IMDb #202 Review: Donnie Darko (2001)

Source: Wikipedia

There are movies that make you think, “I’m not high/buzzed/stoned enough for this shit.” Then there’s Donnie Darko, which does all three for you. It’s aggressively bizarre, intelligently crass, absurdly intricate. But it cements its status as a cult classic by being wildly entertaining.

How to summarize this madness?

Our titular hero’s an atypical troubled teen, too smart for his own good. Donnie meets Frank, a freaky nightmare dude in a bunny suit who predicts the end of the world. Then a jet turbine drops on Donnie’s house. A smiley demagogue (is that Patrick Swayze?!) enslaves the imaginations of suburban moms and the bitchy PE teacher via cheesy VHS tapes. Characters discuss Graham Greene, Watership Down, and Smurf sexuality. When time travel gets involved, things get kinda complicated.

What's it all mean?

Not knowing is half the fun. There are websites dedicated to unraveling this beautiful mess.

On the one hand, it’s a fun ride, rife with witty lines, realistically dysfunctional relationships, and glorious triumphs of justice. On the other hand, there’s the pseudo-intellectual angle — seriously considering fringe science and depressing philosophies and the relative insignificance of human decisions. On the third hand, a mutant flipper protruding from your blood-spattered bunny suit, there’s the screwy timeline, the schizophrenic visions, and the mind-screw of an ending that requires at least one more viewing to fully appreciate.

Overall, Donnie Darko excels as a highschool misfit flick, suffices as a morbid sci-fi mind-bender. Most of all, it stands as a stupendous conversation starter to showcase your nerd cred.

133 minutes.