Donnie Darko???

[Tiew]

[SPOILERS!!!!!!!]
Hey Fellow ENWorlders... Could you please help me not to go insane? I just watched Donnie Darko last night and I'm trying desperately to figure out what happened. It's the kind of movie I tend to love, lots of odd things that you expect mean more than they seem to and lots of connections and little subtle clues. Only problem is I connect a bunch together and I still have no idea what happened.

One of my friends theorizes that Donnie was going to die in the Jet Engine accident but an alternate reality opened up to allow him to experience a bit more time and see what would happen if he lived. That still doesn't satisfy me though. A lot of stuff still doesn't fit.

Just one example, I think Frank in the bunny suit is one of Donnie's sister's friends and Donnie shoots him in the eye towards the end. Figuring that out was cool but I have no idea what that means for the rest of the story.

Any help would be appreciated.

 

[Crothian]

You might want to put spoilers in the title just to warn people.

You basically have it right, he got to see what would happen and his death was needs because of all the happened when he lived. IWhile its a neat little movie, it really doesn't stand up under much scrutiny in my opinion.

 

[Villano]

The bunny was his girlfriend's brother.

I've heard that there's an explanation for everything in the director's commentary on the DVD. I haven't heard it, so I don't know the official reason, but it seemed to me that it was a paradox. Donnie was supposed to die when the engine fell through the roof. However, if you remember, no jet dropped an engine. The engine actually fell backward through time from this alternate future. Donnie had to change things so that everything would lead to these events.

Don't ask for details on how/what he changed. It's been awhile since I've seen it. Still, that's what I came away with after it was over.

What's funny is, after I saw it, I searched the internet, looking for an "official" explanation. There was one person who was a psychologist who said that the film was a pretty good visualization of what a schitzophenic sees. I doubt that's the real explanation, but it's still interesting.

 

[Argus Decimus Mokira]

Hey

Check out the website (http://www.donniedarko.com/). Navigating through the website will lead you to passages of the book that weird old broad wrote, and it helps clear things up (like what the hell is up with Frank). Or, cheat and go to the IMdB boards (http://www.imdb.com/), where someone has done all that and spells it out rather clearly.

Thanks
-Matt

 

[SynapsisSynopsis]

The bunny was his girlfriend's brother.

I may be insane or it may just be because it's been so long since I saw the movie, but I remember Frank being Donnie's sister's boyfriend. I do remember that the character was played by James Duval, who figures in all of Greg Araki's Doomed Youth movies--these equal, if they do not surpass, Darko in strangeness, but are probably too vulgar to ever catch on the way Darko has.

Definitely peruse the added features on the DVD (including the director's commentary) if you want to sort it all out. I'll have to watch it again now. I guess I found the explanations rather forgettable?

 

[Byrons_Ghost]

Near as I can tell, the whole jet engine/alternate future scenario is more or less what's supposed to have happened. Unfortunately, the movie doesn't really bother to explain any of this, instead focusing on Donnie's difficulties in dealing with life and those around him. I think of it as more of a teen angst movie with supernatural overtones.

Argus mentioned the book pages, which are what pretty much laid everything out IIRC. They definately go into stuff with the time loop and all that. FYI, they're also on the DVD under Special Features somewhere, so that's another option in case the site goes down or something.

 

[Speaker]

http://www.mjyoung.net/time/darko.html

All you needed to know about Donni Darko and Time Travel. Fun to read.