Donnie Darko!

Saturday night, my friends and I worked through a list of movies we had been wanting to watch, trying to find one we could all agree on. We finally got it down to V for Vendetta, The Matrix, The Hunt for Red October, and Donnie Darko. Only my roommate Luke had seen Donnie Darko and none of us knew much about it. Luke told us it was definitely worth watching so we trusted him and put it on. We put in the brand new blu-ray, got some drinks and pillows, and hit the lights.

Two hours later, MY MIND WAS BLOWN. I could not believe what I had watched! When the credits started rolling my mouth dropped and for the longest time after watching the film, all I could say was wow. Once I sort of came to, I started asking my roommate tons of questions but he suggested I look the movie up online, so I did. The more I read, the more my mind exploded. I had a ridiculous headache but it was worth it. And this was only the theatrical version, I'm already stoked to watch the director's cut. The last time I felt this way was when I watched Memento (amazing movie), which I also dwelt on for days and looked up online.

Donnie Darko is perfectly crafted. The plot is incredible, the cinematography was fun and interesting, and the acting was awesome. I believe it was this film that shot Jake Gyllenhaal into stardom and for good reason. Jake gives such a great performance as troubled teenager Donnie Darko that I was nearly convinced he was one. Donnie is a boy who has been having serious troubles lately. He keeps seeing srange visions and he can't help but sleep walk every night, ending up in the strangest of places. The movie is not only a journey for Donnie to figure out whats going on, its also a journey for the audience. Just when you think you know whats going on, you are shown how off you were. And this happens two or three times.

Once when talking to Leeper, he brought up the point that if you truly experience a film, meaning you've become fascinated with it and you can help but think about it forever, it has succeeded (not exact words). I spent hours looking up this movie on the Internet, I lost some sleep over it, and I am still contemplating the film. I have truly experienced Donnie Darko and I highly encourage everyone in the class to watch this movie if you ever get the chance.