enigmatic and stylish take on flawed man or superman? definitely worth a view.

Rating: Null/10 (6 June 2004)

It's good to see thought provoking movies like DD coming out of the states when there is so much dross being made (e.g., Legally Blonde: what is THAT about?). Also, the cast is excellent and all turn in great performances, the cinematography is stunning, the score is brilliant, as too is the choice of 80s music.
Whether or not you like DD will depend, I think, on whether you empathise with the Donnie character. He's borderline paranoid schizophrenic, and many of the devices in the movie play on the symptoms of the illness, such as the imaginary figure in the form of frank (the giant and sinister rabbit who is apparent only to Donnie), and an ego-centric view of the world where chance and coincidence are intrepreted by Donnie as signs confirming that he alone understands the events that are unfolding around him. The suspense builds as you are challenged time and again to decide whether Donnie truly is delusional or whether he really has special powers.
According to Jake Gyllenhaal, the film is about the view that there is no single answer to any question. Take what you want from it. A cracker of a film, IMHO. Go buy it.