After escaping a bizarre accident, Donnie Darko encounters demonic-looking rabbit named Frank, who tells him the world will end in 28 days. The bunny begins to manipulate the teenager to commit series of crimes.
The theatrical version is some kind of compacted masterpiece, hormonal, vital, dazed, blissfully unhinged... I'm too attached to Donnie Darko to worry over its wanton weirdness, its mix of concreteness and intangibility.
Donnie Darko has plenty of problems. But most stem from a young filmmaker overswinging on his first time up to the plate and hitting a deep fly out rather than a home run.
Total Film
December 19, 2016
Gyllenhaal's breakthrough performance is simultaneously heartfelt, melancholy and mischievous.
First-time director-writer Richard Kelly draws on a number of intriguing elements ... without including a single, crucial gem that pulls everything together.
It remains an aesthetically filmed blend of off-beat comedy, mind-boggling sci-fi, and subjective storytelling that serves as a singular and timeless piece of cinema.
Kelly is a supple and courageous storyteller, boldly free-associating as he mixes parody and satire with earnest psychodrama and coming up with plot points no one could anticipate.
