One-of-a-kind head-scratcher

Rating: 7/10 (27 June 2016)

DONNIE DARKO is a film hard to classify. Some might pass it off as a routine teen flick but they'd be mistaken. It has all the trappings of adolescent movies, from soul-searching teenage talk to parent problems and plenty of intrigue and simmering violence at the local high school, but it goes a lot further than that.
The base of the story involves a paradox in time, and it is set in an alternate universe packed with imaginative effects and a really creepy guy in a rabbit costume who goes by the name of Frank. I can't really say any more, except that this is the film that brought THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW star Gyllenhaal to fame, and he is excellent, as is the rest of the cast â€“ including Patrick Swayze in a very surprising change of character.
This is one of those movies with a plot that doesn't make much sense until the end, where a couple of twists or three make what has come previously crystal clear. It's a good trick, and one you won't tire of. Add onto that an '80s setting and plenty of cool Tears for Fears music (which could almost have been written for this movie) and you have an emotional thriller with a heart and a brain. It might leave you scratching your head, but repeat viewings should remedy that.