cool premise and unique blend

Rating: 8/10 (10 April 2015)

It's 1988 upper class suburb Middlesex, Virginia. Donnie Darko (Jake Gyllenhaal) is a disturbed kid who talks to a giant creepy bunny called Frank and disappears at night. His parents (Mary McDonnell, Holmes Osborne) have him talking to psychiatrist Dr. Lilian Thurman (Katharine Ross). Frank tells him that the world is ending in 28 days. A jet engine crashes into his room while he's away sleepwalking. No one knows where it came from. He falls for new student Gretchen Ross (Jena Malone). The school is flooded and English teacher Karen Pomeroy (Drew Barrymore)'s assignment is blamed. Gym teacher Kitty Farmer (Beth Grant) begins to teach lessons from motivational speaker Jim Cunningham (Patrick Swayze). His science teacher Dr. Kenneth Monnitoff (Noah Wyle) gives him a time travel book written by local mad woman Roberta Sparrow.
I love the weird moody style. It's got a surreal suburbia that feels more like the small town in Blue Velvet. It's a beautiful place on the surface hiding an ugly core. Frank is just weird and Jake Gyllenhaal plays off of it with a disturbing performance. There is the crazy sci-fi element. All of it mash together in one of the most unique blend. The 80s music is terrific. I also didn't notice Seth Rogen was in this until watching much later. The final ending is a little bit confusing and I'm not sure what it all means. I would have preferred one that wraps up with more sense.