One of my all time favorte films, Donnie Darko is a film that I think most people will either love or hate. It's a genre bending head trip. No film has ever envoked so many emotions in me. A lot has been made over the movies plot. What does it all mean? I have my own ideas and they might or might not be right. But for me the plot really is secondary. The films real strenght is its ability to play with my emotions.
Jake Gylenhall is outstanding as Donnie Darko. He has the whole teen angst thing down. It reminded me of a lot of emotions I felt at that age and sometimes still do. Mary McDowell and Holmes Osbourne do a great job of portraying parents who desperately want to help their son , but can't really comprehend what's going on. Drew Barrymore, Noah Wyle, Maggie Gylenhall, and Kathrine Ross have small roles but make a big impact.
Its hard to bealive this is Richard Kellys first film in the directors chair. The mood he is able to create is haunting. He envokes darkness, an eerie tone, and a sense of surrealism. The 1980's seems to be weird era for this sort of film but somehow it works. Kelly does a remarkably superb job at uses the right soundtrack and score to make a scene memorable.
This is without a doubt near the top of my list of favortes and I recommend it to anyone who dosn't mind a plot thats requires a little work to follow
