Recently, I decided to take the liberty of finally watching Donnie Darko, a film that has rapidly grown to become a cult-classic among independent film connoisseurs. I spotted it in Best Buy for a mere 10 dollars, rousing me to take a chance and purchase it, unaware that I would've been much more content with the 10 dollars. Perhaps that's a bit too harsh, since viewing the film has earned me the justification to criticize it. I am bewildered as to how so many individuals can unreluctantly refer to it as their favorite film. The problem with Donnie Darko isn't in the premise, which possessed all of the potential to be brilliant, but rather in the execution, which spawned one of the most shallow plots in the history of cinema. What exactly is the point of a great concept if the characters that inhabit the film do nothing but hinder its ingenuity? The character of Donnie is essentially a horrendously embellished version of Holden Caulfield, the only difference is, Holden's cynicism was warranted and thoughtful, while Donnie's was damn-near irritating, and just plain-childish. The love story between him and his girlfriend, and I use the term "love" quite loosely, lacks so much substance that I wonder how it's possible that anyone could care about their frail relationship. Some of the dialogue scenes appear to be written by a two-year old, particularly the scene where Donnie's love-interest makes her first appearance in Donnie's classroom, and Donnie's english-teacher implores her to sit beside the "boy she thinks is the cutest," and she inevitably chooses Donnie. What the hell was that? Not only it is unbelievably predictable, but it's so simplistically crafted that I wonder if Richard Kelly exerted any effort to respect the audience's intelligence. The film progresses to reveal characters that are equally as conventional and uninteresting, filling in lapses of substantive plot developments with remarkably pointless comedic scenes. Are they funny? Yes, but they fail to compliment the film and ultimately come off as gratuitous. This all culminates in a conclusion that's nothing short of wonderfully provocative, if only the rest of the film had managed to do it justice. In the end, Donnie Darko tried far too hard to be a challenging and intelligibly thoughtful work, and fell short. It's a shame really, because the obvious and underlying-themes were genuinely intriguing. However, I suppose this is living evidence that confirms Robert McKee's assertion in "Adaptation." "Wow them with the ending, and you've got a hit," sad but true. If you want an authentically provocative film with great depth, I would recommend something along the lines of "Waking Life." I'm curious to hear what it is about Donnie Darko that captivated so many people, as I'm sure there are several fans on the board. Care to comment?
