Director and Writer:Richard Kelly

Main Characters
Jake Gyllenhaal - Donnie Darko - a troubled, upper middle-class teenager who has a therapist and takes medication.
Holmes Osborne - Eddie Darko- Donnie's father.
Maggie Gyllenhaal - Elizabeth Darko - Donnie's sister (and in fact the sister of Jake Gyllenhaal)
Daveigh Chase - Samantha Darko - Donnie's younger sister who, despite her tender years (11 in 2001), belongs to a dance troupe called "Sparkle Motion" which dances like teenagers.
Mary McDonnell - Rose Darko- Donnie's mother
James Duval - Frank - Elizabeth's boyfriend who wears a demonic rabbit costume to a Halloween party at the Darko house.
Patrick Swayze - Jim Cunningham - a self-help con man who makes money telling people how to be happy.
Jolene Purdy - Cherita Chen - an overweight Asian girl who has a crush on Donnie
Noah Wyle - Prof. Kenneth Monnitoff, a science teacher
Drew Barrymore - Karen Pomeroy - a free-spirited young English teacher who assigns books that other teachers and parents disapprove of
Patience Cleveland - Grandma Death - an addled 90 year-old former science teacher who keeps looking for mail.
Katharine Ross - Dr. Lilian Thurman - Donnie's therapist who keeps upping his medication.

Richard Kelly was only 26 years old when he made this movie. It's a remarkable achievement for one so young. It won numerous independent film awards, but did not receive any nods from the Academy. It's a cross between horror, science fiction, and teenage angst. It touches on a lot of social issues, but is more like a string of interesting scenes that never do quite wind up as a satisfying story.

The characters belong to a privileged world of big houses, private education, and therapists. In a less rarefied neighborhood Donnie would probably have joined a gang. Instead, he goes into therapy and speaks rudely to his mother. When not being bullied by adults, Donnie is sweet-natured, loving to his sisters, kind to the awkward girl who has a crush on him and concerned about the aged retired teacher known as Grandma Death.

The English teacher played by Drew Barrymore is probably supposed to be seen as the kind of understanding,innovative teacher who knows how to relate to modern teenagers. She assigns her students a story about teenagers who destroy a man's 200-year-old home because it is beautiful and valuable. It is not hard to understand why some of the parents are less than pleased with her choice of literature.

Patrick Swayze is not too believable as the self-help guru and purveyor of child porn.

The best part about the film is its time-travel aspect. If you're a fan of science fiction, you'll enjoy the film.