Donnie Darko (2001) MOVIE REACTION! FIRST TIME WATCHING!!

Thanks for reacting to one of my favorite films! 🔥

Yes! I am here for the British New Wave melancholy. In fact it's my favorite genre of music. I can't get enough of Joy Division, Bauhaus, The Cure, Siouxsie and the Banshees, and on and on. I love it.

And also the “famous linguist" mentioned by the teacher is the fantasy writer J. R. R. Tolkien. =) About cellar door’s special beauty in a speech in 1955.

Two French Bears React

Richard Kelly transformed all the melancholy of the british new wave pop songs into a movie. What a tour de force ! ;) I see it as an homage of the 80s pop culture, especially its music.

Two French Bears React

Also, the Tears for Fears "Head Over Heels" montage. It's awesome.

This film requires multiple viewings. I first watched it when it was first released, and was like "hmmm". I have since watched it and it seems to get better with every viewing. But regardless, thanks for including this film.

Just a lil trivia, the actress that plays his sister in the movie is Maggie Gyllenhaal. His sister in real life.

Richard Jenner

Very strange, we’ll looked to see why it’s doing this

Don't worry. Many people don't get it upon first viewing, including myself. But despite not understanding it completely, I loved it when I saw it the first time! The creepy tone, atmospheric nature, and many of the mysterious elements of the film kept me engaged. Plus, a knockout performance by Jake Gyllenhaal (who was 20 at the time I believe) just shows how talented he is as an actor.

Justin Callang

I remember seeing this film at an indie theater outside of Boston. LOVED IT. Didnt get it. took me a while, and a billion re-watches, but after a while, things slowly started to come together.

Ron Thibodeau

Awesome. Thank you so much 🙌🏻

Shaun Wilkinson

wasn't working for me at first; but copied the video url and pasted it into the browser. That did it for me: https://youtu.be/HBeLIPKE-gg

Is the video not working for anyone else?

Shaun Wilkinson

Hope you enjoyed it and thanks for doing this sci-fi series! One thing I'd always consider with films that are a bit more cerebral or arty is that we don't have to understand everything in a film, and it might even be the intention of the filmmakers that we *don't* understand everything (often, there may be no explanation to be understood, it's simply to provoke an emotion, an experience, a discussion, a reaction to it as a piece of cinematic art). I find all the best films, as opposed to conventional 'movies' intended more as mass-market, easy to consume entertainment, don't give you everything or make it easy to digest them, they warrant repeat viewing and an open mind to see what emerges and take from it what you want. This film in particular is one that is far more concerned with creating a really unique and original tone and imagery and also reminding us that we as human beings will never truly understand the universe, time, the meaning of life etc. as it's beyond our reach, so we're left in a state of perpetual wonder!

Ian