Wednesday, 6 January 2010

Donnie Darko (2001)

When I first watched Donnie Darko, at that time I didn't quite understand what was meant by 'Cult-cinema'. Was it cinema that preached to a section of movie-goers? Was it cinema targeted to Emo-folks and Goths? My first viewing of DD left me in the exact same way that it left most of cult-fans of this movie. My words had dried up, & I knew I was gonna think about the movie for several nights. Subsequent viewings of the movie made me fall in love with the characters and the muddled story-telling. I'm a sucker for multiple intwined story-lines. & here was a movie with a single story but with several diverse viewpoints.

The best viewpoint, I felt, was that of the science-teacher who gave Sparrow's book to Donnie. I could easily have an entire sequel/spin-off based on half-a-dozen of those brilliantly written characters.

For a moment I forget that this a science-fiction story to do with tangent universes and time-travel. The time-travel aspect is so subtle on the screen, that most audiences miss the point. Drama, Thriller, horror, existentialist, sci-fiction... this movie really spans all these genres. The retro look, the amazing musical score, the satire ... all add to a classic mindfcuk movie about how fate binds our actions. I'm not going to interpret the movie for you, view it yourself.

I enjoyed the entire movie, from start to end; Fav scenes include:
- Donnie grinning at the rising sun.
- Gretchen choosing to sit next to Donnie.
- All the scenes with Donnie & his therapist Thurman.
- the first walk-home with Gretchen
- Donnie's promise to Cherita, that one day, everything's going to be better. That's nothing short of a superhero.

Fav dialogues:
28 days... 6 hours... 42 minutes... 12 seconds.
why are you wearing that stupid man suit?
Deus ex machina... our saviour.

I don't care DD gathered under $5million at the BoxOffice... its a far superior movie than most, with plenty of soul. No wonder it ranks high on maximum 'My Fav Movies' lists around the world.

Alternate Ending: This one is so open to interpretation, that it doesn't really end anywhere. Maybe the 'Dream' state could have been detailed.

First Viewed: with Yuvraj at a cinema theatre in Brighton.

Rating-4.5*

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