A different type of Science fiction.

Rating: 10/10 (27 January 2009)

I'd heard that this film was "different" so when I saw the DVD on offer a while back I thought I'd give it a chance. It certainly was different and in a good way, I was gripped from start to finish due to the combination of an interesting story, great acting and direction and a well chosen sound track.
Jake Gyllenhaal plays Donnie Darko, a troubled teenager who has a vision of somebody, called Frank, in a strange rabbit costume who tells him that the world will end in twenty eight days. The next morning he wakes up to find himself on the local golf course, this is rather lucky for him as during the night an engine that fell off a plane crashed through the roof of his house and destroyed his bedroom. The accident is rather mysterious in that no plane has crashed or lost an engine, in fact the serial number of the engine matches one that is still attached to an aircraft. When he returns to school he soon befriends new girl Gretchen Ross he also floods the school one night at Frank's behest. As the twenty eight days pass more and more strange things happen and Donnie gets more and more interested in the possibility of time travel. I won't say more about the plot as I wouldn't want to spoil it too much.
Some people think this isn't science fiction presumable because it doesn't feature high-tech gadgets, space travel, robots or other sci-fi standards, I think it is though as things happen which couldn't happen in normal life; such as the engine falling from the sky yet still being attached to a plane and other things which are revealed towards the end of the film.
While it is Jake Gyllenhaal who carries the film mention must also be made of the other excellent cast members, including Jena Malone as Gretchen, Drew Barrymore as his English teacher, Mary McDonnell as his mother and Patrick Swayze as Jim Cunningham a rather creepy maker of inspirational films who lives locally. Richard Kelly does a great job of directing the story which he also wrote.
This review is based on the original cinema version of the film, I can't compare it to the director's cut as I've not seen that.