Just watched Donny Darko

[bonzobanana]

That has to be one of the most boring, steaming piles of crap I've seen for a very long time. I'd just watched Battlefield Earth and thought that was meant to be the awful film but it seems 1000 times better than Donny Darko.

I have absolutely no understanding what people find of interest in DD. Theres nothing remotely clever or interesting about the directing and the story is just stupid and pretentious. I give it a definite 1/10 and it only gets a 1 because of the decent soundtrack. x1000

[spondle]

each to their own I guess

[stevegreen]

Donnie Darko is an absolute classic IMO, strong storyline, good characters and as you say, a good soundtrack.

Maybe you need to have another go at watching it, it confused me the first time.

[Azrikam]

I consider Donnie Darko to be one of those near-perfect films.

But it's definitely non-traditional, so I can see why some people wouldn't enjoy it.

[Adrenochrome]

Originally Posted by bonzobanana

That has to be one of the most boring, steaming piles of crap I've seen for a very long time.

I thought exactly the same thing after one viewing, but when i watched it again it all started to become clearer.

I have watched 5 or 6 times and really enjoy it now.

Go on give it another go you may surprise yourself

Adrenochrome.

The Directors cut is due for release soon with extra scenes, scores, songs and lots more. Richard Kelly supervised the whole process and I think anyone who liked the film is in for a treat. Anyone know when it's due for release in the UK?

[bonzobanana]

What specifically do people like about this film? I can't get my head around the appeal of it.

SPOILER!





The way I see it (which I realise people are going to take issue with I'm sure) is the film consists of mainly the first reality where the engine doesn't hit donny and events take place which end with the killing of the bloke dressed up as a rabbit. Then at the end another reality replaces it where the engine does kill Donny and so the rabbit character doesn't kill the girl and therefore isn't killed himself. So really Donny Darko is the story of an unfortunate boy with mental problems who is killed by a jet engine. Obviously the time travel element of the story creates the possibility of the two realities. Also the engine of the airplane seems to have come back through time to hit donny. As I say I didn't enjoy it and don't think its a good film. There were no scenes that I found particularly appealling and nothing that I wanted to see again. I enjoyed some of the music especially the 'echo and the bunnymen' tracks. I must admit I didn't think the Donny Darko character was particularly interesting. I'm not criticising the actor as such and recently watched him in 'the day after' and thought he was good in that. The film frankly has no appeal to me at all. I'm frankly surprised people aren't saying how bad it is generally.

Still I've just looked on imdb and the ratings seem to be almost love and hate with very little middle ground.

[Azrikam]

Frankly, I think I would enjoy the film even without all the time travel stuff. I thought the writing was terrific, and I really got to know the characters.

Take one of the first scenes, where the family is sitting at the table for a meal. I just love the writing and performances in that scene, and I could watch it over and over again.

[doink]

Maybe you should have watched Donnie Darko and not "Donny Darko"

[Miyazaki]

Originally Posted by bonzobanana

I'm not criticising the actor as such and recently watched him in 'the day after' and thought he was good in that.

.

That's funny. I wasn't aware there was any actual "acting" in 'The Day After Tomorrow', and it certainly won't be remembered for anyone's acting ability.

[Geordie Jester]

I would agree with that. Summed up by Quaid yelling at his partner who had just collapsed in the freezing snow, "Heeeeyyyy are you allllllll rightttttt ???"

Like he half expected the guy to look up and say "yeah im fine.....just having a quick snooze before we walk a bit further"

As far as Darko goes...... I found it very watchable but ultimately confusing. Needs to be watched again.

[The Dude]

Just an absolute cracker of a film IMO..

The thing is some people just won't be touched by it, no matter how many times they watch it.

Other people (me included) spend the last 10 mins with a lump in their throat, no matter how many times they've already seen it.

All depends on who you are, and where you've been I suppose..

It's an emotional film, based around the characters rather than the story.
If you connect with the characters this film will get to you, if you dont you'll wonder what it's all about.

NB if you like Donnie Darko you should definitely see 'Dazed & Confused'

[Reiner]

I was hooked on Donnie Darko like no other film. For some reason I couldn't leave my couch for a second. Don't really why but I was totally mesmorized (sp?) by it. Great movie I think.

[huwg]

I enjoyed the film but can see why people see different things within Donnie Darko - I only saw it for the first time last weekend, and felt slightly cheated as I had to visit a couple of websites to get the full story and the details of Grandma Death's book. (donniedarko.com is worth a visit if you haven't been there).

Unlike The Usual Suspects (where all the information is on screen and you therefore don't feel cheated). Donnie Darko seemed so vague that you could create your own version of events, details seemed to be missing. Maybe that was the point, or maybe I need to watch it again to pick up on more subtle plot clues.

A friend of mine also watched it for the first time at the weekend, and came up with a different but viable explanation that didn't involve wormholes in time....

SPOILER!!
.
.
.


His take on the film was "Donnie can see into the future, he lies in bed playing forwards the events we see in the film. He works out that the best thing to do is stay in bed and get hit. The end."

[aliflack]

apparently you can take a whole religious point of view on the whole set of events - God gives him the opportunity to change the world (by staying in bed and thus hurting his family but saving the girl's life).

Or something like that anyways...

Thought it was a stunning film myself, perfect song to end on too

Saw Etnernal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind the other night - had me mesmerised, absolutely gorgeous piece of cinema... but then I loved Lost in Translation and The Station Agent too!