Surrealistic...and dig that '80s soundtrack!

Rating: Null/10 (12 October 2001)

I knew the script had been floating around for a while (I think I heard at one point that David Lynch was interested in directing this....?).
Anyway, just saw a screening of this at the Austin Film Fest. If you enjoy surrealistic films like Terry Gilliam's movies or "Being John Malkovich" written by Charlie Kaufman with a dash of "Heathers" style sarcasm thrown in
for good measure then you'll probably enjoy "Donnie Darko". I'm still on the fence about some of the writing, some of which was a tad too clever for its own good (e.g., the Graham Green references and the contrived climax involving the school thugs -- and no I didn't just give away the ending, not by a long shot!).
But overall I still enjoyed this, esp. since the ending is open to multiple
interpretations and I couldn't tell where the story was going (very effective use of a time lock).
Funny, quirky, and a bit dark. If that's your thing, then go for it.

P.S. Keep your eyes open for Katherine Ross ("ELAINE! ELAINE!").