onnie Darko (Gyllenhaal) isn't quite like the other kids. To start with, he's got more than his fair share of "emotional problems," which is what all the therapy and medication he partakes of is for. Then there are the visits he's been getting recently from his new imaginary friend, "Frank," who looks like a cross between a giant bunny rabbit and the Grim Reaper. But how imaginary can Frank be if he keeps giving Donnie such good advice?
The first time Frank talks to Donnie, he tells him to get out of his house the night a freak accident sends a jet-plane engine crashing into Donnie's bedroom. Another "conversation" leads to the events that allow Donnie to get to know Gretchen (Malone), a new girl at his high school (with quite a few problems of her own), whom Donnie ends up "going with." But Frank's not exactly a fairy godmother—the things he tells Donnie to do could certainly be seen to be somewhat on the "psychotic" side.
And then there are the other things Donnie's been seeing—streams of what looks like living water growing from people's chests that seems to lead them on paths through time and space. It's these visions that lead Donnie to pose the question of time travel to his physics teacher (Wyle), who directs him to a book called The Philosophy of Time Travel, which Donnie discovers, much to his surprise, is written by the local crazy old lady.
And all the while Donnie and Frank are counting down to something, something ominous that neither of them can really name. Like many other teen-agers, Donnie finds himself asking questions like: What's it all add up to? What's it all mean? But the answers he finds are far from the norm.
Creepy, funny and mind-bending
Set in 1988 upper-middle-class, suburban America, one of Donnie Darko's main modes is satire, which it employs with great skill and to great effect. One can't help but root for Donnie (however psychotically he may appear to be behaving) when he acts out against the likes of creepy teen self-help gurus (Swayze), cruel and obnoxious fellow classmates, and shallow-minded, self-important, Dan Quayle-loving gym teachers. Balanced against these types (though they don't escape unscathed, either) are his pretty cool English teacher (Barrymore) and his relatively functional and progressive-minded family.
One of the other most appealing elements of Donnie Darko is Gyllenhaal's performance, which subtly but effectively communicates the complex mix of irony, humor, sensitivity, intelligence, frustration, aggression and potential schizophrenia that make up the character of Donnie. The special effects the film does have are used sparingly, and that works quite well—this movie's science fiction is very much about suggestion, and all that term means.
The narrative as a whole is told in an extremely economical and well-paced manner—comedy, horror and drama prove to be all in the timing (or the editing, as the case may be). The story is as engrossing as the screenplay is sharp—metaphysical considerations fall in easily with teen-age discussions of the sex lives of The Smurfs. It's only due to the fact that the bulk of the film is such a rich and tasty feast that its ending seems every-so-slightly bland—the finale has a tough act to follow; regardless, though, it's definitely a thought-provoking one.
