Donnie Darko is a film with a strange yet familiar mood to it. It's familiar in the sense that it points out many of the things that irritate me as a teenager in a humorous way (From the up-tight nature of teachers to the talking down of "educational" videos),and it's strange in the sense of the story. The plot of the movie is that of a science fiction masterpiece. It captures being a teen so well that the surreal dreamlike sci-fi is that much more eerie. The real reason people love Donnie Darko is it's story,shrouded in mystery. The movie is full of small subtle clues which lead you to interpret the ending in the way that makes the most sense to you. I would suggest watching the theatrical cut instead of the directors cut. The latter really does strip much of the mystery from the movie. If you dare to watch this movie be ready to have to think and pay attention! This film will not spoon feed you the answers;nor does it really give you any concrete answer. The movie really does rely on being ambiguous,because of the nature of the name character,Donnie Darko