No Longer a Donnie Darko Virgin
May 20th, 2009 by Alex
Having just finished watching Donnie Darko for the first time (several years late), my initial reaction is simple.
Wow.
This is one of those films that just levels you. I like to think I have an imagination and a head full of ideas, but I just don’t know how someone could sit down and write something like this. I can’t comprehend it. It’s detailed. It’s so big and encompassing. You just can’t take it all in at once. This isn’t a film that leaves you thinking “that was amazingly good and I loved it,” but rather the type that leaves you thinking “I’m going to have to see that again [to figure it out].”
It’s clear from the beginning that everyone who watches it could take away something slightly different. Love it or hate it, there are parts that could speak to anyone. The cult following that this thing has gathered isn’t shocking. There are themes so deeply embedded that you’d have to watch it at least three or four times to scratch the surface. I haven’t had the opportunity watch it again, but I know — after one time — that I could (and probably will). I find that striking.
I don’t remember seeing the trailer back in 2000, but based on the trailer on the DVD I don’t think I would have gone to see it. The release was delayed for a while after 9/11, so maybe I just missed it. Since then I’ve heard many people talk it up. The “I can’t believe you haven’t seen it” sort, followed by the “you have got to borrow it sometime” sort. Despite the fact that this movie has impacted a lot of people in some serious ways, I never got around to it. Usually years of hype spoil the thing for me, so I sat down with as little expectation as possible.
To put it mildly, it exceeded my expectations.
I watched it about two years ago with my son about two years ago. It was a total head trip.