Filmography
Nov. 5th, 2006 02:37 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
the_lady_lilyDonnie Darko
I can't remember why I didn't go and see this when it first came out. I'm sure I had a good reason - perhaps the timing wasn't quite right, or the word 'thriller' put me off, or something about the plot didn't quite grab me. It's always had that status of a film that I wanted to see, but didn't quite feel up to seeing on my own. Now that's been resolved, and I've even been to the website, and crikey, is it odd.
I rather enjoyed it, to be honest - for stars. Thriller doesn't really do it justice, but I was trying to come up with a better genre and had no idea what I was aiming for. The plot revolves around this young man, Donnie Darko, and his friend Frank, a man in a rabbit suit. Frank encourages Donnie to do assorted things, including burning down the house of a local 'inspirational' author, which leads to the discovery that he is in fact involved with child porn. In the end, it becomes clear that something fishy is going on with time travel, and Donnie ends up killing the Real Frank. Then in some form of time spin, Donnie ends up being crushed by an aeroplane engine which falls out of the sky due to the same time spin. It's all a bit beyond me when one gets into the metaphysics of it, and I'm not about to.
However, it's still a good film despite that part. I have to say I think it's one of those numbers which is going to grow on me as I watch it. Donnie is played by Jake Gyllenhaal, and his sister Elizabeth is played by his sister Maggie Gyllenhaal. I don't think I ever remember seeing a brother/sister team play brother/sister, and it works quite well, even though they don't have a great deal of screen-time together, and what they do have tends to be family-orientated rather than their-relationship-orientated. Which may be just as well.
There are a number of great performances in this, obviously the Gyllenhaals being a fab pair (I like Maggie more and more every time I see her), but also the fanatic and rather, erm, mad gym teacher Kitty Farmer (played by a brilliantly gaunt Beth Grant); her obsessive focus on 'Sparkle Motion', a dance team of 11/12 year old girls, including the youngest Darko, and the way it conflicts with her absolute devotion to local author Jim Cunningham upon his arrest is fabulous. We all know someone like her, and if it ever becomes my lot to be a parent, I hope I can take the Rose Darko line (who, incidentally, is brilliantly played by Mary McDonnell).
The dialogue is great too - there's this great big discussion about smurf sex happening between Donnie's two cronies and suddenly he interrupts with this brilliant diatribe about why they're being idiots, all based on historical knowledge of the smurfs. Brilliance. The comic timing is great, the look at a wry family which knows what it's doing even if their son is on medication and in therapy is touching and realistic without being sentimental, and it's actually very well put together. The only thing which doesn't quite grab me, as I said, is the plot and the twists which are necessary to understand what's going on. As I say, with a second and third viewing I might get in there a bit more - and I'd be very interested to see what the director's cut made of it all.
I can't remember why I didn't go and see this when it first came out. I'm sure I had a good reason - perhaps the timing wasn't quite right, or the word 'thriller' put me off, or something about the plot didn't quite grab me. It's always had that status of a film that I wanted to see, but didn't quite feel up to seeing on my own. Now that's been resolved, and I've even been to the website, and crikey, is it odd.
I rather enjoyed it, to be honest - for stars. Thriller doesn't really do it justice, but I was trying to come up with a better genre and had no idea what I was aiming for. The plot revolves around this young man, Donnie Darko, and his friend Frank, a man in a rabbit suit. Frank encourages Donnie to do assorted things, including burning down the house of a local 'inspirational' author, which leads to the discovery that he is in fact involved with child porn. In the end, it becomes clear that something fishy is going on with time travel, and Donnie ends up killing the Real Frank. Then in some form of time spin, Donnie ends up being crushed by an aeroplane engine which falls out of the sky due to the same time spin. It's all a bit beyond me when one gets into the metaphysics of it, and I'm not about to.
However, it's still a good film despite that part. I have to say I think it's one of those numbers which is going to grow on me as I watch it. Donnie is played by Jake Gyllenhaal, and his sister Elizabeth is played by his sister Maggie Gyllenhaal. I don't think I ever remember seeing a brother/sister team play brother/sister, and it works quite well, even though they don't have a great deal of screen-time together, and what they do have tends to be family-orientated rather than their-relationship-orientated. Which may be just as well.
There are a number of great performances in this, obviously the Gyllenhaals being a fab pair (I like Maggie more and more every time I see her), but also the fanatic and rather, erm, mad gym teacher Kitty Farmer (played by a brilliantly gaunt Beth Grant); her obsessive focus on 'Sparkle Motion', a dance team of 11/12 year old girls, including the youngest Darko, and the way it conflicts with her absolute devotion to local author Jim Cunningham upon his arrest is fabulous. We all know someone like her, and if it ever becomes my lot to be a parent, I hope I can take the Rose Darko line (who, incidentally, is brilliantly played by Mary McDonnell).
The dialogue is great too - there's this great big discussion about smurf sex happening between Donnie's two cronies and suddenly he interrupts with this brilliant diatribe about why they're being idiots, all based on historical knowledge of the smurfs. Brilliance. The comic timing is great, the look at a wry family which knows what it's doing even if their son is on medication and in therapy is touching and realistic without being sentimental, and it's actually very well put together. The only thing which doesn't quite grab me, as I said, is the plot and the twists which are necessary to understand what's going on. As I say, with a second and third viewing I might get in there a bit more - and I'd be very interested to see what the director's cut made of it all.
