Donnie Darko Musings (Spoilers under cut)
Dec. 12th, 2011 11:40 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dweomeroflightThis film is in my top 5 favourite films list. Maybe it's the way that Donnie Darko pre-empts Life on Mars and the question of humanity's self imposed modern dislocation from being "alive", maybe it's the sharp commentary on our society, maybe its the way Donnie acts in ways that remind me of my brother, and I like the honesty of that, maybe it's the astonishing performances from everyone involved (though bonus points to Drew Barrymore and Mary McDonnell), maybe it's the genre mish mash of horror meets sci fi fantasy meets teen angst, maybe it's the beautiful brooding way the film is shot, maybe it's the way the suspense is built up until the stunning ending, maybe it's Mad World all by itself or maybe it is all of these things combined.
One of the things that often comes up with this film, is the Director's Cut versus the cincematic release. Many fans argue that the original release allowed for more ambiguity and that this is of more value than the Cut version as it allows us to make up our own minds about Frank and the events that he precipitated. This is undeniably true. But for me personally, I have always liked the Cut version more. Or at least; it doesn't bother me in the same way others are bothered by it
There are a number of reasons for this.
I first saw this film on dvd, as I was quite young when it initially came out. My friend wanted to see it and she went for the Director's Cut version after her Dad said he liked it better. I guess the key thing here is I saw the unambiguous version of this film to begin with. There was never any question of what the ending meant in terms of Donnie's state of mind for me to begin with. Therefore, I couldn't get annoyed by the Cut's lack of ambuguity when I went back and watched the initial release later as I knew what the director's intent was from the first.
So that's a pretty big reason for me not to get irritated by it.
But then, I have to wonder, even if I hadn't seen the Cut first, would I have still liked it better? I think the answer might still be yes. Why? Because the Cut adds in essential character moments that make the ending more poignant in my opinion. In particular, the scenes about Grandma Death and Drew Barrymore's teacher. To me, Barrymore's role in the film is badly stunted in the original. It is hard to care when she is fired as there is no lead up to it and no real sense of a connection between her and Donnie as outsiders. That feeling of a series of unfortunate events leading up to a showdown is really only captured to me in the Cut. I liked Barrymore's teacher alot. I wanted to spend time with her. When I watch the original I still miss her extra scenes from the Cut.
The other extra scenes (an extra 20mins approx in total) are important to me because they add to the dreamy suspense that is built up to devestating effect in the last 15 minutes. I still feel that original film runs too fast to its finale and loses some of the impact as a result. On the topic of extras, the excerpts from Grandma Death's book on time travel, sure it isn't done in the most artistic of ways in a rather sorry case of telling rather than showing, but I don't think this detracts from the movie overall (though I would argue the directors cut could have done without it). But I already knew the ending was meant to involve time travel and Donnie sacrificing himself to save those he cared about from tragedy so it just didn't bother me the way it did others. It was already a non issue.
I think maybe I see Donnie Darko in a different way to alot of people. Alot of fans seem caught up on the meaning of the film overall ie is it all in Donnie's head or is it real and time travel took place? and for that kind of question to work, ambiguity is clearly the best route to take. However, I never saw the film as being solely about this. Much like another top 5 favourite film of mine, The Crying Game, I feel that "the twist" overshadowed the overall themes of the film. Yes, the twist in The Crying Game was shocking and unexpected and had never been done before, but that's not all The Crying Game was. Not to me. It was about prisoners and their captors, it was about loyalty and redemption and second chances, it was about love and not just one kind of love, it was about humanity and its different shades. It was deeply political, at the same time as being deeply romantic, at the same time as being grittily film noir. You can't capture that by just focussing on "the twist."
I feel the same is true of Donnie Darko. "The Twist" of Donnie dying for his family/dying at the start of the movie in a freak accident (depending on which angle you take) is really interesting and important to the movie, but that's not all the film is about. It is also about outsiders, and religous fanaticism, it's about teen love, and trying to grow up when you feel different. It is about families and what holds them together, it is a film about mental illness and the way society deals with this, it is a film about social dislocation and social cohesion, it is a film about very real people who react to some very real situations...
Perhaps Mad World summed it all up best:
And I find it kind of funny, I find it kind of sad
The dreams in which I'm dying are the best I've ever had
I find it hard to tell you, I find it hard to take
When people run in circles its a very, very
Mad world, mad world
In the end it doesn't matter to me why Donnie died. The point is that he did die, that he mattered, that the people around him mattered and yet none of them had all of the answers. That social dislocation was still there, would always be there. Donnie Darko asks more questions about our modern world than it answers in this regard and that's ambiguous enough for me.
What's your opinion of Donnie Darko? Which version do you like better? Why?
One of the things that often comes up with this film, is the Director's Cut versus the cincematic release. Many fans argue that the original release allowed for more ambiguity and that this is of more value than the Cut version as it allows us to make up our own minds about Frank and the events that he precipitated. This is undeniably true. But for me personally, I have always liked the Cut version more. Or at least; it doesn't bother me in the same way others are bothered by it
There are a number of reasons for this.
I first saw this film on dvd, as I was quite young when it initially came out. My friend wanted to see it and she went for the Director's Cut version after her Dad said he liked it better. I guess the key thing here is I saw the unambiguous version of this film to begin with. There was never any question of what the ending meant in terms of Donnie's state of mind for me to begin with. Therefore, I couldn't get annoyed by the Cut's lack of ambuguity when I went back and watched the initial release later as I knew what the director's intent was from the first.
So that's a pretty big reason for me not to get irritated by it.
But then, I have to wonder, even if I hadn't seen the Cut first, would I have still liked it better? I think the answer might still be yes. Why? Because the Cut adds in essential character moments that make the ending more poignant in my opinion. In particular, the scenes about Grandma Death and Drew Barrymore's teacher. To me, Barrymore's role in the film is badly stunted in the original. It is hard to care when she is fired as there is no lead up to it and no real sense of a connection between her and Donnie as outsiders. That feeling of a series of unfortunate events leading up to a showdown is really only captured to me in the Cut. I liked Barrymore's teacher alot. I wanted to spend time with her. When I watch the original I still miss her extra scenes from the Cut.
The other extra scenes (an extra 20mins approx in total) are important to me because they add to the dreamy suspense that is built up to devestating effect in the last 15 minutes. I still feel that original film runs too fast to its finale and loses some of the impact as a result. On the topic of extras, the excerpts from Grandma Death's book on time travel, sure it isn't done in the most artistic of ways in a rather sorry case of telling rather than showing, but I don't think this detracts from the movie overall (though I would argue the directors cut could have done without it). But I already knew the ending was meant to involve time travel and Donnie sacrificing himself to save those he cared about from tragedy so it just didn't bother me the way it did others. It was already a non issue.
I think maybe I see Donnie Darko in a different way to alot of people. Alot of fans seem caught up on the meaning of the film overall ie is it all in Donnie's head or is it real and time travel took place? and for that kind of question to work, ambiguity is clearly the best route to take. However, I never saw the film as being solely about this. Much like another top 5 favourite film of mine, The Crying Game, I feel that "the twist" overshadowed the overall themes of the film. Yes, the twist in The Crying Game was shocking and unexpected and had never been done before, but that's not all The Crying Game was. Not to me. It was about prisoners and their captors, it was about loyalty and redemption and second chances, it was about love and not just one kind of love, it was about humanity and its different shades. It was deeply political, at the same time as being deeply romantic, at the same time as being grittily film noir. You can't capture that by just focussing on "the twist."
I feel the same is true of Donnie Darko. "The Twist" of Donnie dying for his family/dying at the start of the movie in a freak accident (depending on which angle you take) is really interesting and important to the movie, but that's not all the film is about. It is also about outsiders, and religous fanaticism, it's about teen love, and trying to grow up when you feel different. It is about families and what holds them together, it is a film about mental illness and the way society deals with this, it is a film about social dislocation and social cohesion, it is a film about very real people who react to some very real situations...
Perhaps Mad World summed it all up best:
And I find it kind of funny, I find it kind of sad
The dreams in which I'm dying are the best I've ever had
I find it hard to tell you, I find it hard to take
When people run in circles its a very, very
Mad world, mad world
In the end it doesn't matter to me why Donnie died. The point is that he did die, that he mattered, that the people around him mattered and yet none of them had all of the answers. That social dislocation was still there, would always be there. Donnie Darko asks more questions about our modern world than it answers in this regard and that's ambiguous enough for me.
What's your opinion of Donnie Darko? Which version do you like better? Why?