Search - Donnie Darko [UMD for PSP] on UMD for PSP

K. K. (GAMER)
Reviewed on 5/15/2023...

Jake Gyllenhaal nailed it with this dark and disturbing suspense creep you out thriller. A must watch!

Remarkably original

Charlotte Vale-Allen | CT USA | 08/12/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Any form of media that makes you think has succeeded in what it set out to do.Donnie Darko is a film that succeeds on every conceivable level. The script is original and entirely unpredictable. There isn't a single bit of action or dialogue, not one frame that can be anticipated. The characters, too, are refreshingly well-conceived and highly unique. And it's a treat to see actors we know well (Drew Barrymore, who also produced, and Noah Wyle) stretch well beyond our usual expectations. There is great humor in this film as well as great sorrow. And, ultimately, it's impossible to say if the entire scenario takes place within the dreams of a brilliant but possibly schizophrenic young man or if, as he so desperately wishes, he has, through physics, managed to reverse time.Jake Gyllenhaal gives a stunning performance as Donnie. Even his body language--incurving shoulders, questioning eyes, uncertain smiles--reveal a vast, searching intelligence. Mary McDonnell gives yet another in a roster of thoughtful portrayals--this time as the despairing mother of brilliant and troubled Donnie, simultaneously loving and hating him for being emotionally beyond her reach. And Jena Mallone is just wonderful, one of the truest, most authentic young actors around today.This is filmmaking at its best--an adventure for the mind--not to be missed.
Most highly recommended."

A must-have DVD

pm444 | Okemos, MI USA | 02/18/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I missed this film in its theatrical release (apparently it received limited distribution), but since it requires at least two viewings, it's well-suited for DVD. It's difficult to describe the story or even characterize it by genre, which shows how original the film is. Simply put, it's about time travel, but it's about a lot more than that, too. The acting is consistently outstanding, with a list of well-known names in the cast, along with less familiar ones. Jake Gyllenhaal gives an amazing performance that is so convincing, you forget that he is acting; he IS Donnie Darko. While the story is mainly told through his eyes, the other characters are surprisingly sympathetic as well. This is not an easy feat for a script to accomplish, especially when the viewer must focus so much attention on every event. It would have been easy to create a one-dimensional hero and a bunch of villains, but writer/director Richard Kelly doesn't take the easy way out. Instead, we get a highly intelligent and challenging film that engages us as much as it baffles us, that injects enough humor to keep us from stress-overload, and most importantly, makes us want to watch it again and again, even after we know what's going on. In this sense, "Donnie Darko" succeeds where other films have fallen short: for example, I enjoyed the complexities of "Memento", but I was not able to identify or even care very much about any of the characters. The same was true of "The Usual Suspects". Both are excellent films, but I viewed both from a distance, more analytically than emotionally. I did not view "Donnie Darko" from a distance. I was drawn into the world that it creates, and enjoyed it enough to return more than once. A brilliant first film from Richard Kelly, who has set a very high standard for himself.The DVD does full justice to this fine movie. The video and audio are excellent, and the extra features are quite thorough. I particularly enjoyed the commentary by Richard Kelly and Jake Gyllenhaal, which I listened to the second time I watched the film. They do a great job of helping the viewer to connect the dots. They also include just enough of the usual "behind the scenes" banter to keep the commentary from becoming too academic. This DVD would definitely be included in any "desert island" list that I would ever compile. Strongly recommended!"

"Donnie Darko" A Real Gem

Robert Kaercher | Chicago, IL | 01/14/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This movie was a very pleasant surprise.When this was initially released in theaters, I didn't quite know what to make of the trailers. It appeared to be a movie about some kid haunted by a scary-looking giant bunny, sort of a demented "Harvey" as though directed by Alfred Hitchcock. I was intrigued. Unfortunately, I never got around to going to see it in a theater, so when I saw it at my local video store, I snatched it up, having very little idea of what to expect.What I saw was a solidly entertaining, thought-provoking, unique and thoroughly original sci-fi time travel tale with very real and believable human conflict (rare for a science fiction flick). Jake Gyllenhaal (playing the film's title character)-an unusually gifted actor for his age who consistently demonstrates a sense of truthfulness about his work (unlike so many other young actors of his generation, who seem mostly to be more concerned with looking cool and hip than with honing their craft)-gives a great performance, and is sure to have a wonderful future ahead of him. Virtually the entire cast is an impressive veteran ensemble, all of whom deliver wonderful performances: Holmes Osborne and Mary McDonnell as Gyllenhaal's parents, alternately worried and amused by their son's eccentric behavior; Katharine Ross (yes THAT Katharine Ross, of such `60s classics as "The Graduate" and "Butch and Sundance," who has unfortunately been all too absent from films since that time) as Gyllenhaal's concerned psychiatrist; Noah Wyle and Drew Barrymore (also the film's executive producer) are perfect as two young liberally minded high school teachers, embattled by a hypersensitive school bureaucracy; and Rachel Winfree gives a flawless performance as a neurotic high school teacher who tries so desperately to teach her students the difference between "love" and "fear" on the "lifeline." Jena Malone as Gyllenhaal's love interest gives a very sensitive and well-crafted performance; she forces nothing, and like Gyllenhaal, she should also have quite a career ahead of her. The most ingenious stroke of casting in this movie, however, is perennial `80s "Dirty Dancing" icon Patrick Swayze as a cheeseball motivational speaker (a la "Up With People"). Definitely his finest performance since "Road House" (har, har). But the greatest kudos must go to writer-director Richard Kelly (not to be confused with "Ally McBeal" creator Richard E. Kelly). It is not easy to craft a sci-fi tale that actually has a believable and compelling element of genuine human drama (George Lucas' stunted and awkward dialogue in his most recent "Star Wars" epic and the forced, saccharine emotions of M. Night Shyamalan's "Signs" spring to mind), but Kelly manages to pull it off. This movie is also part satire, too, offering relevant social commentary without being preachy or obvious. This movie will surely go on to become a cult classic."