EXCLUSIVE: Jake Gyllenhaal on Why 'Donnie Darko' Still Resonates 15 Years Later

[@TalkAsSoftAsChalk]

The only change in Jake's face is that he grew a beard.

[@boxofnothing396]

They should definitely make another Donnie Darko related movie. I don't even consider S. Darko to exist. They could literally still have Jake and Jenna and even maybe Maggie still cast in the movie, they all look pretty much identical to their 2001 selves!

[@legoroan9866]

BoxOfNothing Donnie is dead..

[@Nonyabuisness67788]

And body

[@dec13666]

Jenna hasn't aged either 👀👍

[@aryankaushik93]

his voice has changed too

[@edwardgofsky4862]

One of the best films ever produced. Amazing cast that are all still practicing the craft of acting. A generational movie. 5 stars. This movie resonated with me like few films can. Highly recommended if you went to high school in the 80s or 90s

[@endlesummer_]

edward gofsky i love this movie

[@photobro123]

Yeah especially seth rogan

[@ShwetaChatterjee]

I did and it resonates my life, wish I could have been the living receiver. I would have dreamt away in peace.

[@robynsegg]

I went to high school in the mid 80s and I gotta say, the makers of this film got...every... detail... right. The hair, the clothes, the style of the film, the going to a religious h.s. in the high school in the 80s... Everything was perfectly accurate. (Except for the $2 double feature at the movies. 🤣)

[@Space_CowboyHD]

Shweta Chatterjee “Because there will be so much to look forward to”

[@blackphillip8519]

one of my favorite movies, I watch it over and over again without ever getting tired of it. I feel like Donnie darko almost everyday, thanks Jake for nailing the role.

[@ShwetaChatterjee]

Ditto

[@Luciditation]

Same.

[@lrm9298]

There was this one moment in the film where I felt something really, really deep...That was incredible. It was the part where Donnie and Gretchen are running down the stairs coming out of school, and she turns to him and kisses him. That was so good.

[@MercurySG3M]

that is the greatest scene of all time

[@PrinakaChatterjee]

it was so sweet how what made her see life in a beautiful sense was simply donnie

[@benrobutka7140]

Man his voice changed

[@rickyboy199554]

No it didn't

[@hardcorestatus]

Yes It did

[@ZEPALIA]

No it's not changed but now getting deeper coz he was a man now

[@hardcorestatus]

@@ZEPALIA Yeah It got deeper so It changed.

[@osenglish]

Yes, it's called growing up

[@akfox38]

I hate to say this, but it seems to me that even Jake and the other stars of this movie may not have really known what it was about at first.

[@coxfire]

AK FOX On the contrary I think Jake G is the one that really got it. Nevermind the bunnies and time travel, Donnie Darko is a depiction of adolescence and how lost and confused people are at that period. The feeling of being misunderstood, sexual awakening, not understanding by the changes you go through with puberty, starting to see the adults for what they are (humans with flaws), depression...at its core it is what the movie is about. The take on it is unusual, but the movie isn’t about time travel, and Jake G was fabulous as Donnie Darko because he got it.

[@diegobastos4981]

thats because you think you're smarter than you are :)

[@mutorkian]

it's (kind of) a movie one might never "understand", but that's ok. in fact, it's dang GREAT.

[@angel-gu8co]

jake and seth both said at first when it was over that they didn't know what it was about

[@DH33.0]

It’s also how he affects people’s lives, but he thinks he doesn’t matter.

[@SpiralDown2077]

Almost 20 years on… and this one still hits hard.

[@cremefraiche9095]

No other movie has individually connected with me as much as this one has. What an amazing coming of age story that defies so many genres

[@fos8789]

Because its a movie that reflect how many teenagers feels during those years and because its a movie that never gave its secrets completely.

[@UnderTheTableGremlin]

God. This film is perfect.

[@khaledrehan5397]

@kt95 gy how

[@jonp3890]

It is, isn’t it?

[@imatlastheyote]

Very few films genuinely connect with me on a personal level but Donnie Darko does, more so than any other film.

[@ShwetaChatterjee]

I cleared my 12th grade when the film came out and I was in similar mindset then, although smart in analysing, was a loner. My family was dysfunctional with mother being a disillusioned and my dad a sadist. I being the eldest made an imaginary friend I wrote letters to.

[@robertg6798]

I love this movie so damn much! Never gets old. Do you still write letters to your friend?

[@TeeKeeps]

You don't have to answer anything.

[@bigc208]

I had no clue what it was about the first I saw it. What a weird unsettling, and at the same time, satisfying ending. After seeing it a few times more over the years I really think it is brilliant.

[@all-timealien4483]

One of the best movies ever made, I always love these very interesting and confusing movies that make you thinks they are such a trip

[@ed3n213]

this movie is always in my head. it fucked me up. i will always love it.

[@Sam-Lawry]

Thanks Drew Barrymore.

[@WiIdbiII]

Donnie Darko is definitely one of my favs. I get mad or sad when Patrick Swayze is brought up. A great Man gone too soon.

[@han344]

jake gyllenhaal...so hot!!

[@hughmungus1501]

This is gonna sound really wierd but i just finished watching donie darko for the frist time and the whole movie, Jake Gyllenhaal kinda reminded me of Toby Mguaire from the spiderman films, somebody about the acting just reminded me of it Is that just me?

[@endlesummer_]

Sebius 189 hm good point

[@oldhunterpo1764]

Sebius 189 lol same I just watched it for the first time to and got the same vibe

[@madijelli1416]

Sebius 189 I agree!!!

[@okaymiguel]

Haha recently watched it and yeah that’s exactly what I was thinking throughout the film!

[@hughmungus1501]

Thank god, I'm not the only one..

[@relaxo2739]

This movie is literally my life …. Having a sister with schizophrenia…

[@maazcineasm]

My all time favorite mindbending SciFi movie ever no matter how many times you watch it you can't understand it it's way ahead of it's time a cult classic

[@madi9443]

This movie is fucking amazing, if you haven’t seen it you need to watch it

[@dortwito3353]

Jake Gyllenhaal WOULD MAKE A GRATE SPIDERMAN\PETER PARKER

[@k1l158]

DOR TWITO Funny you say that, Jake has just been casted as the next marvel villain

[@jamesburnsfisher3304]

He sure was a great MYSTERIO !!

[@Nonyabuisness67788]

HES to old to play Peter maybe when he was younger

[@ipresnell]

Jake G should be down on his hands and knees thanking the screenwriter and director of this movie for making his career for him.

[@Cardsmaster]

He probably was on his knees with an open mouth. How do you know?!?

[@N.H.Tube01]

Sticking things into a pie What a reference

[@DC-zn6oo]

Should've brought seth rogan as well llool

[@Fuvail]

Dustin Clark LOL that's such a bad first line

[@georgea.4125]

SETH ROGEN*

[@AudioInklined]

Poor Jake lost his neck in Vietnam.

[@AudioInklined]

@@georgea.4125 ROGAINE. WITH* MINOXIDIL.

[@brennenwillemsen3065]

- Oiduakni - nah bro he’s just jacked like that. His pecks and shoulder muscles just take away from his neck and give an illusion plus his shirt collar is all the way up

[@ashleyburchettajleefanlove4683]

This is easily one of the best movies I have ever seen from the 2000 era and the movie is really amazing

[@fayHoran]

For me,one of the best films.

[@cynhwon]

Some films are well made with all well cast but just not a film for everyone to appreciate and to connect. I think Donnie Darko is one of those.

[@andys8483]

This amazing film will never get old

[@stardust6066]

28:06:42:12

[@ku9833]

🙌🏻👌🏻👏🏻masterpiece pure genius and brilliantly done

[@cerenerdemil127]

Donnie was allured out of his house by Frank the night the jet engine fell on his room to start with, so it doesn't make sense to me to think that it is a movie about fixing a possible glitch (which would have been Donnie not being in his room and not dying in the accident) in the universe which resulted in an alternative universe popping up and Frank leading Donnie into events that will result in fixing the glitch. I think it is a movie about awakening and having deeper knowledge of quantum physics as Donnie is troubled by the bullshit of the ongoing everyday relationships as this model isn't really working for him and as he is also discovering that there are alternative universes and they exist simultaneously and that time isn't linear at all levels of existence. This is my all times favorite movie. I love it so much!

[@siddhants01]

Ceren Erdemil You're right that it isn't a movie about fixing a glitch. But the glitch was indeed that the jet engine was to be sent to his room. He had done that when he sat with his girlfriend's body in the car at the hillside. He could have gone away from the room and not die. He just got what he wanted. To not die sad and alone - 'Everybody dies alone.'

[@cerenerdemil127]

+Siddhant Singh This comment was actually meant to go under Chris Stuckman's review of the movie. I don't know how it ended up here but, hey, you're totally right. I agree with you.

[@hearwho8438]

Siddhant Singh maybe the primary universe Don didn't know about the engine or anything that happened in the 28 days

[@statsegr]

Ceren Erdemil Oh god I think it may be a glitch in the spacetime continuum and the universe will end if you don't go back and do it.

[@adamlindqvist2570]

I don't think that Frank luring out Donnie was what started the creation of the Tangent Universe. Because it is states in the Philosophy of Time Travel book that that time is usually a stable construct but that sometimes the other dimensions gets corrupted. This corruption then creates the tangent universe that the movie takes place in. This universe is highly unstable which is why Frank gives Donnie the days before it will collapse in upon itself. We also know that when the tangent universe collapses it could cause a black hole (which happens in the end of the movie). From what i got we are already in the tangent universe when the movie starts. the jet engine ("which in all this is the artifact") is only the first sign that the parallel universe was created. I could go on with this for so long which is why i also love this movie but it's also here where many theory's including my own gets a little hokey. So to conclude: In the end when Donnie goes to the hill and watches the tangent universe collapse. Because of the plane with the same jet engine has been manipulated to fly overhead at this exact time. Donnie rips the engine off using telekinesis (it could be some other force but we know that Donnie has possessed super strength earlier so why not). This makes the jet engine fall through the time portal. When this happens the tangent universe starts to unravel which makes it collapse safely which then makes the real universe that was halted start back up from when it stopped. Because of this the last 28 days never happened. As Donnie wakes up he still got the memories from the events from the tangent universe. As he goes to sleep he know content with life (which is a big part of the movie. Donnie being afraid of coping with life and being afraid of what he doesn't know). He now isn't afraid to die because of his knowledge of god. Then the jet engine he sent through the time portal now falls into his bedroom killing him. This movie has a lot of themes in it. God, Science, coming of age etc. And there are so many other things that ads to it. This is just what i gathered from watching it to many times. i don't say that it's the right one. Everyone has their take on it and it's your experience and interpretation that makes it what you want it to be. Just wanted to add my take on it :)

[@88feji]

Donnie Darko was the second movie after Blade Runner that gathered a cult following in rapid pace after theatrical release ... I'm proud to say I'm one of the earliest supporter of the movie before it attained its cult status .... I knew from the first time watching this movie will not stay unknown for long, I got the same Blade Runner vibe when I was watching Donnie, there is something deeply affecting about the movie that stays with you ....

[@KatieWilliams1990x]

Back in the early 2000s in the UK I was browsing Woolworths with only £1 left to spend and they had Donnie Darko on DVD for 99p, that's how big a flop it was at the time. Nobody knew or cared about Donnie Darko. The DVD was in the bargain bin less than a few years after release. I bought it and it quickly became one of my favourite films of all time. It blew me away and I started showing all of my friends. Shortly after that Donnie Darko started getting this amazing cult rep amongst people of my generation in the UK and it's reputation started to skyrocket. I think it's really amazing that at pretty much the same time in the early 2000s, my generation all stumbled upon this masterpiece of a movie. Now it's considered a classic and everyone knows about it, but at the time you really felt like an insider who knew about this unknown gem of a movie. Jake Gyllenhaal has said that it was the UK that really 'got' Donnie Darko first and it got it's cult reputation in the UK first which kickstarted the Donnie Darko renaissance across the world. The same thing happened in the '70s with John Carpenters Assault on Precinct 13, flop in the States but a massive cult hit in the UK.

[@dustythe2nd188]

This movie is for millennium's as A Clockwork Orange was for me. But I love this movie as well. Love Clockwork Orange too.

[@maublogslambrey9123]

This actor is great !!!

[@dec13666]

There are some people who looks immune to time. Either that or he travelled 15 years in the past, all the way to the present through a wormhole, or some crazy stuff like that, like in the movie.

[@maxb9093]

Oh wow almost 20 yrs ago time is nothing we r nothing so small

[@fareastmanilavideoproducti4499]

totally having a crush at Jena malone when i first watched it.

[@gamelord5798]

Donnie Darko is the "Gravity's Rainbow" of cinema.

[@panda51829able]

Seth Rogan was probably baked as fucked on set of Donnie Darko. Ripping that Pineapple Express 🗣💨💨💨💨💨

[@angc1456]

Masterpiece movie and Soundtrack !

[@subhashxrecord3131]

Michael Andrew's soundtrack is phenomenal!

[@squatch545]

Released in 4K recently.

[@jamesburns3493]

The true father of recent 80s nostalgia movie and TV.

[@AlexPulpFiction94]

I think it was The Wedding Singer, a few years before...

[@mck7646]

One of the top cult films.

[@leahtv7778]

Kind of surprising they misspelled his surname. Embarrassing

[@JoryStultz1234]

Donnie Darko is so much more relevant than we know.

[@many9417]

I loved the Movie, but I didnt get it

[@lleo418]

My all time favourite

[@flightofthebumblebee9529]

I love most of Jake's films and Prisoners really blew me away but Donnie Darko is amazing and will always be his absolute best.

[@DWINC]

Man what a movie.... and such a loss we lost Swayze

[@diddodi]

I love Jake jillenhaal more than chocolate. And only God knows .l how much i love chocolate

[@yevgeniyaleshchenko849]

Lol😁👍👏

[@TrakkMurdah]

Favorite film

[@CornholioPuppetMaster]

Frank turned him gay, he would’ve never done Brokeback mountain if it wasn’t for this movie

[@kylecoleman5974]

Gosh, the actor's explanation to the film was very shallow. Not in a super negative way but I just mean the movie so much deeper than just "growing up". The movie is about martyritism, physical and moral entropy and so much more. Maybe they weren't prepared to answer these questions. I don't know

[@angelofernandez1336]

you can tell the actors didnt know wtf the movie was about either. the writer and director cooked this up on an acid trip. and it shows.

[@after_midnight9592]

There's no way a sober person could come up with it.

[@progrocker2112]

Jenna Malone the smartest comments on DD by far!

[@charlesware5767]

It's interesting to hear what such a complex and convoluted yet engaging engrossing storyline meant to Donnie himself. Patrick was a great guy. Excuse me still is a great guy.

[@user-ht1ft3dy3s]

Sounds like Jenna didn't get the movie, that was such a poor explanation

[@DiddyKongsLeftFoot]

probably my favorite film from Jake, the film had a somewhat STACKED cast, even because they had Seth Rogen in it before he did comedy roles

[@Burggartenjunge]

its a movie about time traveling

[@wellsaidgoodheadfred9843]

such a good movie

[@ekspresija101]

these actors understand less this movie than average viewer.

[@UltimateEnd0]

I doubt it, Jake Gyllenhal was in Source code too. Another simulation movie.

[@federicomachado811]

It sounds to me that you think yourself as way smarter than you actually are ;D

[@mattoreo5854]

Or maybe it's the opposite

[@rad6666]

Fucking classic movie.

[@user-ck4sm9lo3q]

That's not how you spell jena

[@baugh3]

my name is chef they also misspelled Gyllenhaal (shit I think I just did too"

[@ericcartmansstrengthandpow5960]

Predictive programming to the max. Literally told you when the first plane would hit.

[@sbswtnchoice]

After having just watched the movie for the first time and taking notes, this was something I discovered to... a reference to 9/11 which hadn't even happened yet at the time the movie came out. Weird unique movie but nonetheless, all involved are still Illuminati Hollywood insiders

[@galacticspacehussy-gl9bu]

If you'd sent me this guy: it would have lights out!!!!!! Myahahahaha

[@spencer_fife_and_drum_john9152]

I live near the town where it took place

[@zinuru2707]

Rip Patrick Swazye 🥲

[@Impetuss]

Because its a great fucking movie, people still watch movies from 60s if their good

[@Burggartenjunge]

donnie see in any person wormholes

[@joey5821]

The 4K restoration of this film by Arrow video is awesome.

[@Viiniivii]

Creepy think is, I Love this movie and I did have a Lot of "Visions" I can't really explain but I Thing some weird stuff happenef and told me I am going to die at age 54 ...

[@nx3912]

always amazes me how actors in a film don't know what exactly they are doing but directors and writers get what they need from them. also it seemed like Jake had something to say about Patrick but he got corrected on a sly move.

[@laurahall907]

I was fortunate to read the plot online before seeing the movie and got a lot more out of it.

[@PERC_-ANGLE]

Cole Bennett is jakes son

[@joshuagarbett]

But over the last 6 years he has learned that the reason he bullies them Is because he is gay him self

[@chrisecho6963]

Jenna Malone is hot

[@memesouls8653]

I can’t believe this film was tainted by Modern Warfare… Absolute disgrace to this cult classic.

[@Knight_Of_Eleum_Loyce]

How was it tainted by Modern Warfare? I've never played that game.

[@memesouls8653]

@@Knight_Of_Eleum_Loyce They use the bunny suit as one of the skins in the games so now a bunch of Fortnite Warzone loving kids think that the skin is from the game and not from this classic.

[@Dumaboy5933]

Always thought corpse husband mask was Donnie darko

[@shan22777]

Fun fact I broke onto Patrick Swayze‘s property once lmao

[@WyattCayer]

Damn, he is soooo fine!!!

[@LeidenSchaft-j8r]

i dont wanna be that weird boomer guy but wow these jenna wow

[@Burggartenjunge]

and worm holes

[@RA-hs6ry]

a lot of people like the movie but no one really know what its about thye seem to just act like they do

[@mineka9332]

ölüyorum

[@cindyst-jean5860]

Love

[@cindyst-jean5860]

Donnie Darko is Donald Trump , WAKE THE FUCK UP, THIS MOVIE IS NOT FICTION BUT A DIARY ON HOW TO OPEN PORTALS AND TIME TRAVEL WITH YOUR ZERO POINT HEART SPACE, YOUR CHANNEL IS REAL! THE MOVIE DEPICTS A WORLD WITH DONNIE AND HOW ITS NOT THAT GREAT , WHEN HE GOES BACK TO KILL HIMSELF IT SHOWS THE FUTURE RUNNING MUCH SMOOTHER, HAPPIER AN BALANCED, THERES A SCENE WHERE HIS CHANNEL LEADS HIM TO A GUN! FORESHADOW (DONNIES SUPPOSED TO DIE IN ORIGINAL TIMELINE) SEES THAT , DISAGREES WITH "GODS PLAN IN DIEING" AND GOES ON TO RIG THE FUTURE TO BECOME PRESIDENT AND TO TEACH WHAT HES LEARNT TO HIS SON BARRON BEFORE HIS "ULTIMATE" TIME IS UP , THE BOOK "THE LAST PRESIDENT" VERY REAL , AND VERY UNDERLOOKED! BARRON GETS UPSET WITH THE WAY PEOPLE VIEW HIS FATHER AND DECIDES TO TAKE HUMANITY INTO HIS OWN HANDS , HIS SON WILL RESET TIME , SOMETHING HAvING TO DO WITH THE HADRON COLLIDER! Take this for granted you shall reap the consequences of your lack of awareness and the pain that is to come! Charge your hypothalamus.

[@hmorton490]

@@cindyst-jean5860 you alright now? 😭😭

[@cindyst-jean5860]

@@hmorton490 😂😂😁 yeah lol , I was on one 🤣, reading this back now idk wtf I was thinking , some of it might ring true, but jeez Louis, I went off.

[@Riddler1001]

Annotations...:(

[@joshuagarbett]

I look like this wonderful mad man In the picture of me On the bike with E:T in the carrier At Madam Tussaud’s

[@1llusionzz]

The actors have such a superficial view on the movie it kinda sucks. It debates deeply determinism and free will. And accepting the path of this was a coming of age story that ended with me getting killed thats a shitty movie

[@Snowy0123]

I don't think Jenna Malone was told what this movie was..her description was off.

[@GabrielSantos-ws2qv]

Krl o maluco é igual ao cellbiti

[@Burggartenjunge]

the past and the future

[@ilhansendil4772]

who's the woman sitting with jake? can't be gretchen right?

[@mdizz9797]

Amy Adams

[@damaniqphillip2756]

First

[@Burggartenjunge]

beaming from one point to another, 0sec

[@Burggartenjunge]

time traveling.. from one point to another you need time

[@Burggartenjunge]

man we talking about time traveling

[@Burggartenjunge]

more about beaming