Donnie Darko wtf?

[familymahone]

Just saw it again over the weekend and I'm still not sure what happened. I'll not go into detail as anyone who has saw it will understand i.e. it's bloody complicated. As I see it there are 2 possible explanations:

1. Donnie was dreaming the whole thing.
2. He wasn't dreaming and the airplane engine really did fall from nowhere/the future/parallel universe in which Frank (the bunny) and the rest of the spirits (Grandma Death, the girlfriend etc.) has been sent to help Donnie correct it (and die in the process) before the world ends.

It seems Donnie has 'super-powers' too when he is sleepwalking (the way he gets past locked doors and can cut through solid brass with an axe)

If anyone can make more sense of it then answers on a postcard please..

[munky]

hum hum

[Harry-Kewell]

I've watched Donnie Darko a couple of times now but I still don't get it.

[sheringham316]

i didnt get this film at all i neva watched it from tha beging and neva watched it till tha end casue i was soo bored... they had shown previews of it and they was showin tha part in tha mirror where hes talkin to tha evil thing... completely different to wha i though it would be like!! maybe i should give it another goo... did you all think it was guud but confusin??

[Spike]

Sort of, only I thought it was pretentious, arty-farty "If you don't get it you must be stupid" crap, and confusing.

[geekboy]

This movie is more like "if you don't get it you must be sane."

[stevieboy]

www.imdb.com has a thread on time travel/loops under the Donnie Darko title, may help.

[hitmanuk2k]

donnie darko is fucking class...

and going back to the original question....

what donnie darko see's is a tangent universe and in order to save the "primary universe" he has to die. in doing so he also saves his family (who are on the plane which the engine falls from on october 30th).... since donnie dies on october 3rd he saves them from dieing. infact, everything that happens during donnie's 28 days doesnt happen thanks to him dieing.

some people say that donnie doesnt really get any benifit from dieing since if he didnt do it he would die anyway because the universe would fuck up. and if he let the universe fuck up then jim cunningham wouldnt have let his paedofile actions continue and therefore would of probably saved a lot of kids from trouble. but i guess for donnie saving gretchen was all that mattered to him.... so he died.

and then of course theres the other concept that everyone goes through something similar to donnie just before they die. people have the theory that the film is all about donnies need for sex.... and he has sex during his 28 days (essentially doing what he really wanted just before he died). people think this could happen to all of us..... using this theory though would make the whole time travel stuff pointless.... which isnt very likely since the whole film seems to revolve around the concept of time travel.

[hitmanuk2k]

btw, check out donniedarko.com..... the coolest website every created.

[Nifty1Pound50]

Donnie Darko is a class film.

In no way does it attempt to patronise you throughout the film.

It was a while since I saw it, but isn't the ending the 3rd October again? Which would put a whole "Congratulations, the way you acted was gracious and so the God of all universes has given you another chance" edge onto it.

[A Perfect Gary]

Yeah, in all fairness Donnie Darko is not the most immediately accessible film of all time, but that doesn't mean it's "arty-farty"... Richard Kelly essentially has developed a story around a premise/theory/fantasy that he has created, which is, looking at it in a broad sense, no different to what 99% of composer do when creating music, as they're often creating and developing music and writing lyrics based upon a theme, premise or event.

Just because Kelly chooses to do this in a way that doesn't force-feed the audience with information in the way that most of the mainstream Hollywood industry does, doesn't mean that he's trying to be patronsing... In fact I would say it's actually treating the audience with more respect, as he's allowing them to interpret it for themselves instead of just making a closed story that treats the audience member like an infant, and reinforcing everything, just in case it's not painfully obvious...

Having said that, there's a time and a place for everything, and I can't claim to not enjoy films that are based around 1 dimensional stories, but I prefer being able to reflect an open-ended film, or any other type of media, to analyze and interpret it for myself...

In closing, if films like Donnie Darko aren't to your taste, far be it from me to tell you that you're in the wrong, and I'm in the right, but by the same measure, it's unfair to disregard media solely on the basis that it's a little challenging...

Anywho, discussion on the matter would be appreciated, and take it easy

Gary

[hitmanuk2k]

To be honest, Gary just opened up an interesting avenue there which kinda makes the entirity of this thread meaningless. Films like Donnie Darko are not meant to be have a true defining meaning to them... simply they are there to provoke thoughts and for you to decide for yourself what it was truly about. Everyone has there own different views... its up to you to decide what yours is with Donnie Darko.

[familymahone]

so when the primary universe is resumed at the end of the film does anyone else know what has happened? will swayze the kiddie-fiddler be outed?

[Zero]

According to donniedarko.com the pedo dies eventually, along with grandma death and the teacher guy. Because Donnie dies he doesn't get found out.

[rezan8]

Going on films that provoke thought, has anyone seen Cube?

WTF?

[Zygalski]

I've seen Cube. Weird stuff.
Haven't seen the sequel though.

"Pi" is a good one too.

[Nifty1Pound50]

Gary makes a fair point.

In terms of making a good film, surely directors and creators of open-ended, non-closed movies are doing something a lot harder to do? To put together a coherent film without actually tying every aspect together definitely, for me, is a skill in itself.

A natural succession of events which are predictable and fairly 'obvious' and linear/one-dimensional are possibly easier to do. Having said this, to make a good film using familiarity as a means to entice the audience, requires a better plot, and perhaps a more complex connection between ideas.

I think as a whole, what makes a successful movie over the past ten years has evolved. As Gary said, films such as Donnie Darko give the reader a certain degree of respect, and perhaps giving them this responsibility of self-decision makes these types of films the success they are.

[familymahone]

Perhaps that's why the movie bombed in the US.

[Bonessi]

Donnie Darko fact - the 'pill's' were placebo.

[ChelseaDave]

Havnt seen Donnie Darko, sounds interesting though and i want to see it :)

PS: I've seen the cube, its quite wierd how they all kill each other at the end apart from the disabled guy who walks into the light. God knows what is happening though. Why is there such a massive cube there in the first place :confused:

[Pig]

You will need to see it about half a dozen times before it all begins to make sense. I doesn't make sense to me yet.

[rezan8]

I really don't want to see it half a dozen times!

Can someone please tell me what its all about.

[Pig]

I honestly cant. If you watch it once and look at the donniedarko.com it may make a bit more sense.

[rezan8]

You will need to see it about half a dozen times before it all begins to make sense. I doesn't make sense to me yet.

Sorry Pig I thought you were talking about Cube.

Doesn't matter

[ChelseaDave]

The cube is about a bunch of people who all of a sudden wake up in a cube, which is a maze.....

Edited by Zyg - so not to ruin the ending of the movie ;)
Good movie BTW

[rezan8]

Thanks for that ChelseaBoys.

I think you've spoiled the ending for everyone.

Nice one!

[Kevthedrummer]

One of my faves... wait for the directors cut... it'll make more sense

[dorval]

Does anyone know "The Twilight Zone"??

[Jonny2J]

talk about ruining a film for us all :D

[simmsm88]

I really don't get why Frank makes Donnie go break the water main and put a axe in a statue?

Have anyone seen Brasil I heard that's a wierd movie?

[Ports7]

"Perhaps that's why the movie bombed in the US."

Bombed?

From what I know, the movie was never even released in theatres here in the US, so it couldn't really bomb, could it?

I believe the slated release date was around 9/11/01 and in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks they decided just to release it straight to video/DVD rather than having a theatre release.

Almost every person my age I know has seen (and loves) this movie, it's fairly popular here.

[7RONALDO7]

I have It on DVD and I have watched it about 5 times, it's one of my favourite films, I understood all of it but there's one thing i couldn't understand.....who the hell was the random guy in red??

[Kevthedrummer]

I have It on DVD and I have watched it about 5 times, it's one of my favourite films, I understood all of it but there's one thing i couldn't understand.....who the hell was the random guy in red??

I HAVE ALWAYS WONDERED THIS!! He shows up at the important key moments in the movie, its bizzare. I think he signifies the beginning middle and end of the story. (or maybe donnies life)

Perhaps this will be made clear when the directors cut is released in cinemas very soon!

check out the trailer, from what I can see there's LOADS of extra scenes
http://www.apple.com/trailers/newmarket/donnie_darko/

[7RONALDO7]

Cheers mate, thanks

[Kevthedrummer]

Ive now seen the directors cut at the cinema, its only showing in selected places and I happen to have an arty cinema in York called the City Screen so it was on there.

The directors cut explains far more. I simply couldn't believe that the scenes that were cut out of the original theatrical one were cut out! The DC is far more tense IMO and is out on DVD in October. Try and see both versions if u can, watch the thetrical one then watch the directors cut and most questions from one to the other will be answered.

[Flipper the Priest]

The bouts of pseudo-schizophrenia this sort of film incites amongst impressionable "goth" teenagers, the ones who will scribe 'Cellar Door' on their Maths jotter or try and slit their wrists with a spoon - you know the type, lead me to believe I'd treat this film with utter contempt.

But it's an absolutely glorious film. More undertones than you can wag a stick at, and an ending which left me personally dazed and confused.

I hate films, I really do, but this had me gripped. I'd rather never know what the truth of the plot is, to uphold it's posterity.

[Travis Bickle]

I really don't get why Frank makes Donnie go break the water main and put a axe in a statue?

Have anyone seen Brasil I heard that's a wierd movie?


I think he breaks the water main because the book they are studying at school has a similar act of wanton destruction. The axe ? probably cause that statue looked shit.

Brasil is quality, I ain't seen it for ages, its got Bobby DeNiro in it, and its directed by one of the Monty Python guys.

[lateef]

I think this film lets you make your own conclusion but yet i think i still get confused about it. A really good film i bought for £3.

[Kevthedrummer]

^ yeah on VHS, what century do u live in maaaan :cool:


get the DVD it's cooler. If I am wrong about this I appologise from the bottom of my heart and... give me the name of your dvd dealer.

[lateef]

I got it on DVD from virgin megastores in piccadilly circus

[hitmanuk2k]

he will of got the old dvd.... not the knew one, although still you can get the 2 disc edition for 9 quid on play. the old one goes for about 2.50 on amazon marketplace.