Excellent mood but not much logic (SPOILERS)

Rating: Null/10 (18 January 2003)

The film was very moody and offbeat, but had no internal logic. Donnie is saved by Frank, who tells him to flood the school (which infuriates the school bully), to burn down the motivators house (which exposes his child porn ring), etc etc which leads to Frank's death. So where is Frank coming from? Not the future because he's dead (shot in the eye). Not from the past (he doesn't have the wound he got in the future). So what does any of it mean? Frank has no motive to save Donnie since it leads to his death. I understand why (if that's what we're being told) that Donnie chooses to go back and die - but only to save his girlfriend. That could have been accomplished by not doing what Frank said. BTW - in the "improved" future - Donnie is dead and the child molestor is not caught. Not much of an improvement. And what's with the old lady? Does her book add anything to the story - and what was the letter Donnie wrote to her? Was that the letter she was expecting? Everyone has done time travel and loops from the Twilight Zone, to Star Trek, to Babylon 5, and I think they did it better.
I'll give it marks for effort but not for the result.