Certainly one the greatest independent debuts of the decade

Rating: 9/10 (13 November 2011)

When reviewing a sequence of excellent films in a row, it is inevitable to fall into the horrid dimension of adjectives scarcity. Thoughtless repetition of terms and ideas is something I try to avoid as a plague, and as the nefarious manifestation of bluntness that it truly is; however I cannot refrain from designate Donnie Darko as a brilliant, mysterious, inventive mind-bending and after all melancholic piece of art. Certainly one the greatest independent debuts of the decade.
One may presume, before watching the film, that all this ridiculous adulation over a troubled teenage movie may be a misleading interpretation of a melodramatic story filled with unjustifiable angst over foolish juvenile notions. Nothing could be further from the truth. While Richard Kelly's debut does indeed deals with troubled youth and its consequences, the whole universe of Donnie Darko incorporates with efficiency a non-linear storytelling, disseminating vital importance among all characters and even presenting parallel dimensions and distorted timeliness for the sake of subtle sci-fi impression.
Needless to say, the plot is not quite easily digestible; there are particular physical allusions that may border on the unintelligible, and for the ones that insist on straight forward, chronologically simplistic narratives, disappointment is almost certain. For the open-minded, however, it is a perfect chance to inspire the sensibility, as the movie will most definitely awake your human side by the final scenes, when Tears For Fears' ''Mad World'' carries the credits, ending one of the most compelling and challenging dramas ever produced.
There is a huge chance that you may be a cold-hearted bastard if this movie did not affect you in any way. Everything from Jake Gyllenhaal performance, the grim suburban atmosphere, complexity on psychological and (meta)physical realms, not to mention the superb Indie/Post-Punk soundtrack, all converging to one of my favorites finales, that would not reach this grandiose without that large amount of pretension, once again and always, used as compliment term.