Donnie darko

[Guest evenflowDDT]

Hey all, I finally got around to renting and seeing Donnie Darko last week, and there's a LOT of it that I don't understand.  To anyone who hasn't seen the film, and would like to, DON'T READ THIS THREAD ANY FURTHER! I'm serious, I'm giving away practically the whole plot here and the ending.  Now, onto my questions:

 

1) Is there any point to it being set in 1988 other than to show beforehand that the world is obviously not going to end?

2) Who is the Frank at the party near the end? Was he introduced earlier in the movie? I just remember him suddenly appearing at the party in the bunny suit and getting shot by Donnie.  Is the "spirit" or "ghost" of that Frank the same Frank that appears to Donnie throughout the rest of the movie? If so, then where does the "Frank is a time traveler" revelation in the movie theater come from?

3) What's the point of the ending? If the "end of the world" was just Donnie going back in time and dying because of the engine falling into his house than what was the whole point of the rest of the movie? Since Donnie died, instead of living, does that mean the rest of the movie never truly existed?

 

I'm asking these questions because I'm trying to write a review on it on IMDb like I usually do for movies I watch (improves my writing/criticism, plus when I enroll in film classes next fall I'm going to have to do that anyway so it's good practice), but I really wouldn't feel right doing so not understanding so much about it.  I know a few people around here, particularly C.H.U.D., have see this one.  Anyone care to help me make sense of it?

[Guest]

1) Is there any point to it being set in 1988 other than to show beforehand that the world is obviously not going to end?

 

2) Who is the Frank at the party near the end? Was he introduced earlier in the movie? I just remember him suddenly appearing at the party in the bunny suit and getting shot by Donnie.  Is the "spirit" or "ghost" of that Frank the same Frank that appears to Donnie throughout the rest of the movie? If so, then where does the "Frank is a time traveler" revelation in the movie theater come from?

3) What's the point of the ending? If the "end of the world" was just Donnie going back in time and dying because of the engine falling into his house than what was the whole point of the rest of the movie? Since Donnie died, instead of living, does that mean the rest of the movie never truly existed?

1.)  Yeah, kind of.  It's also part of the director's "message" regarding the late 80's.  Hell if I know what he's trying to say other than it wasn't much fun.

 

2.)  I think it's more or less a warning of things to come.  If this "time-traveler" DID exist and it wasn't just a dream, then the traveler must have taken the form of something of Donnie's future as sort of a warning.  It's open to interpretation, I guess.

 

3.)  Well, the bunny freak and the crazy lady's book gave hints to Donnie about how it all worked.  If he understood everything that had happened, and knew how to work it he should be alright.  The time jump worked, but Donnie forgot what the time traveler had originally warned him about - the plane accident.  I'd assume it all DID happen, in some sense.  However, because of the time jump, it was erased to start over again.  He changed the fate of the girl (getting killed) and also inadvertantly changed HIS fate (living).  She lived, he died.  I suppose it's the old time travel warning - A small change in the past could possibly extremely change the future.

 

Hope that helped some.  I'm sure it was made to be like a piece of art almost.  Up for interpretation, no wrongs, no rights.

[Guest]

I kind of believe the same thing, that he DID infact go back in time, and it erased the future he had lived, and it resulted in his death.

 

To be honest, the film had a lot of "David Lynchisms" to it, and I think you are left to your own devices to figure out what really happened. It all could have been a dream. Who knows.

[Guest pinnacleofallthingsmanly]

I have to watch this movie again because the first time I watched it, it wasn't receiving my undivided attention. I loaned my copy to the girl that I was watching it with so that she could see the stuff that she missed and I haven't gotten it back yet. I forgot a lot of the details that happened so I can't really lend the theory I once had.I will try to watch it again soon though and shed some light on this subject.