Average Rating: 
Rating:  - A Good but Confusing Movie
It would be very hard for a person to walk away from Donnie Darko thinking that there was not at least some interest in the film. It is relevant to school life and throws in the typical issues such as censorship, the American obsession with self help philosophy and dealing with mental illness in the family. However these subplots alone do not sum up the meaning behind Donnie Darko. The film is haunting and keeps you feeling like there is something deeper to peer upon hidden in the plot. Even without understanding the movie you must at least walk away feeling something about the movie.Donnie Darko is a confusing movie. After watching it for the first time I found that there was not one point in the movie that made it all fall in to place. Like other contemporary films eg. David Lynch films such as Lost Highway and Mulholland Drive it leaves you feeling extremely frustrated. It makes you feel like you have missed the point and that there was an immense philosophical truth running through the movie that is only reserved for geniuses such as Stephen Hawking. After reading different theories on the net about the meaning behind the film one is left to conclude this is yet another film that forces you to make your own conclusions about the meaning. This seems to be becoming an increasingly popular trend among modern films. I rated it 4 because I for one am becoming more and more frustrated with films whose directors feel they have the right to tease the audience (possibly because of free publicity generated by internet users posting theories about the meanings of movies). I'm not a genius and I hate the feeling that I have missed something when I watch a film, even if I watch it over and over again. Besides this I think it is a copout. A director should be able to imply enough meaning for a movie to make sense. Furthermore it can be done without spelling everything out and and it can be done without making everything obvious upon the first viewing. Apparently the DVD extra features do provide more information about the storyline but still don't explicitly give away the meaning of the film. I think the director was dealing with cliche philosophical problems such as time travel in new exciting ways which would make it a perfect film if it weren't for the frustrating lack of resolution one gets at the end of the film.
Rating:  - A better review of one of my favorite films!
This is one of my favorite films. It has to be one of the best pieces of cinema to come out in a very long time. It is so original, captivating, well-written, and directed that there are hardly words to explain just how great it is! Everyone in the cast is perfect in their roles, and the music score is awesome too. The director was very detailed in his creation of the atmosphere and the world in which the characters live. His usage of certain eighties songs was also a huge plus. I love that this film takes place during the eighties. I thought that was pretty cool! Heres the storyline, that I'm sure you already know, but here it goes:
Jake Gyllenhaal plays Donnie Darko, a teen suffering from schizophrenia. He sleepwalks, hallucinates, and has a very short temper. He is also seeing a psychiatrist, which he visits during the week to give her updates about how his life has been going, and the things that he has been seeing. His family is very supportive, although he and his sisters tend to fight quite often, but his parents try to communicate with him whenever they can and show him love. His home life isn't that bad, although sometimes, he feels totally alone in the world. Then one night, his life totally changes. He hears a voice calling for him, telling him to wake up. He gets out of bed, and walks towards the door as the voice continues to beckon him. He walks outside to see a man-sized, demonic looking rabbit standing out in the yard. The rabbit tells him that the world is going to end in twenty-eight days, six hours, fourty-two minutes, and twelve seconds. Then, out of nowhere, a plane engine falls out of the sky, and lands right on top of Donnie's house, right where his room would have been, and crashes right through it. No one knows how it got there. All they know is that had Donnie been in his room, he would have died. All of this is very strange, and from there on, the rabbit keeps coming back to Donnie. He shows him visions, makes him do things, and continuously warns him about the future and time travel. You may think I'm giving away too much, but really, I'm not. This is ONLY the beginning. There is so much to this film. It is simply amazing. You have to see it. Then you have to see it again, and again, and again. The ending is a big surprise. Everything in this film ties together perfectly. A friend got me the DVD for Christmas last year, and it is excellent. It has so many awesome special features. Listen to the actor/director commentary. It explains things, and helps to tie up loose ends. Actually, there are no loose ends in this film. Everything is there for a specific purpose. This movie is so deep. I'd reccommend visiting the website ... also. GREAT FILM! I LOVE IT! GO RENT IT, OR BETTER YET, BUY IT BECAUSE YOU WON'T BE DISAPPOINTED!
Rating: - A hypnotic masterpiece
Jake Gyllenhaal, star of the godforsaken film Bubble Boy, gives the performance of his young career here as title character Donnie Darko. In 1988, young Donnie is a borderline schizo who sees a grotesque man size reptilian/rabbit which he follows and obeys. One night when Donnie goes off sleepwalking, the rabbit (who is called Frank) tells Donnie that the world will end in 28 days. The next morning as Donnie stumbles home, we see his home has been decimated by a jet plane engine. It is here where Donnie begins to wonder if all this really is all in his head, or if he isn't crazy and is meant for something more. As the film rolls along he meets and falls in love with the new girl (Jena Malone), and becomes obsessed with the theories of time travel. Patrick Swayze is here as a self help guru who may or may not be who he says he is, and nearly steals the show with his great performance. Mary McDonnel is great as well as Donnie's mother, and Noah Wyle and Drew Barrymore (she also was an executive producer of the film) play husband and wife teachers. Writer/director Richard Kelly has crafted an unbelieveably moving film that scares, shocks, and plays with the mind of the viewer while having a sense of dark humor to it all. All in all, those craving a different kind of thriller should definitely give this a look. This is destined to become a cult classic, and the fact Donnie goes to see Evil Dead in a theater makes this film even more of a gem.
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