Time Philosophy

Rating: 10/10 (11 May 2004)

What if you were given a chance to change your fate? Would you use it? Would it work or would the repercussions be enormous?
Donnie Darko is a brilliant movie about a boy who struggles with his everyday life. He understands the world in a different way than most people, and sees patterns and truths to events. He is also bothered by "nightmares" after which he wakes up in strange places and not remembering anything. What is wrong with him?
Director Richard Kelly has made a jewel of a movie with Donnie Darko. As far as I know, this was his debut as a feature movie director, and what debut. He debates philosophy in a highly existensialistic way, weighing the pros and cons, ifs and ors of everything from solitude to time travel. This movie is a nice counterweight to the thirteen-a-dozen superficial movies being spit out of Hollywood. For once I felt the director and writer saw me, as a spectator, as an intelligent being, able to understand things they want me to get. Unlike most high school movies and sitcoms, he lets you figure things out for yourself, which is rare in American movies.
The actors and actresses do a wonderful job portraying Donnies family, friends and others. They really make feel like a part of the story. Even though the only "big" names are Drew Barrymore and Patrick Swayze, the less known actors are the ones who really brings this fantastic story to life.
If you are at all interested in toying with thoughts about the world, reality, life and your own existence, this would be the movie you should watch. This is a perfect movie from beginning to end, though you might have to watch the movie twice to catch all the details which makes this movie so great.