Donnie Darko

I did not like this film at all. I thought it was boring and self-indulgent.

Nick commented on his blog that he was unable to comment on this film. He didn't know what to say. I knew it was a bad sign because Nick is rarely at a loss for words. But, I know exactly what he means. The film was well done. It was well-acted. The idea was clever and different. So, it gives me no pleasure to trash this film. But, for me, the sine qua non of any film is whether I care. Do I care what happens? Do I want to know what the MacGuffin is? Do I care about the characters on any level, either loving them, and wanting them to succeed, or hating them and wanting them punished? The answer was no. With 15 minutes left to go, with the secret on the verge of being revealed, all I wanted was the ordeal to be over.

I was bored stiff.