LH "Donnie Darko"

'Donnie Darko' is a cross between a Teen-drama and a Thriller. I like how the sequence starts of peacefully with sounds of birds tweeting and an establishing shot of a hilly landscape. The camera pans across the view to look onto a road. This changes the tone of the sequence as an unnatural noise, similar to what we can hear as a plane goes over us, begins to sound as we notice a boy in the middle of the road. This is a clear contrast from the natural beauty that we saw from the landscape as we now see a boy lying in the middle of the road which is unfamiliar and makes the audience question the scene.

As the camera continues to track in on the boy, he starts to wake up. As he sits up we hear a piano playing. The music is made up of mainly high notes which adds a dreamlike sentiment to the already surreal sequence. As the camera pans around him we have the chance to identify with the character. This allows us to understand that he is the main character and that we will be positioned with him during the film.

There is a use of a fade out in this sequence as Donnie Darko walks out of the shot and the main title appears on the screen. They then use a bright light to fade out into another shot. The fade signals a change in the opening sequence, with the next shot being at a different location.

I particularly like the next shot as we are placed directly in front of Donnie Darko as he rides this bike. The initial cut prompts a change not only in the music but in the pace. The movement of him cycling on screen shows us that the film will be progressing, unlike the first shot which had a distinctive melancholy feeling. The shot reiterates the fact that we will be placed with this character during film.

I like this clip because of its surreal feel and the creative use of location and editing. The use of sound in the piece is particularly good because the second piece of music doesn't only create a change in pace but it identifies the era of the film.