Donnie Darko...a very strange movie (1 Viewer)

[JohnRice]

Ron needs to review this so the masses from HTF will want to partake of this brilliant film. Ya hear me Ron?

Unfortunately, for unspecified reasons, Ron has decided not to review any more Fox DVDs. I am guessing that even though this DVD is only distributed by Fox, this rule still applies.

 

[Jason Whyte]

In case anyone knows, what is the name and the composer of the piece of classical music in the scene about 50 minutes in where Mrs. Darko shows off her new living room? This was also the music in the "Our Lady of the Assassins" trailer.
Jason

 

[Todd Terwilliger]

"...funny how time flies" - Tears For Fears
This song seemed to take on new meaning as I watched the film for the second time.
"Something happened and I'm head over heals..."
It seemed to foreshadow the time-travel angle that was about to unfold.

 

[JohnRice]

I'm fairly certain the "Classical" piece Jason is asking about is not Tears for Fears.
It is "Ave Maria" and I forget the composer, though I imagine it is an Italian. It is a very well known piece. The guys credited with it at the end of the film just don't sound right. There are also dozens of "Ave Marias." You will notice, the music fades in and out while the guys are watching the football game, but starts coming back when Donnie starts seeing the "worms." I'll try to find the composer and get back with it.

 

[JohnRice]

The composer of the particular "Ave Maria" I was thinking it was, is Franz Schubert. I know, not an Italian. The problem is, you barely hear the piece and after listening to it again, I'm not very certain this is the right "Ave Maria." Well, I tried.

 

[Seth Paxton]

I just finally saw this film and it was amazing. I wasn't 100% sure at the end as to what had just happened, but luckily the DVD has the "Philosophy of Time Travel" book on it so I was able to fill in the details.
What a wonderful script, not just in story but characters and dialog. Terrific dialog in fact. I never found characters jumping out of place just to push the story along, and in the meantime all these wild loose ends are actually tying tightly together. Plus it's very well directed and shot, beautiful to look at in a style that reminded me a lot of the dream Virgin Suicides look/feel.
An intriguing film that kept pulling me in the whole time with it's excellent parallel possibilities between a pyscho flipping out or something slightly more real happening.
This film is what Final Destination could have been with a brain. One of the best films I've seen this year.

 

[Seth Paxton]

BTW, I'm back on page 2 reading and it's likely that someone else has already said what happens in the movie. The book spells it out rather explicitly (Time Travel book on DVD).

Before reading that I thought that Donnie had made a choice to go back in time to let the engine hit him and therefore stop the other event resulting in people's death. Thus he "wakes up" after returning in time and is laughing about his choices. Somehow many other people in his life felt the "shadow" of this alternate future that will no longer be, thus the ending scenes. I needed no other guide for that much.

And the old lady is always checking her mailbox BECAUSE she was waiting on Donnie's letter. She hoped it would get to her in time to fix things.

Anyway, the book thing then tells us that an alternate universe has been opened up and that after a few weeks the existence of this other universe will cause enough instability to create a black hole in the main universe and destroy it.

People killed in this alternate universe are the "manipulated dead" and can control much of what is going on. This is how Frank, a normal teen at a Halloween party, is able to manipulate Donnie's world and guide him. The book says that the manipulated dead are TRYING to get Donnie (chosen one basically) to guide this metal object that has broken across from the other universe back to it's home universe.

Donnie has the power to manipulate time/space and at the end as the black hole is beginning he opens up a wormhole and guides the plane engine back to the universe it belongs in, killing himself by this choice but stopping the destruction of the universe.

The "manipulated living" are people near the vortex of the cross-over who also want Donnie to take the "vessel" back (the engine) though without abilities of the manipulated dead. The book verifies that once it is transported safely back by Donnie that some of them will still be haunted by their actions or what they saw in the alternate universe.

Actually a pretty straight forward time-travel thriller but with a great edge of making you think Donnie is simply crazy. Like I said above, a really good script. There is no slop there, it is all tightly woven together and thought out.

BTW, I haven't listened to the commentaries, so while the book is very helpful I didn't need the commentaries to explain it as if it's some cryptic film.

 

[Seth Paxton]

oh yeah, the Last Temptation/Evil Dead double billing.

Evil Dead - Frank is dead and trying to control Donnie, as is his girlfriend though she seems to be filling his last days with joy (IMO).

LToC - what was said earlier. He will end up being a martyr for his universe but before that happens he follows the path where he doesn't die for the universe and sees what happens.

Symbolism is well-used in the film I think.

 

[Seth Paxton]

Yeah, while Drew and Noah aren't powerful like Frank since they weren't killed, they are definately pushing him down Frank's path too. I agree with the idea that they are saying "Donnie Darko" because they are understanding that he is the one, the "escort" for the vessel mentioned in the book.

Thus Drew's "odd" seating of him next to Gretchen, "allowing" her to pick that seat. And Noah introducing the book to him after Frank tells him that "they" will help you.

Even the doctor has some odd stuff to say when Donnie sees Frank under hypnosis at the end. Everybody else is pushing for Donnie to use his mental powers to return the airline engine "vessel" back to it's proper universe.

I guess basically that means that engine A went to universe B and missed him, and engine B is sent back to universe A (by Donnie's powers over time, he must escort it back according to the book) where it kills him.

Also how about the fact that water and fire are the 2 aspects of the time travel/alternate universe thing (again, in book) and Donnie FLOODS the school and BURNS Patrick's house down.

Yeah, obviously the chapter title confirms that Frank used Gretchen as insurance. He knew that Donnie might still not escort the engine back so he used "saving her life" to make sure that Donnie did what he was supposed to do.

 

[JohnRice]

Seth,
I think that may be the first time I have actually seen someone have an online conversation with himself.
Wild Film!! Don't you think?

 

[JohnRice]

BTW,
I just wanted to add. I really like the anti It's a Wonderful Life aspect of this film.

 

[Stevan Lay]

My thoughts were more in line with the comments made by Michael Reuben:

There is no doubt that Donnie Darko is an intriguing story with multilayered interpretations to bewilder the audience but unfortunately the movie did not totally deliver onto the screen which was more frustrating than trying to understand the motives of the movie. The lead character of Donnie Darko was played marvellously by Jake Gyllenhaal while the direction was handled by first-time Director of Richard Kelly who shows us some nifty techniques to stamp his talents and competence. However, it seems that the element of storytelling was lacking as they both failed to convey some of the messages that were crucial to the plot or transitions. Nevertheless it was a fun but yet fascinating ride and a great first-effort attempt from a film-maker who will be commanding more attention in future.

The main strengths of the movie IMO was the great soundtrack, the dark humour and snappy dialogue. I Just loved how the 1980s music blended with certain scenes (and was actually mentioned on the DVD). Also got a kick out of the Back to the Future and DeLorean references.

 

[Ted Lee]

"...funny how time flies" - Tears For Fears

actually, the title of that song is "head over heels"...it's on their album 'songs from the big chair'.
yes, i'm just being anal...

 

[Seth Paxton]

Actually John I was reading through the thread and adding stuff as I came across different posts...5 pages and I hadn't read any of them till after my first post. I'm glad I hadn't though or I might have been slightly spoiled. As it was the whole thing was wide open.
So just take my series of posts and pretend like I put 1 per page as if I'd been involved in the thread the whole time.

 

[Todd Terwilliger]

Ted,
I know - that was just the lyric of the song that struck me...

 

[Ted Lee]

my bad todd -
by the way you wrote it i thought you were trying to quote the song title.
sorry...my mistake!

 

[Joseph Young]

Seth,
I think you definitey nailed the gist of DD, a lot sooner than I did at least. I would completely agree with your explanation of the meaning behind all the events that transpire during the film.
I have to respectfully disagree with DD being

a pretty straight forward time-travel thriller

I don't personally find it to be straight-forward, instead I was rather astounded by its refusal to stick to one genre convention. I think that the plot, however straightforward once analyzed, is executed with a deftness, subtlety and lyrical timelessness and clarity that can be absorbed on many levels. And while it is intended to be a time travel thriller, DD works on levels much deeper than that, and is subject to interpretations that go so far as to contradict the original intentions of the director.
Cheers,
Joseph

 

[Seth Paxton]

I mean straight forward in terms of actual story underneath it all. There is plenty of subtext due to the film's parallel nature with Donnie's character, that he might be crazy, his "anti-social" attitudes, views on social structure, family behavior, etc.
But all of this is hung off of a story that at it's core is simply a time travel/alternate reality story, rather than "hard to tell, kinda weird" thing like perhaps Muholland Drive.
Though a MD book on the DVD might help clear that up just as much as Darko.
But in terms of presentation what I like most about DD is that it provides multiple layers as you watch it which keep you honestly unsure without having to play it cheap with forced plot changes. The basic story underneath is completely hidden from us, though it could have just as well been told as The Time Machine or something with a Sci-Fi approach instead where things were more clearly of an SF nature (thus cluing the audience in sooner).
That it didn't do that and that it went this other direction so well are what make it a great film to me. That Ebert lamented the confused ending as the main flaw kills me because in most ways it is more wrapped up than 2001, a film he loves.
No one gets 2001 the first time through...no one. Yet it is not diminished for this. In fact these extra layers are often cited as part of it's strength. It could be that Donnie Darko is on it's way down that path as well, perhaps not to 2001 status of course, but appreciated more with time.
I think it should at least stand as tall as something like Fight Club or Being John Malkovich.

 

[JohnRice]

Seth,

I agree with all of that. The only time I have come away from watching 2001 with the entire theme clear in my mind was when I watched it right after reading the book. Still, critics love it and condemn other films for the exact same thing.

In one of the deleted scenes, the director comments that this is definitely a Sci-Fi film, which it is, but it has so much philosophy and misdirection built in that it really isn't until the end that you start realizing it. You are right that it doesn't use cheap plot changes. Instead it gives you slivers that are just small enough to make you disoriented, much like The Sixth Sense, though the payoff in Donnie Darko is infinitely more complex.

 

[Joseph Young]

Seth and John: I agree 100% with your observations. There is also a distinction to be made between a film that 1) defies genre conventions because it doesn't know what it wants to be (pretty common), and then a film that

gives you slivers that are just small enough to make you disoriented

Such films are accused of being too fragmented, too piecemeal to allow the viewer a straightforward, linear journey, point A to point B. But Kelly and Lynch do us the favor of lingering on shots, allowing us to soak in the imagery and get close to the characters in the midst of the cacophonic trauma they experience as a result of their respective dualities. What we are left with, are films that do satisfy, albeit in ways we don't comphrehend right off the bat. Emotional resolution without pre-credit plot summation (as in: Frank later did such-and-such, for example).

Joseph