Trust me on this one.

Rating: 10/10 (12 November 2002)

Donnie is a troubled young man.He's on medication and visits a psychiatrist;Oh,and he occasionally is visited by a six foot rabbit... This debut feature from Richard Kelly is a masterpiece,bordering on genius.It somehow manages to mould together so many genres without any of them interfering;With an overall sense of doom and gloom,you get romance,comedy,drama,sci-fi with a good chunk of 80's high school fun.There are so many things to look out for,It raises so many questions and really does get you thinking.
The story begins with Mr.Darko being called outside his house in the dead of night by a mysterious voice,who turns out to be Frank the rabbit.He simply tells him that the world is going to end.Shortly after whilst out sleepwalking,a jet engine falls out of nowhere and lands on the Darkos' house.Right where Donnie should be sleeping. As the film unfolds,Frank visits Donnie a few more times,only to coax him into performing some random acts of violence which in turn have a significant effect on Donnie and the people he knows.But throughout all this,theres a sense of desperation within him to find out what it all means and,most importantly,whats going to happen.
Where this film succeeds the most is how we,the viewer become so involved with Donnies life,you will wonder what he wonders and you will be just as confused.Not only that,but all actors are so convincing we're all captivated by all the other characters in the film.
The direction is flawless,with the unique angles Kelly uses in some scenes and the way hes captured the films beautiful look,it just makes you feel really good whilst watching it.The use of 80's music to set the scene is very fitting.Each song sounds as if it was written specifically for this film.
While it will impress many though,it will confuse the hell out of others.You cant simply watch the film,it needs to be worked out and even when it ends you're still left scratching your head for a long time after,possibly enough to encourage you to go see it a second time. In closing,Donnie Darko is one of the most engagingly beautiful films ever produced.It will leave you in a dreamlike state with all sorts of questions about where life is going and what if you chose a different path in life?Given a wider theatrical release,this could well be the top of many film lovers' lists.Something that has to truly be seen to be believed.