Donnie Darko
written and directed by Richard Kelly
starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Mary McDonald,  Drew Barrymore, Jena Malone, Patrick Swayze

      There have been many reviews about Donnie Darko which suggest the film is centered upon the time in which it takes place.  Like American Psycho, there is an abundance of '80s allegory.  Some of these are intentional homages and others are coincidental, but the film does fairly represent a moment toward the end of that decade where the Reagan youth feared for their futures.   Donnie Darko is about much more, though, and owes itself mainly to non-'80s references like Graham Greene's "The Destructors" and Terry Gilliam's 12 Monkeys, both of which writer-director Richard Kelly admits to being influenced by.
      The film begins on October 2, 1988 when teenager Donnie Darko is lured out of his bed by a new imaginary friend named Frank.  Frank is a demonic rabbit and his leading of Donnie to a golf course in the middle of the night saves the boy from being killed by a mysterious jet engine that falls from the sky, landing in Donnie's bedroom.  Thus begins a 28-day alternate dimension where Donnie's existence threatens the fabric of space-time.  That is the understanding given by Kelly in his DVD commentary, anyway, leaving no other discussion valid. 
      What commences is an anti-Its A Wonderful Life.  By the end of the film, it is obvious that Donnie should have died in the accident.  As is discussed in a book  called "The Philosophy of Time-Travel" (its contents also available to those in possession of the DVD), written by a character known as Grandma Death, is that a dimension swaying from the fated paths of time will collapse in a matter of weeks.  After knowing this tidbit, we are again left with no other interpretation. 
      I can understand why many people saw the film merely as an amalgam of '80s culture references and homages.  A viewer may recall moments from such films as Heathers, The Abyss, E.T. and Blue Velvet while witnessing direct mentions of The Smurfs, Hungry-Hungry Hippos and a theater marquee showing The Last Temptation of Christ on a Halloween double-bill with Evil Dead.  More important, however, is a theme focused on the beginnings of childhood nihilism and the usage of circular plot based on time-travel and apocalypse, both of which are lifted from Kelly's acknowledged inspirations.   
      For a debut filmmaker, Richard Kelly is a master storyteller even if his own interpretation is unclear as being definite by watching the film alone.  Donnie Darko is a visual delight, using plenty of special effects he claims were contributed for next to nothing.  He frames a shot and uses it to its fullest, often filling the screen with plenty to pay attention to without being cluttered.  His direction of the actors is a complimentary mix of serious emotion and facetious winking. 
      The film is both overrated and underrated yet it is also far from middleground.  The fact that the film has so much going on and not seem like it, bringing forth discussions on an array of subjects, makes it highly admirable.  The film is far from perfect and isn't expected as more for a freshman effort.  It definately shows enormous talent and potential.

Donnie decides this is the worst date he's ever been on.