A mini-masterpiece that marks the arrival of brave new talents in Gyllenhaal and Kelly. Cult glory beckons.
Comment
03/30/03
Donnie Darko (2001)
83 %
Reviews Counted: 96 Fresh: 80 Rotten:16 Average Rating: 7.4/10
Consensus:
Richard Kelly's debut feature Donnie Darko is a daring, original vision, packed with ideas and intelligence.
Runtime: 1 hr 53 mins
Synopsis: In a funny, moving and distinctly mind-bending journey through suburban America, one extraordinary but disenchanted teenager is about to take Time's Arrow for a ride. October 2nd, 1988: just another ordinary day in Donnie Darko’s teen-aged existence. He’s taken his medication,... [More]
Genre: Horror/Suspense
Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Jena Malone, Drew Barrymore, Mary McDonnell, Holmes Osborne
Director: Richard Kelly
Screenwriter: Richard Kelly
Producer: Nancy Juvonen, Adam Fields, Sean McKittrick
Composer: Michael Andrews
Screenwriter: Richard Kelly
Producer: Nancy Juvonen, Adam Fields, Sean McKittrick
Composer: Michael Andrews
Reviews
Top Critic
'Think Rushmore meets Twelve Monkeys and you're on the right lines.'
11/08/02
A deceptive combination of all sorts of tones that seems like a stylistic jumble while keeping up a restrained front and never resorting to easy hyperactivity.
11/03/02
Dark, interesting and downright weird film that plays like a teen movie filtered through the work of David Lynch.
10/30/02
An astonishingly imaginative, poignant, genre-defying tale of teen love, insanity and time travel.
10/29/02
n unusually artful teen thriller, this film has a terrific combination of both light and dark touches from start to finish.
12/10/01
The film...asks the question: what if the universe as we live it, not just as we theorize it, really isn't as we imagine it? In making the mundane as bottomless as the cosmic, Donnie Darko has the guts to remain a riddle itself.
08/04/07
The drowsy surrealism and elaborate inconclusiveness of Donnie Darko will simultaneously guarantee it a rabid cult and put it way off limits to the don't-get-its.
07/30/07
The directors cut of Donnie Darko by Richard Kelly was screened at the Venice Film Festivals a couple of years ago, a film I missed for sure when it was released in 2001 and one of those pearls like Blade Runner that just is haunting screening after scree
07/22/07
Kelly is a supple and courageous storyteller, boldly free-associating as he mixes parody and satire with earnest psychodrama and coming up with plot points no one could anticipate.
06/08/07
Donnie Darko has plenty of problems. But most stem from a young filmmaker overswinging on his first time up to the plate and hitting a deep fly out rather than a home run.
06/08/07
Top Critic
Kelly captures, better than any film in recent memory other than Election, what it feels like to be in high school.
03/30/07
In its metaphysical concerns with the inner workings of the universe, and challenging notions about personal and social responsibility, the film aims much higher than most American youth pictures.
06/13/06
Donnie Darko's flaws, though, are those of a young, talented filmmaker reaching beyond his current grasp. That's a more forgivable sin than soulless excess or hubris-fueled incompetence.
04/06/06
You either love it or hate it. For those who loved it, I have only one word: overrated.c
12/06/05
One of the most remarkable films of 2001, and it deserves a much larger audience than it has so far gained.
01/15/05
Donnie Darko ranks among Gattaca, Pi and Dark City for pure imagination -- and surpasses them for astonishing execution.
07/30/04
Related Forums
What was Kelly trying to say?
by: sarawr 4/19
by: sarawr 4/19
Pictures
News
Elizabeth Berkley, Briana Evigan Join Donnie Darko Sequel
posted by May 30, 2008
Elizabeth Berkley and Briana Evigan have joined Justin Chatwin, Ed Westwick, and Daveigh Chase in the cast of the...
posted by May 30, 2008
Elizabeth Berkley and Briana Evigan have joined Justin Chatwin, Ed Westwick, and Daveigh Chase in the cast of the...
Donnie Darko Sequel Hops Into View
posted by May 09, 2008
Okay, show of hands: Who's up for a Richard Kelly-less Donnie Darko sequel?
posted by May 09, 2008
Okay, show of hands: Who's up for a Richard Kelly-less Donnie Darko sequel?
Richard Kelly Tells Southland Tales of Love and Devotion
posted by Sara Schieron November 14, 2007
After the slow but nonetheless potent rise of cult favorite Donnie Darko, expectations were high for writer/director...
posted by Sara Schieron November 14, 2007
After the slow but nonetheless potent rise of cult favorite Donnie Darko, expectations were high for writer/director...
Southland Tales Stills, Trailer Info
posted by Jeff Giles August 24, 2007
It's got what might be the largest cast and most difficult-to-describe storyline of any major motion picture this...
posted by Jeff Giles August 24, 2007
It's got what might be the largest cast and most difficult-to-describe storyline of any major motion picture this...
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