Donnie Darko - 'the perfect teen movie'

Another old interview tonight - this time, from the Erie Times back in 2001, it's the time of Donnie Darko and that ever relevant, always constant question of 'Donnie Darko? What's that about then?' While Jake Gyllenhaal makes it clear that no-one on set really had much of an idea, including Donnie himself, when all is said and done, it tells the tale of the reality of life. Sort of. And it's about your typical teen. Sort of.


'Ask actor Jake Gyllenhaal to describe his latest film, "Donnie Darko," and he gets straight to the point. "Every single person who worked on it, including the writer-director himself, has no idea what it's really about -- and that's probably the perfect reason for someone to go and see it," he said. Gyllenhaal, who plays the title character, is only half-joking. "It really is impossible to come up with any neat description that covers all the bases," he adds, "but I think that's its strength. There's so much going on."'


'Donnie, an extremely bright student who has the usual teen-age problems -- with authority, with his parents, with girls -- along with a few highly unusual ones: he sleepwalks, he has hallucinations and he's being followed around by Frank, an eerie, demonic presence. Yet these are the least of his troubles. He's also trying to make sense of the terrifying world around him -- a 1980s reality besotted by pop culture, material excess, fundamentalism, encroaching cynicism, prescription drugs and hypocrisy. "In that sense, I think it's the perfect teen movie," says Gyllenhaal. "It's all about what growing up is really about -- all the delusions and illusions and hallucinations of that whole experience. Can I walk through that wall? Can I time travel? It's about the realization that everything is different from what you've been told it is by your parents, or school or society, and now it's up to you to decide the reality of world around you and how to deal with it."'


'As Donnie begins to explore what it means to still be alive, and then to be in love, he uncovers secrets of the universe that give him a power to alter time and destiny. Or does he? "For me, what's so interesting and appealing about this film is that it's all left ambiguous and open," Gyllenhaal said. "We all actually had a lot of discussions about the nature of time and the possibility of time travel, and when I first met Richard I'd just been reading a lot of philosophy like Plato and Kierkegaard, and also people like Freud and Jung, so it was really on my mind... But as soon as we began filming there was a conscious move away from thinking about anything in intellectual terms," he notes. "And it was the same with my role and trying to get inside the character of Donnie. Once we had the script in shape, it was all instinctual, and I never tried to analyze Donnie. I just went with it, and the material never failed me."'


Jake went where Richard Kelly led: "He was humble, a quality you don't often see in young first-time directors... He was open to changing anything, including lines, to make the film better. In fact we shot a much longer film, but a lot of great stuff had to be cut in the end." The film also features a strong ensemble cast that includes Drew Barrymore as a sensitive English teacher, Katherine Ross as Donnie's therapist, Noah Wyle as his science teacher and Patrick Swayze as a sleazy fundamentalist preacher. "I was just in awe of all these actors and what they did with their roles," adds Gyllenhaal. "The film may be called 'Donnie Darko' and center on my character, but they really root it in the reality of everyday life and family, and that's what makes it work for me. Yes, it deals with some pretty wild ideas, but ultimately it's about how people relate to each other."'


A WDW Interlude

I have two big interests in my life. The first I think you can guess, the second is natural history and the world about us. Today I met a British wildlife photographer and programme maker who has been an inspiration to me for many years. Brits may know Simon King from Spring/Autumn Watch and the Big Cat Diaries but these programmes comprise a fraction of a fascinating life and career behind the lens. It was a thrill for me, so I'm afraid a picture follows.


I thought I'd take a plunge into the tweeting pool. You can find me here and on the sidebar, looking for fellow Jakers to follow.

Includes pictures from IHJ and WDW.