Donnie Darko

Donnie Darko is an immensely atmospheric and fascinating film that is impossible to categorise within the usual mainstream genres. Richard Kelly, who both directed and wrote the screenplay, leads us into a world that at first glance looks familiar, but on closer acquaintance one learns that things are not necessarily what they seem. What is reality and what is fantasy?

Donnie Darko is a gifted teenager with serious psychological problems. In his mind the imaginary figure Frank appears, a man hiding behind a creepy rabbit costume. At Frank's urging, Donnie leaves the house on the very night a jet engine lands in the middle of his bedroom. Donnie is therefore indebted to the rabbit. He carries out all of Frank's orders, even though they are mostly of a destructive nature. Finally, when tragedy has struck, Donnie re-examines his life and puts everything right again.

The plot is neither easy to recount nor to explain. Nor should one probably look for any precise logical coherence, but it is certainly thought-provoking and surprising. The characters at first resemble the stock types of American teen films, but most of them are so nuanced and interesting that one would gladly have seen more of them. That goes, for example, for Donnie Darko's mother, played by Mary McDonnell, and the rebellious teacher played by Drew Barrymore.

Donnie Darko is a film you do not easily shake off. And Michael Andrews' music is very atmospheric.