Little strange. Bit surreal. Kind of long. Interesting.

Rating: 6/10 (3 November 2002)

The film goes for almost 2 hours, and towards the end I began caring less and less about what strange stuff was going to happen next. But I'm glad I saw the movie...mostly.
Lots of strange things do happen in this film, and for anyone tired of main-stream "normal" American movie stories, Donnie Darko should satisfy. I enjoyed the surreal atmosphere, and mysterious path the story followed, although sometimes it would lose focus a bit, with an odd scene here or there that seemed to work against the flow.
Apart from a few nice visuals, there isn't a lot to say about the cinematography either. So important to a movie like this, but very reserved, static and "safe" was my perception of this film's visual style.

I suppose that somewhere along the path, the movie lost its creative and mysterious charm. At least it does have some charm though, it just wavers. And I think I like to be challenged more by movies rather than have everything handed to me on a plate. That said, it does offer enough to keep you thinking about and discussing (and criticizing) afterwards.

One last thing. I agree with my friend who said she's seen that rich upper-class American leafy suburban street in movies one too many times. Does everyone over there live on streets like this?