Proposal

My favorite movie opens with a slow motion scene in which the troubled protagonist rides his bicycle down a hill under a cerulean sky to the tune of Echo and the Bunnymen's "The Killing Moon." From this moment on, I was mesmerized. I first saw the film in the movie theatre almost ten years ago, and while many movies have captured my imagination since then, nothing has had quite the same impact on me. Whenever I am asked what my favorite film of all-time is, the answer is easy: Donnie Darko. What isn't as easy to articulate, however, is my response to the follow-up question: Why? About halfway through my first viewing, I was convinced that the movie was an eerily accurate portrayal of schizophrenia with a then-almost-unknown Jake Gyllenhaal doing a brilliant job of conveying the pain and confusion associated with that mental illness. After the film was over, however, I realized how much bigger the issues were that director Richard Kelly was tackling in the film: time travel, parallel universes, and fate versus free will, to name a few. It's a film one can watch over and over again and still be left with unanswered questions. It's a film that makes the viewer feel, as Donnie, the ultimate anti-hero, struggles with a profound sense of despair and eventually sacrifices his own life because he believes it is the right thing to do. Most of all, though, it's a film that makes one think, and I guess that's why it remains my favorite.