Donnie Darko (2001) is one metformin 1000 mg cost of those quirky indie movies I heard about for years and never got around to, but I kept hearing about it because half of people who’ve seen it vehemently love it and the other half vehemently hate it. These are the kind of movies that I’m wary to see because there’s a big chance that I’ll end up really disliking them and offending friends (see: Garden State, American Beauty, anything by Kevin Smith). But every so often, I end up loving these odd little indie films (see: Brick, Smoke Signals). And, as far as my love of sci-fi weirdness and filmed therapy sessions go, I kind of ended up loving Donnie Darko, too.
Reasons I expected to hate it:
- The presence of Jena “I was a total brat in Stepmom and still have the same peevish look on my face in every movie” Malone and Maggie “inexplicable dislike for” Gyllenhaal. Luckily, these two are relegated to fairly sedate and small supporting roles so I didn’t have to watch either of them overact.
- Teen angst. It’s so hard to make teen angst bearable to anyone not experiencing teen angst. Legitimate mental illness in Donnie Darko helps temper that.
- That weird rabbit thing. Let’s be honest, Frank is super creepy, but since he’s not the real monster of the film, I was able to let the disturbing whispers wash over me.
- Drew Barrymore and Noah Wyle. Just kidding! I love these guys. Seriously. Their mediocrity is winsome.
Reasons I didn’t expect but ended up loving:
- Montages. I love a good montage. Case in point, montages set to great music are the primary reason I can make it through most Scorsese films. It really breaks up the misogyny. Donnie Darko has some equally transfixing sequences, mostly because it combines music montages with another favorite–slow motion:
Tears for Fears then makes it magic.
- Jake Gyllenhaal is adorable. You automatically want to see where his character will end up. Who said attractiveness couldn’t carry a film?
- Patrick Swayze. ’nuff said.
- Time travel. It rarely makes sense or serves a story well, but I still love it. However, I also liked The Lake House, so maybe my standards for time-bending films are low.
- Stephen King’s It being read at the beginning of the film. This was the real reason I decided I could like Donnie Darko. The film then made good on its homage by having some violent justice, a crazy old lady, and elements of sci-fi/horror.
Donnie Darko isn’t remarkable. It’s a a pretty mellow film, and if I had seen it earlier, I might have more affection for it. But now, I’ll just relish the thought that now I know what people are talking about.
