Movie: Donnie Darko (2001)

“Donnie Darko doesn’t get along too well with his family, his teachers and his classmates; but he does manage to find a sympathetic friend in Gretchen, who agrees to date him. He has a compassionate psychiatrist, who discovers hypnosis is the means to unlock hidden secrets. His other companion may not be a true ally. Donnie has a friend named Frank – a large bunny which only Donnie can see. When an engine falls off a plane and destroys his bedroom, Donnie is not there. Both the event, and Donnie’s escape, seem to have been caused by supernatural events. Donnie’s mental illness, if such it is, may never allow him to find out for sure. Written by J. Spurlin”

  • Director: Richard Kelly
  • Release Date: 30 January 2002 (France)
  • Run Time: 113 min | 133 min (director’s cut)
  • Country: USA
  • Genre: Drama , Mystery , Sci-Fi , Thriller
  • MPAA: Rated R for language, some drug use and violence.; Rated R for language, some underage drug and alcohol use, and violence. (director’s cut)

Tagline: Life is one long insane trip. Some people just have better directions.

Trivia: The Aero Theatre (where Donnie and Gretchen see The Evil Dead (1981)) closed in 2003 was indeed a real movie theater, located at 1328 Montana Avenue, in Santa Monica, CA. (The Aero re-opened in early 2005.)

Goofs: Anachronisms: In the first school sequence when we see shots of every character in the movie, a girl is carrying a Dickies brand book bag which weren’t introduced by Dickies until the late-’90s.

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