After narrowly escaping a bizarre accident, a troubled teenager is plagued by visions of a large bunny rabbit that manipulates him to commit a series of crimes.

Credits: TheMovieDb.

Film Cast:

• Donnie Darko: Jake Gyllenhaal
• Gretchen Ross: Jena Malone
• Frank: James Duval
• Karen Pomeroy: Drew Barrymore
• Kitty Farmer: Beth Grant
• Elizabeth Darko: Maggie Gyllenhaal
• Mrs. Rose Darko: Mary McDonnell
• Eddie Darko: Holmes Osborne
• Prof. Kenneth Monnitoff: Noah Wyle
• Dr. Lilian Thurman: Katharine Ross
• Jim Cunningham: Patrick Swayze
• Samantha Darko: Daveigh Chase
• Dr. Fisher: Arthur Taxier
• Bob Garland: David St. James
• Roberta Sparrow / Grandma Death: Patience Cleveland
• Joanie James: Jazzie Mahannah
• Cherita Chen: Jolene Purdy
• Principal Cole: David Moreland
• Susie Bates: Kristina Malota
• Emily Bates: Marina Malota
• David: Scotty Leavenworth
• Anne Fisher: Phyllis Lyons
• Sean Smith: Gary Lundy
• Seth Devlin: Alex Greenwald
• Ronald Fisher: Stuart Stone
• Mystery Woman: Joan Blair
• Ricky Danforth: Seth Rogen
• Police Officer: Mark Hoffman
• Lanky Kid: Jerry Trainor
• Man in Red Jogging Suit: Tom Tangen
• Suzy Bailey: Carly Naples
• Linda Connie: Lisa K. Wyatt
• Shanda Riesman: Rachel Winfree
• Kim: Ashley Tisdale
• Beth Farmer: Tiler Peck
• Passanger: Fran Kranz
• Friend: Sarah Hudson
• Dorky Half-Sister: Alison Jones
• Leroy: Lee Weaver
• Larry Riesman: Jack Salvatore, Jr.

Film Crew:

• Executive Producer: Aaron Ryder
• Director: Richard Kelly
• Producer: Adam Fields
• Producer: Sean McKittrick
• Producer: Nancy Juvonen
• Original Music Composer: Michael Andrews
• Director of Photography: Steven Poster
• Editor: Sam Bauer
• Editor: Eric Strand
• Casting: Joseph Middleton
• Casting: Michelle Morris
• Music Editor: Jennifer Barak
• Sound Designer: Michael Payne
• Executive Producer: Drew Barrymore
• Costume Design: April Ferry
• Assistant Costume Designer: Donna Berwick
• Stunts: Dan Bradley
• Production Design: Alec Hammond
• ADR Editor: Victoria Rose Sampson
• Executive Producer: Hunt Lowry
• Camera Operator: Richard Crudo
• Executive Producer: Christopher Ball
• Executive Producer: William Tyrer
• First Assistant Director: Richard L. Fox
• Second Assistant Director: Heather Grierson
• Executive Producer: Casey La Scala
• Camera Operator: Steve Gainer
• Grip: Dan Lynch
• Steadicam Operator: David Chameides
• Production Sound Mixer: Coleman Metts
• Still Photographer: Dale Robinette
• Makeup Artist: Kimberly Greene
• Set Dresser: Jeff Higinbotham
• Camera Operator: Michael Scott
• Stunt Coordinator: Mickey Giacomazzi
• First Assistant Camera: Lex Rawlins
• Stunts: Sean Graham
• Gaffer: Jeff Zucker
• ADR Editor: Nancy Tracy
• Script Supervisor: Rebecca Asher
• Art Department Coordinator: Richard Bloom
• Set Designer: Julia K. Levine
• Transportation Coordinator: Geno Hart
• Hair Department Head: Lori McCoy-Bell
• Line Producer: Thomas Hayslip
• Set Dresser: Jamie Maheu
• Camera Operator: Bing Sokolsky
• Driver: Michael Ballew
• Property Master: Mark Anderson
• Makeup Department Head: Lynn Barber
• Music Supervisor: Manish Raval
• Music Supervisor: Tom Wolfe
• Set Decoration: Jennie Harris
• Costume Supervisor: Joseph Markham
• Production Coordinator: Kim Percival
• Transportation Captain: Kirk Huston
• Grip: Spencer Wilcox
• Driver: Billy Kane
• Best Boy Electric: Victor Svimonoff
• Casting Assistant: Dena Berman
• Stunts: Robin Lynn Bonaccorsi
• Foley Mixer: Shawn Kennelly
• Propmaker: Gregory Diggins
• Electrician: Waide R. Allen
• Grip: Larry Pausback
• Painter: Mike Reiber
• Boom Operator: Bob Fisher
• Grip: Richard Epper
• Second Second Assistant Director: Casey Mako
• Second Assistant Camera: Larissa Supplitt
• Grip: Brian Rosso
• Grip: Joel Jaspan
• Stunts: Hugh Aodh O’Brien
• Dolly Grip: William D. Wynn
• Painter: Thomas Gibson
• Key Grip: David L. Merrill
• Storyboard Artist: Andrew Garcia-Price
• Best Boy Electric: Mark Morton
• Costumer: Nisa Kellner
• Grip: Chris Byers
• Electrician: Mike Curtis
• Electrician: Travis Panarisi
• Grip: Ignacio Woolfolk
• Grip: Jim Chase
• Camera Operator: Dick Montagne
• Grip: Fritz Weber
• Grip: John Keefer
• Foley Editor: Dan Scolnik
• Grip: Kevin Cook
• Set Dresser: Edward Tamayo
• Assistant Property Master: Denise Anderson
• Driver: Knut Kielpinski
• Driver: Curtis Clark
• Grip: Michael Stewart Maahs
• Extras Casting: Debe Waisman
• First Assistant Camera: Norman Edward Parker
• Propmaker: Michelle R. Belair
• Propmaker: Andrew Berentis
• Propmaker: Jonathan Bernardi
• Propmaker: Christopher Cuneo
• Propmaker: Dino Doane
• Propmaker: Tim Durrell
• Propmaker: Patrick Foyle
• Propmaker: Gregg Hager
• Propmaker: Ted Harms
• Propmaker: Terry Lasko
• Propmaker: Christian E. Lemer
• Propmaker: Mark Mastropietro
• Propmaker: Alejandro Poli
• Painter: Ed Sher
• Leadman: J.R. Vasquez
• Propmaker: Scott Vollmer
• Stunts: Jeanna Marie Phillips
• Grip: Phil Aubrey
• Best Boy Grip: Klint Betz
• Electrician: Pierre Cane
• Grip: Keith Chadwick
• Grip: Briewen Corry
• Grip: Steve Franklin
• Second Assistant Camera: Coby Garfield
• Grip: Dale Gladish
• Best Boy Grip: Bernie Horn-Bostel
• Electrician: Derek Page
• Grip: Dustin Woods
• Costumer: David Ferry
• Driver: Lyle Atkins
• Driver: Lynda Dedmon
• Driver: Jennifer Duclos
• Driver: Audrey Fitzgerald
• Driver: Dennis Germain
• Driver: Frank Graves
• Driver: Jackson Iblings
• Driver: Roger Ickes
• Driver: Alfie Jensen
• Driver: Rocco Mann
• Driver: Steve Maytum
• Picture Car Coordinator: Hardy Ophuls
• Driver: Anthony J. Mignano
• Driver: Joe Moreno
• Visual Effects Supervisor: Marcus Keys

Movie Reviews:

• Andres Gomez: Interesting movie with several readings.

  As with 2001: A Space Odissey, it is needed a reading of the actual explanation for the events to fully understand the original idea … if you are interested in such explanation …

• Wuchak: ***Cult flick with sophisticated themes, great cast, but meh story***

  Released in 2001 and written/directed by Richard Kelly, “Donnie Darko” is a drama/fantasy starring Jake Gyllenhaal as a troubled California teen dogged by apparitions of a man in an evil rabbit suit who manipulates him to commit several crimes, after he narrowly escapes a peculiar accident concerning a jet engine falling from the sky. Maggie Gyllenhaal plays his sister, Holmes Osborne & Mary McDonnell his parents, Drew Barrymore his teacher, Katharine Ross his therapist, Jena Malone his girlfriend, Noah Wyle his science teacher and Patrick Swayze a self-help guru. Patience Cleveland is on hand as Grandma Death.

  While the movie flopped at the box office, it has since become a serious cult hit. I saw it recently for the first time and went into it cold without knowing anything about the intricacies behind the plot. The only thing I knew was that the kid was harassed by an ee-vil bunny apparition. The film mildly works as a high school drama with a satirical smirk. But the story’s just not engaging enough on that level. While the movie has some quality women, it fails to capitalize on their presence (Barrymore, for instance, is barely in it). But Jake is a solid protagonist, even somewhat sympathetic despite the curious things he does.

  By the middle of the second act I found myself getting bored with the story and trying to figure out what was going on, but the film perks up in the last act, particularly when it reveals the truth about the scary bunny guy. After viewing, my overall impression was that the story never really took off and was burdened by perplexing ambiguities even while possessing some fascinating elements. I came up with a theory to explain the events (explained below) but, upon reflection, I realized that all the pieces didn’t fit. And the movie simply wasn’t entertaining enough to bang my head further trying to figure it out. I would’ve given the movie a mediocre 5/10 rating, but after investigating the official meaning and the alternative explanations I had to admit that the film is genius in this respect. It just needed to be attached to a more interesting story with more stimulating characters.

  The film runs 113 minutes, which is the version I saw; the Director’s Cut runs 20 minutes longer. It was shot in Los Angeles and surrounding areas (Angeles National Forest, Long Beach, Santa Monica, Santa Clarita, Burbank & Calabasas).

  GRADE: B-

  ADDITIONAL COMMENTARY (***SPOILER ALERT*** Don’t read unless you’ve seen the movie):

  My casual interpretation turned out to be one of the alternative explanations of the movie, the so-called “Donnie Is Shown the Future” explanation, which suggests that Donne is shown the future via the future ghost of Frank and so he sacrifices himself at the end to save everyone. But, as noted above, there are too many holes in this interpretation.

  A couple of other popular explanations are the banal Schizophrenia Theory, where the film shows the protagonist going through an episode of his illness, and the Dream Theory, where it was “all just a dream,” which is too clichéd and idiotic to even consider.

  The ‘official’ interpretation I would’ve never pieced together because it’s just too sci-fi-oriented and complex: It’s the Tangent Universe Theory, which suggests that time in the Primary Universe (i.e. reality) is occasionally corrupted and an unstable alternative universe is created, but it will only last a few weeks. Nevertheless, it threatens to destroy the universe. The events you see happening in the bulk of the film are this alternative reality where the universe (or God) is correcting the error to get back to the Primary Universe using an Artifact (the jet engine), The Living Receiver (Jake Gyllenhaal), a Manipulated Dead person (the bunny guy), and so on. Google it and you’ll see that the Tangent Universe explanation ties up all the loose ends.

• Repo Jack: A complete mind-bender of a movie that put Jake Gyllenhall on the map, introduced the creepiest rabbit costume of all time, and may make you surprisingly tear up to a remake of Tears for Fears “Mad World.”