Falls short of a complete success

Rating: 7/10 (17 March 2003)

After watching Donnie Darko, and thinking back on all of the trippy details, I felt the overall vibe it left me with was excellent. There are some terrific ideas here and it really makes you think about it long after viewing. HOWEVER, if I'm honest, my experience while actually watching it was not quite as positive.
Most of the characters in the film are cartoony stereotypes which really kept me from getting fully caught up in it. A few of the actors manage to infuse some subtleties that lift their characters above this (most notably the family) but most do not. Most notably, I must say i had an easier time believing Drew Barrymore as a Charlies Angels superspy than an English teacher in this one. Also, it seemed like there were way too many scenes where it was more about playing a song for the soundtrack (which are all very good by the way) than advancing the plot.
This is a film that should be seen, and I hope to see more from Kelly. Right now, though, any comparisons to David Lynch and Mulholland Drive are extremely premature.