Donnie Darko: The Director's Cut Review

Donnie Darko is like nothing that ever came before it, although the first time I watched it I was reminded of Jacob's Ladder (another film featuring nesting, unstable realities). It's pointless for me to try to describe the plot, because for me it feels shifting and multilayered. That doesn't mean that it doesn't make sense -- it just means that it's not really linear. 

Meanwhile, there are any number of other reasons to love this movie. Here are a few:

• Authenticity of voice. The dialogue in this film feels so real that you think you're listening to real people talking, like the best of Robert Altman or William Faulkner. 
• Breathtaking editing. Again and again, with just a few carefully chosen seconds of film, the geniuses behind this movie create powerful images that fall into place together like crystals in a kaleidoscope.
• Unfettered performances. The actors are let loose to do what they do best. And what a cast -- each performance is a gem. Oh, Drew Barrymore!
• The archetypal characters, each broadly painted and vivid but realistic at the same time.