This film did my head in!

Rating: 6/10 (2 November 2002)

Donnie Darko is the name of the teenage hero of the film. One night, a jet engine falls from the sky and lands through the roof of the Darkos' home no one knows where from and Donnie encounters a rabbit-headed figure, Frank who informs him that the world is coming to an end in twenty eight days.
Days pass accompanied by more bizarre events which builds up the audience's anticipation of what will happen when the time runs out. We learn early on in the film that Donnie is taking medication which hints that day to day episodes may be tricks in Donnie's mind. What makes the film stimulating is the fact that you cannot be sure whether events are real or the result of Donnie's state of mind.
You get the sense that throughout the film, Donnie is a trapped soul (whether it be in a time warp or a dream I can't decide) where teachers and adults such as the Patrick Swayze guru character want to simplify everything in life into two extremes: fear and love. You also have Drew Barrymore as Donnie's English teacher who invites the new girl of the class to sit next to the boy she finds the cutest. The romance which develops between Donnie and his new classmate is nice and helps to lighten the tone of what has already developed into a pretty dark film.
Jake Gyllenhaal gives a likeable performance as the hero and displays good comic timing and laidback personality he reminds me of Tobey Maguire in many ways. He is not an actor I am familiar with but he looks to be a promising future star.
I went to the cinema seeking a film that would be unpredictable what better film to choose than a film where a boy meets a human-sized rabbit and the world is meant to end in less than thirty days. When the 28 days of the story had run out, I was left with no logical explanation to what I had seen. I left the cinema very confused, this film did my head in!