Donnie Darko 2001

Michael Wilmington, Chicago Tribune: Just another self-absorbed teen chronicle, with the added twist of a little time travel and a surprise ending. Read more

Elvis Mitchell, New York Times: Kelly is unable to give the movie the kind of pacing that would make us laugh and shock us simultaneously, because he's too infatuated with an aura of hand-me-down gloom. Read more

Michael Atkinson, Mr. Showbiz: A captivating dark vision. Read more

Lisa Alspector, Chicago Reader: Kelly is a supple and courageous storyteller, boldly free-associating as he mixes parody and satire with earnest psychodrama and coming up with plot points no one could anticipate. Read more

Melanie McFarland, Seattle Times: First-time director-writer Richard Kelly draws on a number of intriguing elements ... without including a single, crucial gem that pulls everything together. Read more

Leighton Walter Kille, Boston Globe: Read more

Loren King, Boston Globe: Shows plenty of promise, but it's somewhat self-involved and won't appeal to audiences who like a straightforward -- even if fantastical -- narrative. Read more

Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly: Excitingly original indie vision. Read more

Chris Vognar, Dallas Morning News: Donnie Darko may be too ambitious for a debut feature, but ambition and imagination still trump mediocrity any day of the week. Read more

James Berardinelli, ReelViews: Despite its flaws, this is a compelling motion picture, and offers the kind of 'fresh' experience extended by the likes of Pi and The Sticky Fingers of Time. Read more

Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: This set-up and development is fascinating, the payoff less so. Read more

Andrew O'Hehir, Salon.com: A stunning technical accomplishment that virtually bursts with noise, ideas and references. Read more

Bob Graham, San Francisco Chronicle: If this movie ever figured out what it wanted to be when it grows up, it would be a terrific one. Read more

Todd McCarthy, Variety: Donnie Darko has plenty of problems. But most stem from a young filmmaker overswinging on his first time up to the plate and hitting a deep fly out rather than a home run. Read more

J. Hoberman, Village Voice: A wondrous, moodily self-involved piece of work that employs X-Files magic realism to galvanize what might have been a routine tale of suburban teen angst. Read more

Desson Thomson, Washington Post: It flutters, like a mischievous butterfly, above the despairing hands of easy description. Read more