Weird, freaky yet insightful and stimulating

Rating: 9/10 (4 August 2002)

One of the best movies of 2001 that went under the rader of most was Donnie Darko, an excellent drama set in the 1980's sprinkled with bits of strange humour and social commentary of both that time period and our own. Richard Kelly's tale of a young boy saved by death from a six foot tall rabbit and forced to do the rabbits bidding stretches far beyond the simple storyline and adds in many different subplots and a great deal of valuable insights. The story cannot be summarized on the movie's back, a trailer or even this review. It is a low budget movie with a great look, amazing cast and one of the scariest characters I've ever seen in Frank the bunny. The aliens from Signs were nothing compared to this guy. I can't betray the story by revealing too much but this is one of those movies that must be seen repeatedly, that works on so many levels, the Tyler Durden of teenagehood, this is one of those movies that could be bought without seeing. The dvd contains more scenes which serve to further flesh out the story, add new plot lines and reiterate certain points, a bonus. While this year I have yet to see a good movie, Donnie Darko was the last good movie I've seen, following Ghost World and the Royal Tenenbaums. It may have been shopped around Hollywood for several years, been slowely suffocated by the september 11th censorship and have made next to nothing at the box office but it remains a twisted yet remarkable tale of a boy who gets a second chance at life, and the affect he has on those around him in a short 28 days. Must be seen to be believed 10/10!!!!