Exquisite, hallucinatory exposition on time travel and teen angst.

Rating: 9/10 (14 April 2002)

A near-perfect gem. Almost every frame of this brooding, beautiful film is to be treasured. First-time filmmakers should take notes - this is easily one of the most ambitious and original debut feature films I've seen in a long time.
For those exhausted with the cliches of the hackneyed time-travelling sub-genre, take courage. Richard Kelly crafts a meditation on the nature and time (and ultimately, what it means to be human) from this strange tale of teenaged, suburban malaise. The cast is uniformly excellent, particularly Jake Gylenhaal, whose Donnie Darko is a quietly smouldering adolescent inferno. As his dementia unfolds towards a casually messianic end, he discovers the redemptive properties of time travel, and the painful but exquisite beauty of a teenaged wasteland.
Do yourself a favour and see this. For all of its narrative puzzles and headtrip stylistic flourishes, you won't be disappointed. Nor will you see a more original American film all year. Weird and absolutely glorious.