When I began writing this post, I quickly realized that I had multiple things to say about each film. If I shared it as one post it would literally be a novel. That said, I’m going to split this post up into a series of parts. How many, I don’t know. It will depend on how long each post ends up being and I have not yet finished watching all the films I intend to.
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It’s January 2021. I’m on Instagram scrolling through suggested posts. I pause. I think: “Does that say Donnie Darko on the binder? I remember that movie. I HAVE that movie. I haven’t watched it in 84 years”.
I tap on the picture and read Jake Gyllenhaal’s caption: ‘What the f*%! is Donnie Darko about?’
I laugh and think: “RIGHT?! Jake Gyllenhaal knows what’s up. I should watch it again”.
I start following Jake G on Instagram, I watch ‘Donnie Darko’ and I look up the rest of Jake’s filmography on IMDB (this man is busy. Check out the projects that are announced or are in pre-production). I wonder why I haven’t watched any of his other work (sans ‘October Sky’ in high school) because most of it is dark, angsty drama and that’s what I’m here for.
I silently decide that I’m going to watch 80% of Jake Gyllenhaal’s filmography in 2021, because why not? It’s still a pandemic and I have a goal of wanting to watch more movies anyway. Plus, I was already caught up on Adam Driver and Garrett Hedlund’s work.
80% because I don’t think I could ever bring myself to watch ‘Okja’. It’s probably great, but I’m a vegetarian for a reason. Then there are a few other works in Jake’s filmography that aren’t really for me, so most likely won’t get around to watching. 80%, because I’m giving myself some wiggle room here. And 80% of this guy’s filmography is still A LOT.
I will post the films in the order that I watched them. Some will have more information than others, but what I already know is this: Jake Gyllenhaal should have won about 3 Academy Awards by now. The fact that he’s only been nominated once is baffling to me. Adam Driver and Jake Gyllenhaal are my new Leos. It’ll happen one day, guys!
SPOILERS BY THE DOZENS AHEAD!
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‘Interviews’: No, it’s not a film, but I thought I’d kick this off by saying that I watched and/or listened to about a trillion interviews with Jake because apparently he’s: hilarious (in a super quirky and often sarcastic way), charming, articulate, philosophical and a major rambler. In short, my favourite kind of person to binge-listen to when I’m getting household chores done. Having a bad day? Watch Jake interviews where he’s paired with either Tom Holland or Ryan Reynolds. Thank me later.
‘Donnie Darko’ (2001) I’ve owned this film for years upon years. I know that I received it as a gift after asking for it, but whom I received it from, why or when I asked for it, I do not recall. If my memory serves correct, I had only watched it one time. Probably because of how confusing it was and is (something I appreciate a great deal more now than as a teen). That said, I could only remember that the film was about an angsty kid who wore a rad skeleton costume and talked to a demonic looking rabbit. The film also featured the Michael Andrews and Gary Jules’ cover of ‘Mad World’.
According to Jake Gyllenhaal on Instagram, ‘Donnie Darko’ (the film, not the character) is 20 years old this year (January, 2021). He thanked all the confused fans that have approached him over the years to ask: “what the “f*%! is Donnie Darko about?” (his caption, not mine). Indeed, Jake G! Pray tell. I get the whole “teen angst against society’s warped expectations”. I even get the fact that Donnie probably wasn’t suffering from anything at all but simply representing all of youth’s feels in a big way, but what’s with the time traveling and overall timeline? I could probably go and Google a whole bunch of theories, but maybe it’s best to leave it as a giant, looming question mark to ponder for eternity. Like one of those frustrating, optical illusion, magic pictures I can never see! What is very clear though, is that this film is still the most emo rite of passage film out there.
‘Zodiac’ (2007) I remember watching part of this movie on TV at some point as a teenager and it successfully creeped me out for the longest time when I realized that it was based on the true story of Robert Graysmith (portrayed by Jake in the film) and the Zodiac killer. When it was added to Netflix, I decided to watch the whole thing, because I’m an adult now; one who often curls up on the couch with a cup of hot chocolate to enjoy murder documentaries. So let me tell you, I yelled many times over some airhead moves that the characters pulled. This film has no jump scares or gore, yet it freaked me out more than some other horror films I’ve watched in the past. The basement scene reminded me of the moment in the 1974 version of ‘Black Christmas’ where Jess looks up the staircase near the end of the film. Nothing happens in that moment, but it made my skin crawl. The basement scene in ‘Zodiac’ did the same.
The film is over two hours of dialogue-driven acting, but you’ve got Robert Downey Jr., Mark Ruffalo and of course, Jake Gyllenhaal, as leads, so it wasn’t boring.
‘Mr. Music’ (2019) I am fully aware that this is just a small segment from ‘John Mulaney & the Sack Lunch Bunch’ special, but it was one of the funniest moments I’ve watched thus far this year. It should honestly be a movie. I want a backstory for this eccentric character. What’s his deal? What does he do for a living? Is he a struggling actor or struggling musician? How does John Mulaney know him? Why is he so stressed out about instruments? Does he even care about music or was this a gig for drug money? It just proves that Jake needs to do more comedy. “No, Mr. Music’s not ok, he’s having a lot of trouble”.It’s like someone called up Jake and said how much of a crackhead can you be? And his answer was: “Yes.”
‘Nightcrawler’ (2014) I watched this on Valentine’s Day, so take what you will from that about me as a person. I’m still failing to understand why Jake wasn’t nominated for an Academy Award for this one. He was fully immersed as Lou; a shady character ready to do anything to become successful and make money.
In ‘Nightcrawler’ Lou stumbles across the job as a stringer; someone who sells their video footage, pictures or articles to news stations. A freelancer, basically. Except Lou’s focus is on gruesome accidents. Jake stuck entirely to the script for every breath and pause in order to capture that robotic feeling Lou has about him. He attracted attention for the amount of weight he lost for this role, but it was all far more interesting when he explained that he lost the weight because he felt as if Lou was like a coyote and wanted him to not only psychologically act like one but physically look the part as well.
It’s interesting that the writer and director (Dan Gilroy) of this film called it a success story, because 1. He’s not wrong and 2. I spent the whole duration of the film feeling conflicted over rooting for or against Lou. I felt like Lou was the bullied kid in school who sought revenge through quick wit and smarts. He’s a manipulator by mimicking how others treat him and I found it both sketchy and hilarious at times. The true fake it ‘till you make it game. In fact, I think the only time you see the real Lou is when he loses out on a deal and has a moment of rage with his reflection, in which he breaks the mirror (an accident. Jake sliced up his hand real good).
Is Lou meant to be a sociopath? Or someone desensitize by media? Jake brought up the fact that we as consumers are the reason people like Lou can and do exist in real life. Think of how you react when you see a car accident in person. Do you watch shocking/sensitive footage on CNN? I kept thinking that Lou was either going to redeem himself or be killed off. When neither happened, I felt super unsettled. That’s a reality check. So yeah, maybe Lou is a tad creepy? …Then again, we’re the consumers… So maybe we’re the creepier ones. Something to ponder.
Also, 10/10 for the musical score.
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There you have it. Part 1 of this series.
Cinephile?
Jake Gyllenhaal fan?
Keep checking back for the next installment.
In the meantime, feel free to leave a comment stating what your favourite Jake G film is and type ‘Gyllenhaal’ 5 times fast.