My feelings on the film.

Rating: Null/10 (21 July 2003)

WARNING A SPOILER IS AHEAD!
I've just watched the film and im going to have to say what i feel. The film was very good. Critics have dubbed it a "horror" (?) and a "psychological study", but to me, it is...simple as it may be...a love story.
Donnie is Confused. So is everyone who has ever been a teenager.
And nothing makes sense. But in the middle of it all is Gretchen. And there is nothing confusing about Gretchen. She is there for him. a And She doesn't present a problem. She doesnt probe Donnie. She doesnt ignore him. She doesnt reject his views or feel intimidated by his intelligence. So, there, in the middle of his confused state, is this one thing, so fantastic. Gretchen. And to anyone who has never experienced this, it is absolutely wonderful and cannot be described in mere words. And when she dies it seems so unreal to Donnie that all his confusion, everything he has been trying to understand, melts away. His world dissolves and come back to focus on one thing. And all he cares about is Gretchen.
And as he reflects on everything, now he is apart from it, instead of in the middle of it, it all comes together and makes sense.
And to me, when Donnie travels back in time, it is for no other reason than to save Gretchens life. And Donnies last laugh is because he is ecstatic and overjoyed that Gretchen will live, even though it is at the cost of his own life, and she that she won't ever know him. And that to me, is love.
Maybe i'm just a hopeless romantic.
It is funny, as i've just realised something. Patric Swayze was right. Donnie was looking in all the wrong places for answers. The answer was in love all along. Yeah, i definitely am a hopeless romantic, but i hope my view of the film has helped you look at it in a new way. Thank you for reading.