Part of Teenage Wasteland
A kaleidoscope of esoteric and hypnotic events occur when a boy named Donnie Darko (Jake Gyllenhaal) sleepwalks out of his house one night and sees a giant, demonic-looking rabbit named Frank, who tells him the world will end in 28 days. After narrowly escaping a bizarre accident, the emotionally volatile teenager is plagued by visions of Frank — who manipulates him into going on a paranoia-fueled crime spree. In form, DONNIE DARKO is an ‘80s cult-classic teen film — but in execution, it’s a delicate sci-fi narrative grounded in theoretical physics.
“[Richard] Kelly, the 26-year-old writer-director of this excitingly original indie vision, shares more artistically with Wes Anderson or Paul Thomas Anderson than he does with Spielberg or John Hughes, but the point is, he’s out on his own here. He swings big — with flair.” —Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly (Nov 9, 2001) “The great thing about DONNIE DARKO is how it flutters, like a mischievous butterfly, above the despairing hands of easy description…. Appealingly, the movie has a certain lightness — like the aforementioned butterfly — which makes its foreboding qualities surprisingly user-friendly.” —Desson Howe, Washington Post (Oct 25, 2001) “Like gathering storm clouds, DONNIE DARKO creates an atmosphere of eerie calm and mounting menace — stands as one of the most exceptional movies of 2001.” —Jean Oppenheimer, L.A. New Times
