Donnie darko is the strange and surreal story of a brilliant and troubled teenager working through the strange goings on around his life.
Starring Jake Gyllenhall (The day after tommorow) and Jena Malone, this 1988 film is stunningly wierd and will get into your mind.
The effects used in this film are amazingly well done, from showing the life paths of the people in the film in a strange and unique way to the effect of ripples in an invisible wall. Not only do these effects help show how surreal the film is but the use of camera shots also helps show this. In one scene the camera rotates around showing how confused Donnie Darko's life is, and as the camera follows people all around the school you see the odd and yet at the same time normal lives of all these other students.

The plot of Donnie Darko will keep you watching till the end just to understand how all the events come together, The constant plot twists can become confusing but only add to the intensity of the film. Because of this you may need to watch it twice in order to understand the film completely.
At the begining Donnie seems like your typical troubled teen, but as the film continues you see him become darker and you are constantly wondering is what he sees is real or not, even by the end the audience still isn't completely sure if everything they saw was real or not.

The final song in the film is 'Mad world' is a beautiful song, and when you see it with the second to last scene it will send shivers up your spine.
The music in general is a good aspect to the film, with piano pieces playing everynow and again which give a creepy air to the film.

Donnie Darko is a beautiful and deeply physcological film, it will give you chills and is worth putting down as a film to see before you die.

Link: Maggie Gyllenhaal stars in both Sherry baby and Donnie Darko.

Donnie Darko, directed by Richard Kelly.

Donnie Darko (Jake Gyllenhaal) a talented but troublesome adolescent, is posessed with terrifying visions that only he alone knows the true meanings of. One of the more disturbing visions consists of Donnie witnessing the end of the world. With help from various characters including his soulmate Gretchen (Jena Malone) and a 6 foot bunny rabbit called Frank, Donnie sets out on the a mysterious journey to unravel the strange occurrences affecting all he knows before it's too late.

The film has an impressive cast including: Drew Barrymore, Katherine Ross, Patrick Swayze, Mary McDonnell and Naoh Wyle. Not forgetting brother and sister act Jake and Maggie Gyllenhaal. The cast definatly helps make the film more appealing, i know this because that is what originally attracted me to the film.

Jake Gyllenhaal's performance in Donnie Darko highlights his amazing acting abilitly. His performancec here led him to be nominated for an Indepedant Spirit award for best actor and also led him to win countless excellent reviews. Another actor that i feel contributes a great performance to the film is Drew Barrymore. Barrymore plays the role of Donnie's teacher Karen Pomeroy, who's teaching methods are taken negatively by her collegues and parents of students. Barrymore's performance is really gripping and quiet uncomfortably strange at times. Both her and Gyllenhaa's performancesl make the film highly watchable and enjoyable.

I watched the film at home on DVD with my friend. I found the film more enjoyable watchinng it with my friend as there were parts of the film that i didnt understand preivously and that he explained to me and vice-verser. I would reccomend this film to friends however i feel that only an audience that has a interst in cult movies can really understand and enjoy it to its full potential.

Although there are parts of the film that some viewers may find confusing. The film is "Strange, different, beautiful and compelling". Donnie Darko is a cult classic that will continue to confuse and bring enjoyment to many audiences.