Review of Donnie Darko (2001) by Adam F — 18 Mar 2014

"Donnie Darko" is a film that is truly unique, with a main character (very well acted by Jake Gyllenhal) that by all standards would be considered "weird" and that even for fans of science fiction is difficult to follow.

The main plot of the film is very hard to understand (even on the second or third viewing) firstly because the film deals with time travel and time paradoxes and secondly because the movie is mostly seen through Donnie's eyes, and he frequently experiences hallucinations.

Part of the disorientation is clearly intentional so it feels odd criticizing the film for this, but this is really a film that you have to watch more than once and probably check out the special features or discuss with some friends to really "get".

This is probably what will polarize audiences most of all, so if you like it, you'll probably end up watching it a few more times and you'll like it even more the second of third time around. It's such a strange film that it's hard to understand from word of mouth, so it's best to simply check it out.

(4 stars, Original cut on Dvd, June 9th, 2012)(5 stars, Original Cut on Dvd, ??/??/2008).