Cult favorite is a hit-and-miss affair

Rating: 4/10 (14 April 2005)

DONNIE DARKO
Aspect ratio: 2.39:1 (Panavision)
Sound format: Dolby Digital
A lonely high school student (Jake Gyllenhaal) is beset by visions which portend either a mental breakdown or the End of the World...
Richard Kelly's debut film aims for cult status at every level but fails to fly off the screen. Though a fine actor, Gyllenhaal is basically miscast, and Kelly's style is too laidback to make much of an impact. Cult favorite James Duval (a regular in Gregg Araki's outrageous movies) makes a cameo appearance as the object of Gyllenhaal's strange 'visions'. Fine use of the wide Panavision frame.