Donnie Darko
Picture:
B Sound: B Extras: B Film:
B+
Donnie Darko is one of the more brilliant films that I have come across in a long
time. In fact it is as intelligent as
Terry Gilliam’s film 12 Monkeys.
From a production standpoint the film actually knows what works and what
doesn’t. It is able to do a lot with so
little and utilize characters even the ones with insignificant parts. I also noticed how smart the film was to use
its music as a character and choreograph much of the action and character
movements around the soundtrack. Often
times music is used in films as a way of keeping ‘noise’ throughout and it can
almost become distracting or too much of a character as in many of Cameron Crowe
films. In this case people focus on a ‘cool’
song rather than what the material presented is. Or the song has no relevance to the action in such a way that it
is pointless. Donnie Darko knows
when to have silence and more importantly when not to.
Donnie Darko makes some daring and bold statements, but the way that they are
presented do not come across being too harsh or hard. Rather they are subtle statements about life and especially life
in the teen years. There are many
standpoints one could have with this film.
Do you see it as a time travel film?
Is it about prediction or the ability to see the future? Or does it deal with special powers given to
the ill or mental? I would like to
believe that the film is more about ones existence and importance here on
Earth. Donnie did not believe that his
life was important. He was the kid that
believed that they were difference and odd.
Not only that, but they had a hard time fitting in with others for that
reason. Therefore, they looked for a
means of escape. In the film Donnie is
shown with friends and just because he has companions does not mean that he is
not lonely. People can still be
surrounded and feel empty inside if they cannot relate, or rather pretend to
fit in.
Donnie
has a dream and the dream tells him that in one month the world will end. Or at least his world will end. That entire month we see the way the world
is with Donnie as a part of it. We see what
happens to those around Donnie and we also see how that affects others around
them. Does Donnie belong in this world? I firmly believe that everyone on Earth has
a purpose and what we do in life echoes through others lives just the same as
if we do not exist that echo never comes.
So whether we have direct or indirect contact it is all the same. If a tree falls in the woods and no one
hears it does it still make a noise?
Yes. If Donnie is part of a
scheme or not the results happen and life goes on, but the outcome can be
different and is expectedly different, even if they feel that their
contributions are insignificant.
Fox’s
presentation of Donnie Darko is exceptional considering the fact that
this was a low caliber release film it still receives crowning glories on the
DVD format. Starting with a rather
pleasing scope transfer the film is presented in its original 2.35:1 ratio and
is anamorphically enhanced. The film
was shot with a very fast film stock in order to achieve certain depths and to
add a very bluish tint during certain scenes.
The faster stock allows for better detail in the darker scenes, but you
will also notice a flare around white in the lighter scenes. Take for example the scene where Donnie and
his friends are waiting for the bus all of them are wearing white shirts that
seem to have a ‘ghost’ like quality.
This is not an error in the DVD or the transfer, but rather the effect
that Richard Kelly, the director, was going for.
The
audio presentation, while lacking a DTS audio track, still carries a nice 5.1
mix despite Dolby’s ability to reach some of the fidelity that the DTS track
would have been able to offer. Not only
that, but certain highs and lows are missing, which would have added another
dimension to certain parts of the film such as the crash, or even the scenes
later on involving the ‘creature’ that comes from the chest a la The Abyss.
Donnie Darko as I mentioned was a lower caliber release and was only a small blip
when it came to revenue at the box office.
It received such a small release, but luckily word of mouth has brought
much deserved attention to this film for home viewing. This DVD contains 2 excellent audio
commentaries, one by the director Richard Kelly, and the other one by members
of the cast. It is pleasing to see a
film like this receive this kind of attention.
There are some other supplements that also make this DVD worthwhile
aside from being a terrific film such as the music video for the song ‘Mad
World’, which was originally a Tears For Fears song.
One
can only hope that Fox has future luck with titles such as this because a film
like this certainly adds a great deal of respect to their catalog and even more
so when they do a fine job with the DVD in terms of quality and extras.
-
Nate Goss, with the following counterpoint by Nicholas Sheffo…..
Donnie Darko B/B/B/A-
With everyone crying out for independent films, as if they were all
exclusively the only good, innovative pictures being made, it is remarkable how
the same exact whiners failed to back-up or support this gem. Jake Gyllenhaal is the title character, who
finds himself sleepwalking, speaking to a human-sized possessed rabbit, and
barely cheating death when a loose airliner engine crashes through his bedroom
crushing all in its wake. And that’s
just the very beginning of the film!
Drew Barrymore, Mary McDonnell, Jean Malone, Katherine Ross, Noah Wyle
and a surprisingly amusing Patrick Swayze are part of a remarkably well-put
together cast. The picture and sound
are not bad on this DVD, including a Dolby Digital 5.1 mix that will do until a
soundtrack for this film gets issued. Highly
recommended
