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Donnie Darko Customer Reviews (40 - 42 of 213 Reviews)

Donnie Darko
This movie is utterly amazing. Every aspect of this film i think should be taken into deep consideration when evaluating life. i really dont know what else to say, besides, every one should view this film at least twice, in their lifetime. I think that we can learn a lot from it.

Extremely Confusing, but totally original movie.
Yes, it's totally original. The person who made this movie created a whole plot that maybe only he/she would understand.....I had to go on the internet and look up explanations to figure the movie out. Basically, the hero of the movie is thrusted into an alternate universe where certain rules apply. Thankfully the director's cut inserts the laws/rules of the alternate universe as text for you to read, which may clear things up a bit. There's a lot to see in this movie, and a second viewing is helpful or by going to internet descussion sites. The main characters bunny friend gave me nightmares, very scary.

Instantly one of my top 5 films of all time
After seeing and loving "Brokeback Mountain" (five viewings?!), I embarked on a Jake Gyllenhaal mini-film festival, starting with "Jarhead" (BLECH).

Since I've been hearing about "Donnie Darko" since its release, mostly from slightly eccentric, highly intelligent people who mostly share my taste in movies, I rented it (The Director's Cut).

OHMYFREAKINGGOD.

From the first moments, I was completely and totally drawn in to this completely original, yet accessible film. The plot has been discussed in countless other reviews, so I won't get into it here, save to say that is both bizarre and resonant. Things are purposefully left ambiguous, yet there is an undeniable internal logic that holds the many threads (and clashing movie genres) together. Visually this film is a stunner, with wild effects merging seemlessly with domestic and school scenes that seem perfectly normal but just a little bit "off."

Everything in this movie has a double or a triple meaning, and virtually everything is symbolic or foreshadows something later in the film. Frank the Bunny's line "Pay attention, you might miss something" applies to Donnie, but also very much to the viewer. This is an incredibly "dense" film; cross James Joyce's "Ulysses" with Kubrick with "Requium for a Dream" with "Ordinary People" with any John Hughes teen angst movie and you end up with "Donnie Darko." That is, if you're an incredibly gifted screenwriter and director like Richard Kelly. This film DEMANDS repeat viewings, as it reveals entire layers of meaning each time you watch it, and can easily make you obsessed. A cult has formed around it, and there is a cryptic website as well as a multitude of "Donnie Darko" internet communities, FAQs, blogs, etc.

I noticed that many of the negative reviews were from people who'd seen the original and disliked the Director's Cut. The criticisms mostly stem from the fact that Kelly explains a bit more in the Director's Cut, but I can tell you, as a virgin viewer, it STILL requires a lot of puzzle solving and analysis; once you've seen this film, you just can't stop thinking about it. Also, people complain about different music choices, and some additions and missing lines (particularly a key line from Frank in the movie theater). Shoot, now I have to buy BOTH versions!

All of the actors are superb. Both Noah Wylie and Drew Barrymore give the performances of their respective careers, Maggie Jyllenhaal, Jake's real-life sister, is wonderful as Donnie's sister, and the rest of the cast is equally good.

However, Jake Gyllenhaal really shines in the title role, as a hesitant teen with family troubles and a tough time socializing who is 1) either caught in a wild time-travel loop where only he can save the world, or 2) a paranoid schitzophrenic. His halting manner, his hesitant voice, his odd tics, and most of all, his incredibly expressive eyes manage to convey a very troubled teenager who you can still empathize with. Because you so feel for this character, the ending is both disturbing and deeply sad. It's a tour de force performance, particularly from an actor that was only 19-20 when the film was shot.

This is no mere intellectual exercise; many "puzzle movies" engage the mind but remain emotionally cold and detatched. Donnie Darko is the rare film that manages the nearly impossible task of having a mind, a heart, and a soul, in roughly equal measures. DO NOT MISS THIS, I wish I'd discovered it sooner.

A definite 10 out of 10.

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