Donnie Darko

     Donnie Darko takes place in Middlesex, Virginia. It's about a high school boy, Donnie Darko, and his mental struggles that I'm not personally sure were reality, or solely his reality. Donnie keeps going into trances, and when he does, he gets visits from a man in a bunny suit named Frank. When Donnie first meets him, Frank tells him the world is going to end, and while so, Donnie avoids his death via a plane disaster that crashes into his room. Between then and "the end," Donnie participates and witnesses unfortunate events before realizing his fate of dying how he was supposed to originally which undoes all the tragedies that happened because of him being alive. The plane wreckage gets sucked through a worm hole, and Donnie stays in bed, laughing at what I'd assume was his own epiphany and coming to terms with what should be.
     I believe this film was directed beautifully. Richard Kelly, basing off of this film, seems to be a visionary and writer/director. The film is rejoiced often for it's more popular, thought-provoking lines and it's visuals.

Donnie: Why are you wearing that stupid bunny suit?

Frank: Why are you wearing that stupid man suit?

The film delivers a great sense of wonder, even to the self. A lot of the lines, as such, are direct but they also keep an open-endedness that stir curiosity about Donnie, or a deeper meaning outside of the film. On top of the great script, the visuals are essential. The feel of the scenes when Donnie is either in a trance or something bad is going to happen somehow always keeps an eerie air to it with it's sound and color, even if it's bright and sunny outside, or aesthetically pleasing. The soundtrack was essential. The tones of some of the songs composed were very whimsical and light, almost happy sounding, and it does deliver that feeling, but it doesn't make you stray from the dark factor of the film.
     Richard Kelly did an excellent job utilizing these things in the film. It is one of my absolute favorite films. I've seen it numerous times, but it makes me feel like I'm not thinking outside of the box because I can't exactly pinpoint a meaning surpassing the actual film. It just seems impossible that there isn't.