One word: fantastic.

Rating: 10/10 (22 May 2002)

This movie literally blew my mind. At the time I saw it, all I knew was a 10-word summary from imdb, so I had no idea of what kind of movie this would be. However, it quickly turned out that this movie is something special.
One of the first things that comes to mind when one watches this movie is the quality of acting and directing. As this is Richard Kellys debut I'm amazed that he managed to make the movie so complex and surprising without the typical stupid errors and confusing plot holes. From the beginning to the end, Donnie Darko is a fantastic surreal movie that never disappoints once, and left me drop-jawed in the chair.
Jake Gyllenhaal clearly shows his diversity on the screen in this one. He is so convincing in the role as Donnie that you could sometimes doubt if this is a fictional movie or a documentary. But he's not the only one - it seems that every single actor in this movie were cast perfectly for the person they play. Jena Malone is the typical american teenagegirl who is sure to leave the males in the audience howling for more (she's actually a very talented actor, too). Beth Grant is truly outstanding as the sickening mrs. Farmer, so much that every single person in the audience is sure to hate her (Mrs. Farmer, not Beth Grant). Patrick Swayze managed to be in a movie without dancing and still act very convincing - his portrait of the "holy" Jim Cunningham was just hilarious.
Generally, every actor, no matter how small the role, fits perfectly into the Donnie Darko universe. Ultimately I think it all comes down to the directing skills of Richard Kelly - I hope we're gonna see more of his work in the future.
The photographing in this movie is nothing unique, but we do get a few strange angles and cuts once in a while. A good example would be the scene where Donnie sees Frank while he's in hypnotherapy and yells "I can see him right now!"... the following 5 seconds reminds me somewhat of David Lynch.
Generally, I think this movie tries hard to be extraordinary and strange like most Lynch movies - and it succeeds. While it's not all about some twisted surreal world, it relies heavily on this to build up the excitement. The scenes with Frank in the bathroom are just breathtaking, so is the scene where we see the "liquid workers" for the first time.
The soundtrack itself is amazing - who in the audience can stop tapping their feet as Tears for Fears' "Head over heels" begins to play? The movie takes place in the 80's, so of course every single song is from that era. Besides the pop classics, the darker, more intense scenes feature some very melodic and plain out beautiful piano-pieces which support the mood perfectly.
All in all, Donnie Darko is a very complete movie. I suggest you go rent it right away.