Donnie Darko

Donnie Darko was written and directed by Richard Kelly; the film was financed partially and stars Drew Barrymore as one of Donnie�s teachers Karen Pomeroy, who taught him English Literature. As the film progress�s we realize that there is something wrong with Donnie played with superb ability for a young actor by Jake Gyllenhaal. At the start of the film the rest of the Darko family have realized that Donnie is missing but they know of predilection for sleepwalking, a local Golfing couple finds him and he rides homes on his racing bike to the music of �Echo & the Bunnymen�. The film has strange but perfect motion increases in the camera work; there is a new arrival at the school a girl who falls for Donnie, the girl Joanie James played just right by Jazzie Mahannah. The rest of the Darko family are played by actors you recognize but cannot immediately put a name to, e.g. Donnies sister (Elizabeth) is played Maggie Gyllenhaal his sister in real-life. Donnies parents are played by Holmes Osborne as his Dad (Eddie) & Mary McDonnell plays his Mum, Rose. Donnie because of some unseen incident has to see a therapist Dr. Lillian Thurman played by Katherine Ross (Famous for �The Graduate). Donnie starts to have visions of a six-foot giant rabbit and the rabbit tells him that the world is going to end in a set amount of time, after an incident involving Roberta Sparrow better known to his friends as Grandma Death played shortly but well by Patience Cleveland. Donnie is surprised to find out by questioning one of teachers Prof. Kenneth Monnitoff played well by Noah Wyle that it was Grandma Death who wrote a book about the possibility of time-travel; early in the film, a giant jet engine crashes onto the Darko home. If Donnie had not been absent because of his sleepwalking he would have been killed by the engine crash. I cannot go into more details other than to say that the film may have Time-travel as its centrepiece but that in no way ruins the film; this is a clever film, which leaves you leaving the theatre thinking. There is also an excellent bit part performance by Patrick Swayze as Jim Cunningham, as well as Kitty Farmer as Beth Grant one of Cunningham�s biggest followers