Donnie Darko (2001)
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What is Donnie Darko about, exactly? Richard Kelly’s masterpiece follows Jake Gyllenhaal as a troubled teen haunted by a man named Frank in a rabbit suit — or is it a suit? — who informs him that the world will end in 28 days, 6 hours, 42 minutes and 12 seconds.
With a stacked cast including Jena Malone, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Drew Barrymore, Mary McDonnell, Katharine Ross, Patrick Swayze, and Noah Wyle, Donnie Darko is worth watching just to see who will appear next. But it also works on your psyche, especially when you watch it knowing that it premiered ahead of the Sept. 11 plane attacks. It feels very much like the end of the dream of the ’90s.
We don’t claim to understand it, but we never doubt its commitment to Sparkle Motion.
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