Films to see

Donnie Darko is a film with some serious issues. It is an interesting idea, but any film that requires you to watch it more than once to get a vague idea of what the author is trying to achieve is generally a waste of time.

The main problem with this film is structure. It doesn't suffer from loose ends, but there is very little to grab onto, which can greatly confuse a first time watcher. The film assigns importance (mainly in the form of direct shots) to seemingly unimportant characters and details, and this only makes sense if you give in to the film's mythology, making it into a sort of self-fulfilling prophecy. If these details weren't included, they wouldn't be important. In short, the film lacks those precious "Oh, that was clever!" moments, which is a great pity.

Even though Donnie Darko only starts being enjoyable after you sit through 2-odd hours of confusion and possibly boredom, it has certain merits. The story is original and very complex, and there are some nice examples of characterization. You'll find a lot of symbolism - but unfortunately, it mostly only works within the film itself.

This film is a failed attempt at a great picture. Maybe it should have aimed a little lower, because it seems that in order to adapt a story of this complexity properly, you would need over 4 hours of film. Or one well written book - I wouldn't wish on anybody to have to sit through 4 hours of this madness.