A Mad World Indeed

Rating: 10/10 (15 December 2014)

Donnie Darko, is, without a doubt, my favorite film, and in my humble opinion, the absolute best film ever made. While the effectiveness of something like this is entirely subjective, I believe the appeal, message, and quality, are universal.
Donnie Darko is a teenager whose way too angsty and moody for his own good. He's temperamental, volatile, and kind of a prick. He's a guy with some 'emotional problems', a therapist, and some pills. However, he isn't the typical angsty teen, he's a teenager who has visions (or 'daylight hallucinations') of a man in a large bunny suit who tells him the world is going to end.
And thats where I'm going to stop. Upon first viewing, its best that you don't know a single thing about it going in. Watching this movie and being able to appreciate it is more akin to an experience rather than a viewing, an all-consuming, all-engulfing, journey into immersion. As you follow Donnie down the 'rabbit hole' (Ha ha) you might just change your outlook on basically... anything really. It is one of those movies, a film like Fight Club, Eternal Sunshine of The Spotless Mind, American Beauty, Eraserhead, and K-PAX that makes you do a bit of self critiquing once you finish it. You sort of re-evaluate yourself and your opinion and knowledge on the world. Its an absorbing and haunting movie that by the end, had me in tears, and the best part is I can't even say why. Its such a transcendent film, its a damn shame Richard Kelley hasn't made another decent film since.
Bottom line, whether you'll love it or hate it (Its a polarizing flick), Donnie Darko is easily in the my list of top 5 movies you HAVE to see before you die.