Danie Darco

It’s not often that a film begins with a troubled adolescent being tempted into the night by a 6 foot tall bunny rabbit who announces that the end is nigh, while a jet engine appears out of nowhere and falls directly on to his room. But these are the circumstances in which the titular character of Richard Kelly’s twisted masterpiece Donnie Darko is introduced to us.
It doesn’t get any more normal from here on in, and it soon becomes clear that all in not right in Donnie’s (Jake Gylanhaal) world. The sinister self-help guru Jim Cunningham (Patrick Swayze) appears on the scene, a mysterious book called The Philosophy of Time Travel seems to mirror Donnie’s experience of the world and the afore mentioned bunny rabbit encourages him to perform unspeakable acts. Who is Frank?
I must admit it takes a while to understand the whole of the film, but this means that you pick up on different ideas with each viewing. Kelly’s movie works on so many levels, on the one hand it’s the tale of the repressive forces operating in a typical American high school (a teacher is sacked for teaching the “pornographic” novel); but alternatively it’s the coming of age story of a troubled teen who struggles with mental illness and rejoices at a blossoming first romance; on a deeper level still it poses existential questions about whether our lives are pre-determined. It’s not genre-bending, it completely does away with the whole concept of genres and goes for something much more idiosyncratic.

The acting is terrific (Gylanhaal steals the show), the music coupled with the emotional intensity of many scenes will undoubtedly move even the most heartless viewer, and Kelly’s directing brings a dream-like quality to proceedings.

Very good, but don't be suprised if you get confused as I did 7 / 10