Donnie Darko (2001), written and directed by Richard Kelly, has recently become one of my all-time favourites. I like the level of intellectual suspense it gives and the complexity of the storyline.
This film has a perfect example of a character that would be nothing without its costume -Frank, the bunny. Frank, unbeknownst to Donnie, is actually what we call a "manipulated dead" whose sole purpose is to guide Donnie through the steps he needs to take to save the world from disaster.
Frank, who is actually a human, has a very particular bunny costume on. In the right lighting, the mask of this costume is very grotesque and can make the audience feel very on edge. Often, there will be long takes of the mask, staring at the audience (almost breaking the fourth wall with its horrible bulging eyes), that force the audience to stare back. The very accomplished and award winning costume designer who made this is called April Ferry; she has also worked on some more recent costume designs for Game of Thrones.
I love this film, it has a very particular style and its interesting that you've chosen it to research!
ReplyDeleteYes, I absolutely love Donnie Darko! I agree that it's got a particular style as well. I like that although it's still set in the 80s this doesn't effect the darker tones used in costumes and a general mise-en-scene (as the 80s are usually associated with a lot of colour).
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