The best film I've seen in awhile

Rating: 10/10 (15 June 2002)

I've recently been getting so sick of films that bore me. I'm honestly not that tough of a critic -- all a film has to do for me to like it is entertain me. I suppose I've gotten to the point where the puerile crap that Hollywood churns out can no longer even amuse me.

Enter Donnie Darko.
I'd seen the trailer awhile back and it looked wonderfully bizarre, but it never came to the theatres in my hometown. I forgot about it until I saw it on the DVD shelf in the video store yesterday. And wow, am I glad I rented it.
I was entertained -- my minimum requirement -- from the very start. Donnie, as played by Gyllenhall, is amazing. He's an apparent nut case who doesn't take his meds -- and we all know it from the very start. Donnie's adventures in the 28 days after a freak accident in his house are surreal and to put it lightly, trippy. It's funny, touching and unreal.
I do agree with a previous reviewer that if you don't relate to Donnie, you won't like the movie. I do feel that most people have something in common with him, however, unlikely as it may seem, and I hope that people will give this movie a chance.