It made me write a review!

Rating: Null/10 (9 August 2003)

It's a wonderful film the first time because in general you have no idea what just happened and it's so exciting to try and work it out for yourself. It will make you feel sad, scared, confused, and in the end happy as you finish with a smile and think that was fascinating; defiantly a good way to spend a night in!
Spoilers Ahead - DO NOT read below if you haven't seen this film
I'm just going to make a few comments not cover the films entirety!
I loved the cinema scene because of the line...
DD: `What happened to your eye?' Frank: `I am so sorry'
Together with the music and the softness of speech, it has such meaning and of course it's funny in a way because why would Frank say he's so sorry for a terrible injury inflicted on his eye! I felt so much guilt when Frank said that, even though I had no reason to, which I feel is a job well done to the director! + Sound department!
Of course there are certain times during the film, which I didn't feel, were appropriate. Scenes and lines which intentionally try to confuse the watcher and have no real meaning. Some examples are.
-The zooming in on the spiral in the aircraft engine and -The line in the cinema by Frank `Why are you wearing that stupid man-suit'

I personally don't think the film needed these moments because the story was so strong by itself although I can imagine these scenes would cause stronger emotions of horror or confusion, which are main themes in the story among most people.
On a positive note the film had an excellent sound track, which really helped to evoke the emotions, which each scene demanded from its watchers.
So the film ended and I was thinking why does Donnie Darko have a big fat smile on his face and why does he laugh before he dies? Is it because he's so excited that he worked out how to time travel, is it because he knows he saved the life of his girl friend, is it because he knows death isn't the end, or is it because he thinks he's spent the last 28 days living in a world with choice designed to show he's not alone when really in end he is and he finds that funny because it's so ironic? Well in a way I like to believe it's all of the above because as the watcher the complexity of following so many lines to the story and being able to draw so many conclusions is what makes the film so great. In all of its diversifying plot and complexities the film allows the watcher to interact, more like a book, and it is this which captivates people and makes it such a great film.
In my opinion Donnie's character is very intelligent and a very deep thinker. He's laughing because of the irony of his choice. Of course self-preservation is paramount in the human mind and so it's so funny that in his eyes fate is right even if it means he has to die. Think of all those times someone dies young, a religious person or someone who believes in fate is pushed to their limit of faith because why would such a terrible thing happen, you can never see past the event but Donnie can and I think just understanding a need for balance makes him laugh. He doesn't think it's unfair or wrong he thinks it's actually right for him to die and it's so funny because he would never ever think such a thing if he didn't truly have the choice.
That was a great ending I really enjoyed the film.