Donnie
Darko
review by Kris Williams
Donnie Darko. What
a film. I never expected such brilliance from a movie about a giant evil bunny.
I shook my head when it was handed to me as a rental suggestion. The title and
the cover made it seem like it was appropriately left out of the theaters. But
I gave it a chance and it blew me away.
For a film set
in 1988, I was impressed with the way it presented the time period. Nothing
was too loud. There were no Cindy Lauper look-a-likes or "remember the
80's" quotes. Everything was very true and realistic. Even the soundtrack
featuring tears for fears never shouted "80's!" at you.
This film was a
first for the young writer/director Richard Kelly. A lot of critics say that
he has room for improvement, but i disagree. I think Donnie Darko was a fantastic
first film and a fantastic film standing alone. The dialogue and the subtle
humor was terrific. It was very witty and Jake Gyllenhaal (bubble boy) who played
the title character pulled it off wonderfully. The only mistake in casting was
definitely Drew Barrymore who really botched up the acting in this otherwise
seamless film. But since she was putting up the cash for the picture I guess
Kelly let it slide.
I highly reccomend Donnie Darko. I applaud Richard Kelly and look forward to more of his work. I would also like a phone call explaining the end.
respond to kris@filmbrats.com