Darkly good

Rating: 10/10 (1 November 2001)

DONNIE DARKO (2001) **** Jake Gyllenhaal, Jena Malone, Mary McDonnell, Holmes Osborne, Drew Barrymore, Katharine Ross, Patrick Swayze, Noah Wyle, Maggie Gyllenhaal, James Duval, Beth Grant. Pitch black comedy/satire cum thriller by newcomer Richard Kelly about the eponymous protagonist (a compelling Gyllenhaal) as a misunderstood teenager whose brush with death unleashes a nightmarish Apocalyptic countdown and encounters of sanity gone awry with his subconscious in the form of a six-foot rabbit named Frank (!) that belies David Lynch and John Hughes all at once. Sharply skewed storyline deftly underscores hypocrisies and frailties of the human spirit/mind and some outlandish leaps of faith for viewers everywhere; stick with it, the ending is a doozy. Saturated cinematography by Steven Poster makes the surreal real. Impressive film-making debut and a one-of-a-kind film that makes you think what did it all mean. Produced by Barrymore, who co-stars as Donnie's well-meaning English Lit teacher.