BRILLIANT.

Rating: 10/10 (27 April 2002)

Brilliant.
Amazing.
Donnie Darko is a labyrinth of a film. Each time you view it you take a different path and pick up new gems... you see new facets of previous gems. Full of the rich, layered, meaningful symbolism and imagery you would expect from a Peter Greenaway film (Drowning by Numbers; The Cook, the Thief, His Wife and Her Lover), Darko is a deeply moving, rewarding experience that gets better with each viewing. There is always a new detail to notice, always a fresh new viewpoint from which to experience the film.
Writer and (first time) director Richard Kelly is the new wunderkind to watch, the next M. Night Shyamalan to break onto the scene.
Incredible performances from a great cast and slick, awesome special effects (incredibly, done for $$ equaling the catering budget of most Hollywood movies) round out one of the best films I have experienced in an age.
Darko is the first film I bought on DVD... after which I went out to buy the DVD player I've been putting off buying for years. There was just never such a commanding reason for me to go DVD before Donnie Darko.
-Shane G