Donnie Darko.....why?

[Scouse]

So. I've finally got round to watching this quirky bijou flickette. It's taken a while....


Now. My dilemma is this:

I'm not sure whether it's a pile of shit, a work of genius or something in-between....



I understand almost all of what's happening in the film. What I can't figure out is why...

I can't figure out any real reason for why there's these wormholes and why all this crap happens to him and why the end of the film happens the way it does.... At the moment, whilst the film seems pretty kewl - it seems kinda......... pointless??


Help a thicky day starts .......... here.

 

[WPKenny]

If you've got the DVD, watch it through again with the directors commentary. It explains a lot. Also watch the deleted scenes with the commentary on.

They deliberately cut certain bits out of the film because they felt they were too obvious in what they said. They WANTED the audience to come away wondering what it was all about.

 

[Tom]

One of the best films I've ever seen. Basically its Donnie trying to work out if hes delusional, or a time traveller. Its even more confusing for the audience. I loved the dark humour, and the way that Donnie's apparently evil deeds had good consequences. My favourate scene was in the cinema.

It's got to be the only film about time travel that doesn't involve the main character being 'stuck in a loop' (ala 12 monkeys)

Search Kazaa for Donnie Darko, and download all the music, I have it on wmp when I'm having a bath. 'Mad World' is beautiful.

 

[Scouse]

YOU'RE NOT HELPING!!



And my, ahem, DVD isn't working properly.......

So just tell me right?

 

[WPKenny]

There's nothing to tell.

As I said before the film's DELIBERATLY open to interpretation.

 

[Scouse]

Poo then

 

[Anasyn]

I shalt hereby give the answer you seek..

Donnie Darko Rules

there.


-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This was a public service announcement on behalf of Anasyn Film-pimping Industries ltd.
The views of the auther in no way reflect the views of Anasyn Film-pimping Industries ltd. and whilst we regret any upset caused by authors comments, we can accept no responsibilty for them whatsoever.
This does not affect your statutory rights.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

[Big G]

Utter rubbish.

So utterly rubbish, that "leet" film reviewers will look into it so much and think "my god that's brilliant".

A bit like that work of art that's just an entire canvas painted black. Art critics scream at it and say "WOOOW".

Emperor's new clothes, and you know it.

Gaz

 

[Tom]

Originally posted by Scouse
Poo then

Donnie is schizophrenic (sp?), and has stopped taking his medication. That's when the delusions begin. Or are they delusions? Thats the puzzle you have to figure out. It also contains one of the best lines in movie history...

Head: 'Donald, lets go over this again. What exactly did you say to Miss Farmer?'

Miss Farmer: 'I'll tell you what he said. He asked me to forcibly insert the lifeline exercise card into my Anus!'

rofl

 

[Xtro]

I enjoyed it. I didn't choose to take up a BA(Hons) in Donnie Darko - The Inner Meaning of it after though.

Move on, pilgrims, move on.

 

[Sar]

Thought it was a pile of wank tbh...

:/

 

[Scouse]

Donnie is schizophrenic (sp?), and has stopped taking his medication. That's when the delusions begin. Or are they delusions? Thats the puzzle you have to figure out.

I've figured it out m8. The plot is far from a mystery to me.

It's why it happens that poses the problem for me.

Yup, he's mad but his hallucinations are real due to some time-travel-ly-jiggery-pokery....

But the fact that he dies at the end makes the rest of the film kind of a waste of time because he dies in the past (at the time the plane's engine drops on him) and therefore all the things that he achieved by not dying first time around (exposing pedo-swayze etc...) don't get to happen because he's dead....


....it's like "hey! - Look at all the kewl things I could have done if this big fucking plane engine didn't turn me into a bed-bound jam-sandwich!"......

.....so I don't get it......

 

[Tom]

http://www.metaphilm.com/philms/donniedarko.html

That might help you

 

[1tchy trigger]

In one timeline he avoids the jet engine landing on him, falls in love and then sees his girlfriend get run over.

He then revisits that point in time and decides that in order to save his girlfriend he should not survive the jet engine situation, thereby saving his girlfriend that he never had.

Also, he would also be saving his family from dying in the plane crash (assuming that the plane did crash as this was never explored - and can a plane fly with onlt 1 engine, I think so) as they wouldn't necessarily be on the flight that ulimately drops its jet engine, via the wormhole, on his house.

I haven't got round to re-watching the film on my shiny new DVD so I think I might have another look now.

 

[Arnor]

I think it stunk

 

[WPKenny]

I saw it as him realising that everyone's life would be better off if he went back and died in the accident.

The teacher may not have been fired (and she'd stay together with the other teacher), Frank wouldn't be dead, his girlfriend wouldn't get run over, the paedo wouldn't be caught....but it seems that he'd realised how shit his life was and killed himself at the end (I like to think of it that way) so because of that his mum would never have been on the plane.

That doesn't stop his younger sister from being on the plane so I don't know if she died or what. Maybe even though the engine fell off, the plane didn't crash in that time-line.

 

[Panda On Smack]

this film rocks

its brillliant, i got the dvd and soundtrack

 

[Jonny_Darko]

My favourite bit was when he was shouting at that guy in the school discussion thingy.

"I think you're the f*cking Antichrist!"

 

[leggy]

Tell me Elizabeth, how exactly does one suck a fuck?

 

[old.Xarr]

i loved it

 

[Trem]

Originally posted by Tom
Donnie is schizophrenic (sp?), and has stopped taking his medication.

I thought his pills were placebo's though.

Donnie Darko is an awesome film btw.

 

[doh_boy]

Isn't there a bit at the end where it kinda alludes to the idea that what he did while 'in the loop' still affected the people involved even if it didn't happen? i.e peado looking scared, and the bit where his 'gf' passes him on the street and her friends says 'do you know him' and she replies '...........no'.

Also why does the have to be a point to it? It was fun and quirky and (for me) entertaining. It was open ended to let people who like theorising about the meaning of films to have a lot to work with (or theorise about).

 

[Arnor]

its confusing pile of shit trying to look smart


kinda like me

 

[old.Xarr]

Originally posted by Arnor
its confusing pile of shit trying to look smart


kinda like me

pfff. it was awesome.

you will be sent to a death camp...! did i say death camp? i meant happy camp! where you will meet lots of new friends and enjoy the brilliant dental facilities. here you will learn the greatness of all that is donnie darko.

that is all!

 

[.mef.]

Yeah, the thing which irritated me about this movie is the fact that some of the things which happened (ie donnie laughing at the end) werent even explained and the directers even say they dont know why they put it in the film. I like a movie with a backbone.
Basically, the tangent universe is split and 'god' wants donnie to fix it. He's doing the best that he can but there's a lot of intervention from the man himself, ************SPOILER************* ie killing his girlfriend. This forces him to do the time travelling and fix the tangent universe.
The real dilemma is whether the universe got split because of Frank or something else. This give the film the 'chicken or the egg' feature.

But fuck it, I love Kill Bill.

 

[neo_coldasice]

When hes saved the first time from the engine from that point on they are in the tangent universe.

In this universe Donnie has super hero powers although not displayed well in the film he does idd have these powers.

Everyone we see in the film are like guides trying to guide him to saving the universe because of the blackhole that will destroy both universes.

for example:

Teacher saying celler door that lead to the end.

Old lady with the time travel book

School teacher asking his mum to go to the trip that leaves the house empty for the party.

Frank his sisters boyfriend who is making the bunny suit and kills his girlfriend.



So when he goes back to the real universe he is laughing because he knows he will not die alone as he knows there is a god out there. He also knows his girlfriend will not die if he dies instead.

At the end of the film everyone can slightly remember things from the tangent universe like a dream that happend. Thats why the girlfriend waves to donnies mum, and the pedo is crying because he knows he will get caught etc.