Confusing, dark, difficult and confusing but very enjoyable and worth the work

Rating: Null/10 (4 November 2002)

In the small American of Middlesex lives Donnie, a disturbed teenager, in psychoanalysis and on a programme of medication. One night a large figure in a rabbit suit (Frank) appears to Donnie and takes him out of his home in order to tell him that in just over 28 days the world will come to an end. While out Donnie house is struck by an aeroplane engine that crushes his room and would have surely killed him. Donnie follows Frank's instruction as they grow increasingly violent as he tries to prevent the world ending and turn time back.
I, like many others, came to this on the back of rave reviews but I knew that this film is a CULT movie. That means that not everyone will get it or enjoy it. I fell within the first category but not within the second. The plot is a strange mix of high school movie cliché and a weird hallucination (?) that is Donnie's world. The two sit well together and both work separately. The high school stuff finds Donnie in a boat many of us have been in  that of a teenager disaffected and misunderstood by everything around him. On top of this alienation Donnie must cope with the darker world of Frank  a darkness that is brought out really well and is genuinely creepy.
This side of the story is the difficult bit. There are big question marks that surround what is actually going on with Frank and, even after the film has finished it remains unclear and you'll be left wondering `what the heck was that?' However it is a fantastic ride and you'll be totally sucked into the world of Donnie. It's not a classic film because of this  too dark for many and maybe too frustrating in it's ambiguous nature for others, but it is one hell of a movie that'll amuse, chill and entertain long after you finish it.
The direction is faultless. Shadowy stairwells cast beautiful shadows and blue skies and picket fences give way to dark visions and destruction. The use of music is also good  80's soundtracks may not be a fresh idea but here it is used sparingly and to great effect. Some is over familiar but in fairness most is well known but gains value from how it is used with the action onscreen.
Gyllenhaal is a great lead and brings an immense depth to the film, his laid back approach mixed with the dark haunted looks he can draw upon add to the feelings of both menace and reality. The rest of the cast are all great and throw up a few faces I wasn't expecting  including Mary McDonnell, Swayze, Barrymore and Noah Wyle from ER. These aren't distracting and don't take away or add to the film's value simply by their star power.
Overall this is well worth a watch. You won't get it first time but you'll have fun thinking about it and running over the meaning in your mind. I'm coming to grips with the whole time travel thing but am still questioning my own answers. Please remember than this is a cult movie that is wearing a multiplex outfit (just like Frank). Many will find it confusing, challenging and just too plain weird but most will enjoy it even if the meaning is confused and difficult.