Donnie Darko (2001) R - 4 Stars

A fairly low budget movie with good results of a guy that hallucinates a giant rabbit to travel back in time only to be nearly killed by an jet engine dropping from the sky. This bizarre movie leaves a lot of things open for the viewers interpretation. It's the type of movie which if you leave for a potty break, you won't understand a thing. It's really entertaining in a weird way and you can see it many times and still make different judgements about. The ending will have you saying, Huh? Watch the cometary on the DVD as it may help with question you have after viewing this rather dark and mysterious movie.

Donnie (Jake Gyllenhaal) suffers from daylight hallucinations. A young man struggling with schizophrenia, who's life is completely destroyed by fear. He sees his psychiatrist Dr. Lillian Thurman (Katharine Ross), on a weekly basis who supplies him with pills he doesn't like to take. She tries to explain to his parents Rose (Mary McDonnell) and Eddie (Holmes Osborne) what his condition is like for Donnie. But his mother Rose's reply is "It feels wonderful," when Donnie asks her how it feels to have a wacko for a son.

One night after he is woken up by a voice and calling him outside, he is confronted by a large bunny named Frank, who tells him the world will come to an end in 28 days, 6 hours, 42 minutes, and 12 seconds, precisely. Coming back into the house, a jet engine crashes through his roof and would have killed him if he were still lying in bed. When it doesn't kill him, it seems like the whole time frame of the universe is now off kilter and no airplane has reported the loss of an engine.

Donnie meets Gretchen Ross (Jena Malone), the new girl at his school who is attracted to him. It seems she comes from a troubled home who's mother has been abused by her father and the two share something in common, the rebellious English teacher Karen Pomeroy (Drew Barrymore). A self-help guru expert (Patrick Swayze), tries to evaluate Donnie.

Frank constantly visits Donnie and gets him to do things like flood the school so a certain event will take place as a consequence. In a series of intertwining story lines that deal with the concept of time travel through worm holes, and the meaning of life, Frank will help Donnie set the universe back in balance again.

2002 - Donnie Darko - Toronto Film Critics Association - Special Citation

Newmarket Films
Director: Richard Kelly
Writer: Richard Kelly
Producers: Nancy Juvonen, Adam Fields

I viewed 5/07