Great minds discuss ideas. Small minds discuss other people. And this is the reason I so love DONNIE DARKO, it's all about the ideas. Was Donnie schizo, or were these things really happening. Or more to the point, do they only happen to schizo people? My step-sister is schizo and so far all she sees are spiders in the shower, haven't seen any giant rabbits yet. I think that was the point Kelly was trying to make, that something like schizo is just a different perception of the world. Who can really say that the prophets in the Bible, if examined today, would be declared mentally ill as well? You ever notice in the Bible every time a messenger of God appears, the first thing they say is "do not fear"! I really think when the Antichrist comes, he will use virtual reality to offer the final temptation of humanity, how else would you get through to the MTV/PS2 generation? Anyway, back to the movie. The philosophy of time travel book was just a macguffin. No such book exists, unless it's a work of fiction, just like this movie. Donnie's plight also suggests the plight of hyper-intelligent, hyper-sensitive people who see the world differently and do not easily fit into the so called "normal" world. These people often keep to themselves, have a few, if any, friends, and are widely derided in their community as "losers", "misfits", "nerds", "geeks". Like I said, small minds discuss other people. Great minds discuss ideas.
Review of Donnie Darko
