Donnie Darko: w/ Liz & A Movie on Teen A(ngst)gnosticism

Liz & A Movie: Instagram / YouTube / Letterboxd

Liz from Liz & A Movie (and Court from The B-Movie Critics Podcast!) join Melvin to discuss one of his old-school favorites: Donnie Darko! They get into the drama, the angst, and everything in between!

Topics:

• Melvin asks Liz & Court a few questions about their movie tastes, as well as learns about their reticence for “super boys”. 
• Donnie Darko produces a lot of deep feelings, even if a lot of the film is hard to understand.
• Melvin’s rewatch was surreal, and he shares why he thinks it impacted him so much.
• Donnie Darko plays with a mix of genres, tones, and characters, and this narrative fragmentation builds a picture of Donnie’s confused world.
• Contrasting the loneliness of Donnie and the loneliness of Cherita. 
• The passage of time, time travel, and change are all ideas at play within Donnie Darko.
• A lot of Donnie Darko starts to explore dynamics of predestination.
• Melvin recalls the explanation for the movie Richard Kelly provided with regards to all of the weird, paranormal, timey-wimey stuff that happens in the film… and it’s as bonkers as you think it is (and also not that important!).

Recommendations:

• Late Night with the Devil (2023) (Movie)
• Dark (2017) (Series)
• Twisters (2024) (Movie)
• Chronicle (2012) (Movie)

Donnie Darko is Rated R for language, some drug use and violence. It features Jake Gyllenhaal, Jena Malone, Mary McDonnell, Holmes Osborne, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Daveigh Chase, James Duval, Arthur Taxier, Patrick Swayze, Jolene Purdy, Drew Barrymore, and Beth Grant. Directed by Richard Kelly. Donnie Darko is available here.

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Melvin Benson is the Founder, Editor-In-Chief, and Lead Host of Cinematic Doctrine. Whether it’s a movie, show, game, comic, or novel, it doesn’t matter. As long as it’s rich, he’s ready and willing to give it a try! His hope is to see King Jesus glorified as far as the east is from the west!

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