Donnie Darko (Director's Cut) (DVD)

Donnie Darko. You might have heard of it, probably a recommendation from someone, but you might not have. If you haven't, you're in for a treat. This is the kind of film that debu directors dream of, and the kind of film that cults are made for. Donnie Darko is well known for being a huge cult hit, especially in the United Kingdom. Thanks to word of mouth, devoted fans and excellent critical reviews, Donnie Darko has plunged forward and made history ...
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Donnie Darko is a difficult film to categorise into one genre, or even two for that matter. When viewers are asked what the film is about, the numerous answers they come up with is amazing, and there are not many films that can do this. You take from Donnie Darko what you want to, depending on the type of person you are, what you feel is important in life, and your feelings when you watch the film. This is ... more

Donnie Darko. You might have heard of it, probably a recommendation from someone, but you might not have. If you haven't, you're in for a treat. This is the kind of film that debu directors dream of, and the kind of film that cults are made for. Donnie Darko is well known for being a huge cult hit, especially in the United Kingdom. Thanks to word of mouth, devoted fans and excellent critical reviews, Donnie Darko has plunged forward and made history by allowing Richard Kelly, the director, to release a director's cut of his first feature film. And believe me, you won't be disappointed. Both cuts are brilliant ways of showing the same film, and I personally love it.

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THE FILM
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Donnie Darko is a difficult film to categorise into one genre, or even two for that matter. When viewers are asked what the film is about, the numerous answers they come up with is amazing, and there are not many films that can do this. You take from Donnie Darko what you want to, depending on the type of person you are, what you feel is important in life, and your feelings when you watch the film. This is part of the attraction to Donnie Darko; everyone sees something different. Some will see a love story, some might see a science fiction film, others might see an 80s satire or a film about hope. The possibilities are endless.

The story revolves around a troubled teenager named Donnie Darko (Jake Gyllenhaal) , who seems to those around him as a schizophrenic, who frequently visits a therapist and take medication because of his alleged mental illness. Donnie is visited by a large bunny rabbit called Frank, and often finds himself waking up in odd places after a night of sleepwalking. He finds his life difficult; feeling alone and with nobody to share his troubled world with, until one day when a new girl, Gretchen Ross (Jena Malone) , arrives at his school. The two find an instant connection and through a series of not-so-coincidences, discover each other's minds.

When a jet engine falls into Donnie's bedroom one night whilst he is out sleepwalking, things take a turn for the slightly strange. The jet engine cannot be tracked down to any aircraft, which makes Donnie and everyone else around him wonder what is going on.

I don't want to give away too much of the story to anyone who hasn't seen it yet, because I think discovering the film for yourself is the only way to do it. Let's just say Donnie performs some "tasks" in order to achieve the final result he desires.

Acting is great all around, and you will find that Donnie Darko is essentially an ensemble piece, not only through acting but through the events of the story. Although Donnie takes a lot of the screen time, the other characters are vitally important to the plot if you look deep enough. The supporting cast are nothing intermediate either. Maggie Gyllenhaal gives a good performance as Donnie's sister (the two happen to be siblings in real life as well), Drew Barrymore gives her role as Donnie's English teacher an amazing level of depth and Patrick Swayze appears as Jim Cunningham, a self-help guru connected with Donnie's school. Other notable performances include Holmes Osborne and Mary McDonnell as Donnie's struggling parents, Noah Wyle as the science teacher and Katharine Ross as Donnie's therapist.

Music in the film is very good, and I wouldn't normally notice such a thing. As Donnie Darko is set in 1988, you will hear a lot of 80s music playing through the scenes, which is actually a welcome relief to a lot of the films out nowadays and really casts a different light on the film. I wouldn't normally sit and listen to 80s music, but the music used just seems to fit Donnie's life and a lot of the scenes in the film. If you're like me and not particularly interested in the 80s music scene, don't worry, it only adds to the greatness of the film.

Cinematography in Donnie Darko, and the way the director uses the camera, is very noticeable in places and this is certainly not a bad thing. Slow motion and "fast motion" can be seen in several key scenes, which is supposedly used to convey the essence of time travel in the film, and that some higher power is manipulating Donnie's world, but to the average viewer these effects, along with a few great tracking shots, look really good and fit the film perfectly. The tracking shots in particular are rather amazing, as it is rare to see such shots in films of today. Overall, camera usage and cinematography is used very effectively in the film.

The Director's Cut has many different changes, mostly being changes to music and a few extended scenes, but also it allows viewers a greater understanding of the film, not by explaining it to them, but by providing on-screen clues and the like. You won't be disappointed if you buy The Director's Cut, it's just as good as the theatrical cut in my opinion.

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THE EXTRAS
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The Director's Cut DVD contains two discs, one containing the film and a commentary, and another containing all of the special features, of which there are quite a few.

The commentary on the first disc is spoken by the director Richard Kelly and a friend of his, fellow director Kevin Smith. The pair make for enjoyable listening, although at times the two tend to repeat themselves. The addition of Kevin Smith adds a good level of humour to the commentary and hearing Kelly's views on the film and what he was trying to communicate is at points, fascinating, and also really helped me to understand the film better.

The second disc is broken down into four sections: featurettes, behind the scenes, promos and additional scenes:

Featurettes

They Made Me Do It:
A brief 5-minute documentary about the London Art Exhibition in which 14 new graffiti artists were asked to create a painting inspired by the film in 6 hours, 42 minutes and 12 seconds (you'll understand why when you watch the film).

They Made Me Do It Too - The Cult Of Donnie Darko:
This is a half-hour documentary about the UK cult of Donnie Darko and just shows how different fans of the film see it in different ways and how the cult came about. This also includes Richard Kelly's views on the film. Although this documentary is interesting, the way it is shot looks pretty awful, but I think it's only put together very quickly.

They Made Me Do It.com Gallery:
This is just a gallery of the art included in the "They Made Me Do It" exhibition in London.

Behind The Scenes

Production Diary:
This is a 40-minute diary which follows Richard Kelly and the other people working on the film. Although at times it is quite dull, it's still interesting to see how the film was put together, and if you do find it boring you can always put on the commentary.

B-roll footage:
This is just a strange collection of odd footage; not very good really.

Interviews With Cast & Crew:
Hear the cast and some of the crew speak about making the film here, and of course, praising it as much as they can as well.

Cast & Crew Filmographies:
This is useful if you don't have www.imdb.com handy nearby, as you can see everyone's key films. Good for those "Where have I seen him/her before?" moments.

Promos

Trailers: It's interesting to see how the film was originally advertised, and then how the Director's Cut was advertised also.

TV Spots: All very alike, but then they usually are. Includes cheesy voiceover man saying "Donnie Darko" in a very deep voice.

"Mad World" music video: Here is the complete video to the song which ends the film, which might be of some interest.

"Cunning Visions" Infomercials x 2: Those of you who have seen the film will know what these are about, but for those who haven't, its basically the full versions of two infomercials that the characters watch on TV in the film.

"The Killing Moon" Easter Egg: Apparently this is on the DVD, but I'll have to look on the Internet to find out how to access it (it's a secret feature). The song is good so I would like to know more about this easter egg.

Additional Scenes

This is a set of 20 deleted scenes (all with commentary from Richard Kelly) which are either deleted or extended scenes from the original theatrical cut. Some of these are quite interesting to see.

The DVD can be bought for £7.97 from www.amazon.co.uk (who charge for P+P when your order is under £19), or £8.99 from Play.com, who offer free delivery. Both sites are reliable and this is a DVD that I insist you must buy if you only buy one DVD this year. You won't be disappointed.

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OVERALL
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I'm having trouble deciding whether to give Donnie Darko a 9 or a 10, but I think it'll have to be:

10/10

The film really can't be faulted at any level, it's pretty much flawless and is one of the reasons why I love this film so much. I hope you love this film too, and I truly hope you become part of the Donnie Darko cult and enjoy the film as much as I have. Let's just hope Richard Kelly brings us more fantastic films - after all, as Kevin Smith says on the commentary, "No director ever peaks on their first film, not even Welles". And how right he is. Although his later films will always be compared to Donnie Darko, I hope he brings us even better work yet.

One final thought - when I first saw Donnie Darko (I rented it out after a recommendation) I thought it was a good film, but nothing special. I decided to buy the DVD about 2 years later and have just gotten around to watching it again. This is one of those films that you must see a few times, even if it is over a period of years. I very much doubt anyone will love it after seeing it once, or even understand it fully. Every time you see it, you will see something new or realise something interesting, or piece another piece of the story together in your mind. I've still only seen it twice and I'm sure next time I watch it I'll see something different again. Perseverance is the key with this film; just don't watch it once, it requires more effort than that. 

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