I was pretty disappointed. Too many minor things that aren't explained unless you buy the super-duper-ultimate-special DVD features edition, and the main plot isn't that surprising either.
Donnie Darko. WTF?
- Thread starter Samuel T. Cogley
- Start date
This is more or less how I see it.
The main thing that bugs me about this movie are the characters played by Noah Wyle and Drew Barrymore. They are obviously more than they appear, but it's never really explained.
^ I belive on one of the commetaries Kelly says how they're guided by a higher power to help Donnie, put him in the right place, etc
Just like how the bunny is actually just a normal guy called Frank (Donnie's sister's boyfriend), the weird bunny suit is just his costume for Halloween. But is "taken over" by a higher power at times to instruct Donnie
Just like how the bunny is actually just a normal guy called Frank (Donnie's sister's boyfriend), the weird bunny suit is just his costume for Halloween. But is "taken over" by a higher power at times to instruct Donnie
I like Donnie Darko. I'm not crazy over it like some people, but I think that Kelly's intentions were really interesting. He crafted a different idea of time travel and ran with it, meanwhile creating a fantastic mood and great metaphor for teenage alienation. While there are many gripes people have over the plot, the direction, dialogue, characters, and soundtrack are an incredible combination if you let yourself get absorbed.
You can approach the movie from two completely different directions: trying to reach for the Director's interpretation/intention (likely with research) or chalk it up to destiny, God, etc. Either way works.
I think the hype of the movie damages it more than helps. People go into it expecting something particular, but Donnie Darko's very intention is to be weird, different, alienating. It is a difficult movie to watch when you have strong preconceptions about it.
They are "manipulated living," people being manipulated by the universe in order to save itself, essentially. They help push Donnie to the point where he needs to be to make the decisions necessary in order to save everyone and everything.
EDIT: Answered above.
You can approach the movie from two completely different directions: trying to reach for the Director's interpretation/intention (likely with research) or chalk it up to destiny, God, etc. Either way works.
I think the hype of the movie damages it more than helps. People go into it expecting something particular, but Donnie Darko's very intention is to be weird, different, alienating. It is a difficult movie to watch when you have strong preconceptions about it.
They are "manipulated living," people being manipulated by the universe in order to save itself, essentially. They help push Donnie to the point where he needs to be to make the decisions necessary in order to save everyone and everything.
EDIT: Answered above.
I've only seen the theatrical cut so far, and I love it. I think it's a fantastic little film that draws most of its strength (as others have pointed out) from its characters, the mood, the music, and some fantastic performances (I just adore Donney's parents, for example).
The plot can take some thinking through to make sense of it. But I think it is quite possible to figure it out. I think this comment sums it up pretty well, actually:
I also think that the guy in the bunny suit might not be the only "spectre" from the future. I think that in some scenes Donnie's girlfriend might actually be not the current-day version but the one from the future because her actions (or lack thereof) also seem to manipulate Donnie in certain ways. One example is how she sleeps all the way through the movie, affording Donnie the time to go and burn down the house.
Granted, things like those are up for speculation. But it's part of what I enjoy about this movie: It leaves questions to be answered.
And there's something tragically beautiful about the ending, I think, as Garibaldi pointed out:
The plot can take some thinking through to make sense of it. But I think it is quite possible to figure it out. I think this comment sums it up pretty well, actually:
I also think that the guy in the bunny suit might not be the only "spectre" from the future. I think that in some scenes Donnie's girlfriend might actually be not the current-day version but the one from the future because her actions (or lack thereof) also seem to manipulate Donnie in certain ways. One example is how she sleeps all the way through the movie, affording Donnie the time to go and burn down the house.
Granted, things like those are up for speculation. But it's part of what I enjoy about this movie: It leaves questions to be answered.
And there's something tragically beautiful about the ending, I think, as Garibaldi pointed out:
CaptainHawk1
Commodore
lame.
No matter how you try to analyze it.
No matter how you try to analyze it.
Two reasons why I love it-
this scene
and this scene
btw, as with most Youtube videos now, turn off the annotations to avoid annoyance
this scene
and this scene
btw, as with most Youtube videos now, turn off the annotations to avoid annoyance
The film is sort of like watching a Joss Whedon show - it relies on its great dialogue, humor, and characters.
If you go into it expecting some big scifi opus (as many here seem to have done) that makes complete sense you are going to be very disappointed.
If you go into it expecting some big scifi opus (as many here seem to have done) that makes complete sense you are going to be very disappointed.
i watched it and thought it was a big steaming turdpile.
Agreed on both points.
It was okay. It just felt like there was something lacking though. It seemed sloppy I guess.
Anyone else think that the movie is weirdly reminiscent of "The Last Temptation of Christ"?
It's my favorite movie of all time. And no, I can't really explain what exactly happened in the movie. That's part of the charm, I guess. I thought the director's cut sort of ruined a lot of what made it so great.
It's not that its just wild nonsense, it's that the explanation is just sort of on the periphery of your mind. You can almost make sense of it if you try, but really you're left with a sense of bewilderment... but in a good way. It's like you get the feeling Donnie had a revelation about something we can't comprehend. You feel like it does make sense, we just don't realize how it does.
It's not that its just wild nonsense, it's that the explanation is just sort of on the periphery of your mind. You can almost make sense of it if you try, but really you're left with a sense of bewilderment... but in a good way. It's like you get the feeling Donnie had a revelation about something we can't comprehend. You feel like it does make sense, we just don't realize how it does.
Yep. This is one the rare instance where a director's cut is very much inferior to the original.
I'd definitely watch the original then check out Everything you were afraid to ask about Donnie Darko for some interesting speculation.
Award for the most bizarre explanation has to be an essay by Jim Emerson. Short version: Jake Gyllenhaal is in love with his sister.
My impression on first watching was that...
Then I rewatched it with commentary and learned what Richard Kelly intended it to be about. I prefer my interpretation. 
It was an anti-It's a Wonderful Life. Donnie escaped death at the beginning and got to see what the world would be like with him living, including Gretchen dying, him shooting Frank, and his mother and sister dying in a plane crash. So he went back in time and died to save them. Unlike George Bailey, sometimes the world is better if you're not around.
My impression on first watching was that...
Then I rewatched it with commentary and learned what Richard Kelly intended it to be about. I prefer my interpretation.It was an anti-It's a Wonderful Life. Donnie escaped death at the beginning and got to see what the world would be like with him living, including Gretchen dying, him shooting Frank, and his mother and sister dying in a plane crash. So he went back in time and died to save them. Unlike George Bailey, sometimes the world is better if you're not around.
Yeah, that's kind of how I viewed it as well, and I agree that it's better than the "canonical" interpretation. (I think the canonical interpretation is kind of stupid, to be honest.)
It really is just like "The Last Temptation of Christ", in that
like Jesus in "The Last Temptation", Donnie uses his power (foreknowledge of the future in Donnie's case) to avoid death, even though he's "supposed" to die, then he tries to live out his life from there, but he eventually comes to realize that his cheating of death caused the world to become a worse place than it would otherwise be, and the entity that's been encouraging him (Satan/Frank) has been a force for evil. So he goes back in time to die on the cross / be hit by the jet engine.
After finishing it: yep, you're right.
I see the similarities you mention in the end of Temptation. And earlier in that film, Jesus' beliefs and actions are all over the map, and he's just possibly nuts, also like Donnie. Before seeing it, I took the appearance of Temptation's title on the marquee in Darko as sort of a sardonic joke (since it was paired with The Evil Dead), but now it sure looks like a deliberate signal.
And thanks for bringing up Temptation. I'd meant to get around to watching it for some time - it is a great film.
I enjoyed this movie quite a bit, but I do think its most ardent fans tend to overrate it. I saw it as one of those "brain teaser" movies kind of like Memento and Mulholland Drive. The fun of the movie is trying to figure out what's going on.
Also, I'm appalled by the people who have claimed in this thread that Blade Runner is overrated. How dare you!
Also, I'm appalled by the people who have claimed in this thread that Blade Runner is overrated. How dare you!
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