The film Donnie Darko is an excellent example of the magic of lighting in film. The light (or lack thereof), causes the viewer to have subconcious feelings creep into their cinematic experience. Cinematographer Steven P. Poster did a masterful job of utilizing the light sources to create an eery film worth remembering. Lighting was commonly used to direct attention toward a certain visual throughout the film. Lighting was also used to set a certain mood for certain scenes. As a whole, Donnie Darko is a very dark film. Even when colors are present, they are very bleak colors that do not stand out very much. This is a very good reflection of what is going on in the mind of the main protagonist. Donnie is a troubled teen that seems to be struggling through puberty. During the film, we witness the tragic fall of this character. In the timeline of the film, we witness Donnie slipping down the rabbit hole of darkness. While Donnie's life is slipping into darkness, there is still light in his life. The lighting in the film reflects that. The lighting can help the viewer seperate the hopeful from the sinister. There are elements in Donnie's life that easily reflect light, almost like a hopeful escape from the darkness. I noticed that in most scenes was at least one beam of light. It seemed to convey the fact that Donnie could embrace the light if he wanted to, as the light is always there with him. The tragic part of the character is that he decides to embrace the darkness. The main source of darkness in the film is the character Frank. In Donnie's first encounter with Frank, the scene is noticeably dark. Frank himself is engulfed in darkness. With each encounter with Frank, the shots of Donnie seem to get darker and darker. In a scene towards the end of the film, you could barely see Donnie's face as he was talking to Frank. The crew on this film did a masterful job of utilizing light to convey certain emotions or to open our eyes to elements of symbolism. Donnie Darko was a perfect film to watch while studying lighting in film.
