Movie Reviews

Donnie Darko is the provocative new movie from first time writer/director Richard Kelly. This movie defies any normal sense of categorization. It has elements of teen comedy, wicked satire, horror, suspense, science fiction, and various other genres all colliding into one, bizarre, compelling, and very watchable movie... Donnie Darko is so fascinating because there is no point in the film where it is clear where Kelly is going... Time travel does figure prominently in the story, although its actual implications emerge later in the film... Aside from his mental problems and violent tendencies, Donnie is different from other kids. He can see beyond the superficial, and possesses the ability to think. ~Haro-Online

This exercise in "or is it?" paranoia gets off to a shaky start but gradually pulls together into a genuinely haunting parable of teenage alienation.... Kelly's observations about materialism and crackpot pop philosophizing are trite and hardly unique to the era, but his missteps are minor by comparison to his achievements: He slowly weaves a meticulously crafted web of peculiarity around Donnie, and by the time the movie shows its hand, every piece of the puzzle has slipped neatly (but not glibly) into place. ~Maitland McDonagh, TV GUIDE

It's a curio that will provoke powerful audience reactions. This movie is certainly unique - replete with unsettling atmosphere, dark laughs and intriguing, likeable characters. Kelly's picture is enjoyable but senseless, a medley of Dawson's Creek and The Twilight Zone that promises much, but delivers little.~Nev Pierce, BBC

Though at times a little self-indulgent and slow in pace, it's a hugely original movie with a genuinely mind-blowing premise. The special effects are impressive for a film put together on a relatively measly budget, particularly when Donnie begins to see a strange Abyss-style ectoplasm projecting itself out of people's chests, which he believes to be showing him a short distance into the future. The dark satire is also at times extremely funny, and Jake Gyllenhaal is consistently believable in the title role. ~Gary Panton, MOVIE GAZETTE

This movie is loaded with "maybes," deliberate ambiguities and fodder for argument. For starters, there's a 6-foot-tall rabbit who makes sinister suggestions to Donnie. Throughout are hints of David Lynch's films and Stanley Kubrick's "The Shining," as well as John Hughes movies and teen horror flicks. Several reviewers have mentioned "The Catcher in the Rye." The Internet Movie Database calls it a "fantasy/drama/sci-fi/mystery." What sort of beast is this? ~Walter Addiego, San Francisco Chronicle