"Donnie Darko" DVD Review/Recommendation
"Donnie Darko" can best be described as an edgy, psychological thriller. "October Sky's" Jake Gyllenhaal stars as Donnie, a mentally unstable high school student with a high IQ and too many questions running rampant through his disturbed brain. Guided by an imaginary 6' tall spooky-looking rabbit named Frank who delivers strange, fatalistic messages, Donnie tackles questions that never occur to most teens - including the possibility of time travel and how it relates to the existence of God. Despite its weirdness, ultimately "Donnie Darko" is a beautiful tale of love, loyalty, and sacrifice.
Besides the deleted scenes, "Cunning Visions" infomercials (which are irritatingly close to the annoying TV spots they spoof), and the hauntingly beautiful "Mad World" music video, what makes this DVD stand apart is the commentary track with just director Richard Kelly and actor Jake Gyllenhaal. Though the other commentary track featuring the rest of the stars of the film is entertaining (they compliment each other just a little bit too much to be anything special), the track with Kelly and Gyllenhaal is hilarious. Gyllenhaal's take as an actor is so different from the writer/director's descriptions of the exact same scenes, that they sound like they worked on two entirely different films. I liked the film, and enjoyed the DVD, but even if I didn't, I'd recommend the DVD just for this particular feature alone.
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