Imaginative, thought provoking film.

Rating: 8/10 (5 September 2004)

Its the type of movie where you wake up the next day still thinking about it. Very cool. It only suffers from being self-indulgent. It relies heavily on a set of parameters that the viewer never fully knows. It only hints at ideas and expects you to bridge the gaps which works for the most part. But with rules this specific, you'd expect a little more disclosure. Unless, of course, you just want the audience to make of it what they make of it... Don't get me wrong, I got it. But I didn't totally get it until I read what was in the book the old lady wrote (available at Donnie Darko fansites).
A good example of a movie I feel similarly about is "Mullholland Drive" -- though Darko is not nearly as bewildering. Now, I'd probably enjoy the movie a lot more if Lynch made it possible for the viewer to understand what the hell was actually going on. The viewer can speculate and come up with some "whatever it means to me" kind of answer, but that's silly. Any good movie will leave you satisfied. It should challenge the viewer, not bewilder him.
Performances were good, dialogue was right-on, the pervasive dark humour was funny. A must-see for any sci-fi/horror/cult lover.