One of the best films of recent years!

Rating: 9/10 (22 June 2004)

Donnie Darko: This superb low budget gem is an engrossing and strange tale of a troubled young man named Donnie. He is troubled by visions, in particular of a figure in a rabbit suit named Frank. Frank tells Donnie to do certain things, from flooding his school to burning someone's house down.
The story essentially starts a while after Donnie's psychological problems. When we first see him he is already on medication and has a psychiatrist. The story confuses, but for this sort of film it is confusion in a good way, much like David Lynch's films. As the story progresses we become more intrigued by who Frank is and what will happen. When he first contacts Donnie he tells him the world will end in 12 days. The film has a great ending that really grabs you a leaves a lasting impression. I enjoyed the film immensely especially as it is something different from the usual films released.
The cast are very good. Jake Gyllenhaal perfectly portrays the tortured teen Donnie, and his sister Maggie plays Donnie's sister in the movie too. This gives a realism to the brother sister dynamic, and not to mention she is a good actress as well. There is also good support from Jena Malone and also Patrick Swayze and Drew Barrymore.
Overall a Lynch styled thriller that is always intriguing and watchable. *****