of Coming of Age as he shifted his main character from an adolescent, idealistic view of the world to a more mature and realistic view. The character matured from making ignorant and selfish decisions to a more knowledgeable and selfless decisions. Andy came of age from a boy to a man, as he lay on the street bleeding to death. All in all these newly developed characteristics all prove the genre of coming of

    Read More

  • Ghostbusters Movie Review

    673 Words  | 2 Pages

    The true test of a film’s greatness is time. The 1984 science-fiction/comedy classic, Ghostbusters, has stood the test of time, producing both a sequel (in 1989) and a hit cartoon series. Ghostbusters is the story of three offbeat scientists interested in paranormal matters: Peter Venkman (played by Bill Murray), Raymond Stanz (played by Dan Aykroyd), and Egon Spengler (played by Harold Ramis), who have just lost their university grant, and are suddenly forced out onto the streets of New York. What will they do now to survive? After taking a third mortgage out on Ray’s family home, Peter, Ray, and Egon decide to pursue the idea of catching and containing ghosts in the private sector. Their business, fittingly named: “Ghostbusters”, starts out slow, but quickly the word spreads of their ghost investigation and extraction services. Within seemingly no time at all, the Ghostbusters are a hot commodity in New York where ghost activity is on the rise.

    Read More

  • 9 To 5: Film Review

    1734 Words  | 4 Pages

    9 to 5 is a 1980 comedy film starring Jane Fonda as Judy Bernly, Lily Tomlin as Violet Newstead, Dolly Parton as Doralee Rhodes, and Dabney Coleman as the boss Franklin Hart Jr. The film focuses on a department that is being poorly run by a "sexist, egotistical, lying, hypocritical bigot" boss. After finally getting over their differences, the three main ladies develop a friendship, vent to each other, take down their boss and eventually help each other run the company.

    Read More

  • Much Ado About Nothing Movie Review

    629 Words  | 2 Pages

    Much Ado About Nothing Movie Review Cast: Kenneth Branagh, Emma Thompson, Denzel Washington, Keanu Reeves, Robert Sean Leonard, Kate Beckinsale, Richard Briers, Brian Blessed, Michael Keaton, Ben Elton Running Time: 1hr 5mins Introduction = == == == ==

    Read More

  • Comparing Maestro And Goldsworthy's Coming Of Age Novels

    577 Words  | 2 Pages

    If you walk into a book store coming of age novels are everywhere to be found. Most of these novels focus on the times in our lives when we are most susceptible to trying new things and when we think we know everything. The teenage years are what no one wants to go back to yet we can’t stop reading about them. Some examples of these novels include ‘To kill a Mockingbird’, ‘The Outsiders’, and ‘Looking for Alibrandi’. These books focus on the ugly duckling stage of a swan’s life through to when they transform into a majestic swan. No book shows this better than the Peter Goldsworthy’s book Maestro.

    Read More

  • The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

    1666 Words  | 4 Pages

    There were many issues and concepts that were arisen with this film. What seemed to be the major theme that predominated throughout the film was that being older does not mean that life ends. There are different issues that are dealt with when aging, but that does not necessarily entitle growing and transforming have ended. Each character in the film were dealing with a variety of changes, some which dealt with the aging process and some that can happen at any time in ones life (Hoffman, 2012).

    Read More

  • Movie Review of "Schindler's List"

    885 Words  | 2 Pages

    Schindler's List, directed by Steven Spielberg, stars Liam Neason, Ben Kingsley, Ralph Fiennes, and a host of wonderful co-stars, is the story of Oskar Schindler. Oskar Schindler was a Nazi businessman who saved hundreds of Jews from certain death during World War Two by employing them in his factory.

    Read More

  • Coming Of Age Short Story

    742 Words  | 2 Pages

    Coming of age is a time of growing up in an adolescent's life and can involve many obstacles and changes that need to be overcome. It’s where kids learn about the world around them and that helps them grow into mature adults. In coming of age stories, the author uses a situation and has the character go through a change or have a big moment to utilize the transition from childhood to adulthood.

    Read More

  • How Did Audrey Hepburn A Good Role Model

    833 Words  | 2 Pages

    Audrey Hepburn had sort of a rough childhood. She was sent to a boarding school at the age of 5 and her father left her at the age of 6. As a teenager, Audrey lived through World War II, which was a very difficult time for her and her family. Audrey then went on to start her career, and become one of the most famous icons. The second way that Audrey related to the Coming of Age theme is by influencing young girls’ own Coming of Age journeys. Growing up young ladies saw how beautiful and elegant Audrey was, they also loved her sense of style. They looked up to her as a role model and every girl wanted to be as classy and sophisticated as Audrey was. Because of this great influence and the impact she had on young girls lives she was able to influence them into becoming the woman she

    Read More

  • Film Review of Lord of the Rings

    1243 Words  | 3 Pages

    Film Review of Lord of the Rings In the film the “Lord Of The Rings”, there is a great evil called

    Read More

More about Movie Review of Donnie Darko

Open Document