James Duval from the movie Donnie Darko. I’ve seen this movie 5 times now, and between the 4th and 5th I had watched Greg Araki’s Teenage Apocalypse trilogy, which stars James Duval. Frank is even somehow more interesting when the actor is some Himbo puppy you are familiar with instead of some rando.
This movie has a journey for me. I first saw the theatrical cut which I liked fine enough, but a friend decided I needed to see the director’s cut and gave me a copy of that. On first watch, I preferred the ambiguity of the original cut, but upon each subsequent viewing I have enjoyed it more each time until deciding this last time that it is a perfect film, no notes. I have few on my 5 star list, and half of those have caveats. But this is perfect the way it is.
I still haven’t seen the sequel. I hear it’s like Battle Royal 2, an absolute dud of a sequel to a perfect movie.