Welcome back to another issue of Your Movie Mage, where I discuss underrated movies across genres. Last week, we covered the underrated, off-beat rom-com, “Dinner in America,” and this week we’ll be talking about the off-beat, sci-fi and halloweenesque film, “Donnie Darko.”
“Donnie Darko” follows Donnie Darko (Jake Gyllenhaal), a troubled teen with behavioral issues and mental health struggles. Darko sleepwalks, and we’re introduced to him waking up far from his home after sleepwalking the night before.
During the second instance of sleepwalking, he walks outside and is told by a giant bunny man that the world is ending at the end of the month. Darko wakes up to discover his room was hit by a plane engine that night. Had Darko been home, he would’ve certainly died.
He continues conversations with this bunny, Frank (James Duval). We learn that Darko is either mentally ill—most likely schizophrenic due to his hallucinations and delusions—or he’s truly experiencing abnormal sci-fi movie occurrences. According to the creators of the film, it is leaning toward the superhero sci-fi side, with the presence of his mental illness to throw off viewers or provide room for multiple interpretations.
It’s clear this film appeals to teenagers. For many, Darko represents teenagers who wish to die, but also yearn to have some purpose. Before dying and essentially erasing the events of the movie, Darko gets to prove he can make a difference and change some things he hates about society, even though he’s aware that it is the last month of his life.
With the imminence of his death and the undoing of his impact, we feel what Darko felt: insignificant. This feeling resonates with many viewers, who may feel their death would have no impact. What stands out about this film is Darko is aware of this fact; he knows what he’s doing is temporary, but he still chooses to find freedom. He’s able to do things he maybe wouldn’t have otherwise, such as getting a girlfriend and standing up for himself. Many people suffering with depression have this sense of powerlessness and sadness that the world will one day end, and everything they do is “pointless.” Darko represents this in a way.
This film puts you into the shoes of a teenager desperately trying to understand life and find meaning, which is what separates the theatrical cut from the director’s cut. The theatrical cut resonates with teens because it captures the experience of trying to make sense of the world but being treated as though you aren’t close. The director’s cut tries to explain the concepts too much, as I think part of the appeal is it’s up for interpretation.
Another interpretation explores the consequences faced when you choose selfishness, even if unintentionally. For example, Darko preventing his own death led to the death of many others, ultimately leading to him making the decision to sacrifice himself. This timeline was never meant to survive, just as Darko wasn’t meant to survive. It was unstable and began to fall apart, despite Darko’s efforts. Darko understood this and used his newfound knowledge of time travel to go back with the plane engine pulled from the alternate universe to the original universe, leading to his death and restoring the timeline.
The appeal of the film is it can be seen from two different perspectives: time travel and supernatural events or the difficulties of living as someone in psychosis. This film explores the concepts of freewill and reality through its unreliable narration, as the viewer does not definitively know what is unfolding and what is reality. The openness of interpretation allows anyone to apply their experiences to learn from the film.
“Donnie Darko” may not necessarily qualify as an underrated movie to some, seeing as it’s gained a cult following. However, it didn’t originally do well and was originally underrated. Even now, many people haven’t heard of or seen it. I’ve only met a handful of people who have seen the movie and none of them were from my generation. Therefore, I give “Donnie Darko” an underratedness score of 3/5 (for the theatrical cut).