Donnie Darko (Spoilers)

[EricNoah]

Here there be spoilers (though I'll try to be circumspect)....





Saw this last night on DVD (director's cut, never saw the original).

Did some additional research; read this, which helped immensely:

http://ruinedeye.com/cd/time1.htm (megaspoiler)

My reaction: Some films stay with you for a while after you see them. This is one of them. Another reaction: This would also make a great modern RPG premise. Another reaction: I kind of like an "interactive" film where I can go do a little research outside of the film in order to have a richer experience.

My question: I understand how Metal fits into the events of the film, but I don't see where water played much of a role other than the intentional flooding of the school. Someone care to illuminate me?

Another question: what did you think of the film?

 

[Crothian]

I thought it iwas an intersting and thought provocing movie, but I didn't think it was a particularly good movie. I haven't seen the Directors Cut so I'm not usre how that one is different.

 

[Tarrasque Wrangler]

My question: I understand how Metal fits into the events of the film, but I don't see where water played much of a role other than the intentional flooding of the school. Someone care to illuminate me?

Well, the plane (metal) was flying through an enormous storm (water) when the rift occured. I think maybe that's what the text is getting at, although I also recall that the tendrils that sprouted from Donnie ("lead you here, despite your destination") were watery.

Another question: what did you think of the film?

I loved it. It was one of the most curious movies I've ever seen. I found myself wondering, "How did a film like this ever get made and released?". It didn't have much in the way of big stars and had a pretzel-logic plot. I remember that when it came out it seemed to be marketed almost as a teen horror flick, which didn't do it justice at all. I'm glad it found a second life on video.

I'm looking forward to finally seeing the director's cut. Do you have any idea what was added?

 

[Captain Tagon]

I really enjoyed it. We watched it like 6 times in a week trying to figure everything out.

 

[EricNoah]

Apparently more explanatory material (things like excerpts of the Book, text titles explaining what date the current scene was taking place on (and how many days/hours "left"). And after reading up on the original I think I'm glad my first experience was with the director's cut -- I think I would have been a lot more confused otherwise.

 

[Stone Angel]

I loved this film when I saw it, it has been a while as I saw it when it first came out.



The Seraph of Earth and Stone

 

[Look_a_Unicorn]

I loved this movie from the first time I saw it. It didn't hand everything to you on a plate, and it allowed for a number of different interpretations of why certain things happened- my friends and I had many interesting discussions about our personal points of view and why we held them- we even investigated some philosophy on predestination- all because of one movie.

That's right- a movie that made us think rather than shut our brains down for a couple of hours to look at the pretty lights!

So I've seen it several times, and I had developed my own set of internally consistent logic about how everything held together (with a few areas I knew I didn't have enough info to ever really understand).

Then the Director's Cut came out- it's hard to say if it's "better". It definitely explains more of what was happening and eliminates a lot of the different ideas various people thought to be true- it's a much more linear movie as more is sequentially explained at a slower pace, it's definitely a less abstract movie as there are far more "human" scenes- between Donnie and his family mostly, but there are others.

The "water and metal" were mentioned because they are the components needed to create a wormhole as per a book (well it's only about 50 pages or so) that a lot of the wormhole theory in donnie darko refers to. I've emailed my brother asking for the name of the book- I'll post it when he gets back to me.

The Director's Cut also added a massive "Divine Agent" angle to Donnie's actions.

Basically I'm glad I saw the original version first- there's a lot more to think about and discuss. But then I really enjoyed having some of those questions answered/explained in the Director's.

What did I think of the film(s)? Loved them both
I also have a few female friends of mine who think it's too freaky- it makes them think TOO much. *shrug*

 

[EricNoah]

My wife watched with me, and she dug it as much if not moreso than I did. She's somewhat fanatically anti-time-travel, in general (she doesn't like the time paradox aspect of it, it enrages her for some reason), but she didn't mind it here because it was compelling on many other levels. She (and I) also enjoyed movies like Memento and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind; those two came to mind immediately as I watched Donnie Darko.

 

[Look_a_Unicorn]

My wife watched with me, and she dug it as much if not moreso than I did. She's somewhat fanatically anti-time-travel, in general (she doesn't like the time paradox aspect of it, it enrages her for some reason), but she didn't mind it here because it was compelling on many other levels. She (and I) also enjoyed movies like Memento and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind; those two came to mind immediately as I watched Donnie Darko.

Ooh- just realised my offhand comment on my female friends could be taken in too broad a sense- more specifically one female friend didn't like the way Donnie Darko caused her to rethink a period of her life where she seemed to be intellectually alienated from everyone else (just as Donnie could see things noone else could and suffered for it). The other friend is very much a wuss when it comes to any kind of scary movies- Frank in the bunny suit was enough to make her stop watching and go to the next room- brought to mind nightmares. Finally another female friend loved watching it, but then couldn't find a DEFINITIVE understanding of how everything was meant to hang together, and got frustrated.
Most of the guys I know either never said anything one way or the other or were happy to talk endlessly given sufficient beer supplies

When you take into account that the Donnieverse was parallel, then sequences of events were not necessarily paradoxical-even time travel- as they occured in two seperate realities with undefined rules regarding interference between one and the other. (It appears as though those who died in the alternate-verse can ascend to a higher level of knowledge and then begin to interact with events from the period of time that the Donnieverse diverged.)

The twist at the end of Memento really tweaked my interest. Great movie. I'll keep an eye out for Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind- thanks for the tip.

Edit- my brother got back to me with the book's name :"The philosphy of time travel"
How could I forget that!

 

[S'mon]

I hated it, I didn't think it made any sense at all.