In the fall of 2001, writer/director Richard Kelly made an auspicious debut with a hard-to-categorize film that few people saw. Now re-released in a director's cut with 20 extra minutes, Kelly's tale of doomed teen, Donnie Darko, makes a little more sense but remains unsettling. Over 28 days, Donnie (Jake Gyllenhaal) struggles to make sense of his suburban world, which is tilting toward madness steered by a giant rabbit named Frank. There's a surprising and excellent supporting cast (including Maggie Gyllenhaal and Jena Malone) and a well-sustained narrative. Kelly excels at capturing Donnie's dread with verve (the constant white noise), yet he and Gyllehnaal ground this anxiety so firmly in the confusion and inarticulateness of ordinary adolescence that there's no easy fantasy loophole. A hybrid of time-travel treatise, '80s snapshot, troubled teen drama and dark comedy, Donnie Darko is like no teen flick you've ever seen. Starts Fri., Aug. 6. Oaks 
Donnie Darko
