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

[Seth Paxton]

keeps a consistant tone and miraculously ties up the plot threads.

I agree 100%. So often we see confused films even when they didn't try to walk into the mixed genre area that it is amazing to see a true mixed genre film play so wonderfully consistent in tone.

In that regard the film succeeds as well as any mixed genre film I can think of. Far more than just being a "good first attempt".

 

[Tino]

I'm still processing this film after having just watched it, but I can safely say that it is one of the most thought provoking, brave, original films that I have seen in quite some time. I liked it a lot, and I think that in a very short while, I will love it. Rented it yesterday, am buying it today.
Thanks Seth for the recommendation.

 

[Dwayne]

John,

It's been awhile since I've been in this thread. I did check the score and that song (that's now in your sig) is not there. I find it frustrating since the piece is just an incredible listen. It fit's that scene perfectly.

Excellent analysis, Seth. The Philosophy Of Time Travel does explain much of what's going on.

 

[JohnRice]

I did check the score and that song (that's now in your sig) is not there.

That's surprising. It is also at the beginning of the closing credits.

 

[Seth Paxton]

Also, if anyone can't read that book on the DVD (pretty much need the zoom function to do so) I have typed it out for Tino (no zoom) and can either post it or email it.

I just wasn't going to waste b/width if everyone else here has/can read it.

It leaves very little about the film in the grey.

 

[JohnRice]

Seth,
couldn't you post a link to it as a text file so anyone who wanted it could download it?
BTW, was the picture in your new signature taken early the morning after the one from your last signature?

 

[JohnRice]

I just watched this again last night and something struck me. in the "original" time line (before the jet engine) the last time Donnie sees his sister Elizabeth, they are swearing at each other, and the last time he sees his mother he calls her a bitch. I always wondered why these scenes were there, but didn't give it much thought. Now I realize why they are included. In the "alternate" time line, as Donnie is realizing the need to sacrifice himself, the last time he sees Elizabeth, he kisses her on the forehead and the last time he sees his mother they have a nice conversation. "How's it feel to have a wacko for a son?" "It feels wonderful."

 

[Seth Paxton]

Good point John, I hadn't thought about that but I've only watched it once. Lots of good stuff to see on a 2nd viewing. The best "2nd viewing" film since Fight Club, although Mulholland Drive is close.
And actually I had a buzz at the USGP (the last sig photo). This is several months later...the messy look (or perhaps the "next morning" look apparently. )
You know, what the hell, here is the text of that book. I won't use spoilers though because some Web TV people have trouble seeing under spoilers (I think Tino is one of those people).
So, DON'T READ THIS STUFF IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THE FILM. You've been warned.
Foreword
I would like to thank the sisters of the Saint John Chapter in Alexandria, Virginia for their support in my decision.
By the Grace of God they are:
Sister Eleance Lewis
Sister Francesca Godard
Sister Helen Davis
Sister Catherine Arnold
Sister Mary Lee Pond
Sister Virginia Wessex
This (sic) intent of this short book is for it to be used as a simple and direct guide in a time of great danger.
I pray that this is merely a work of fiction.
If it is not, then I pray for you, the reader of this book.
If I am still alive when the events foretold in these pages occur, then I hope that you will find me before it’s too late.
Roberta Ann Sparrow
October, 1944
*************
Chapter 1
The Tangient Universe
The Primary Universe is fraught with great peril. War, plague, famine, and natural disaster are common. Death comes to us all.
The Fourth Dimension of Time is a stable construct, though it is not impenetrable.
Incidents when the fabric of the fourth dimension become corrupted are incredibly rare.
If a Tangent Universe occurs, it will be highly unstable, sustaining itself for no longer than several weeks.
Eventually it will collapse upon itself, forming a black hole within the Primary Universe capable of destroying all existence.
*************
Chapter 2
Water and Metal
Water and Metal are the key elements of Time Travel.
Water is the barrier element for the construction of Time Portals used as gateways between Universes at the Tangent Vortex.
Metal is the transitional element for the construction of Artifact Vessels.
*************
Chapter 4 (edit, there is no Ch 3 listed)
The Artifact and the Living
When a Tangent Universe occurs, those living nearest to the Vortex will find themselves at the epicenter of a dangerous new world.
Artifacts provide the first sign that a Tangent Universe has occurred.
If an Artifact occurs, the Living will retrieve it with great interest and curiosity. Artifacts are formed from metal, such as an Arrowhead from an ancient Mayan civilization, or a Metal Sword from Medievel (sic) Europe.
Artifacts returned to the Primary Universe are often linked to religious iconography, as their appearance on Earth seems to defy logical explanation.
Divine Intervention is deemed the only logical conclusion for the appearance of the Artifact.
*************
Chapter 6 (again, no 5)
The Living Receiver
The Living Receiver is chosen to guide the Artifact into position for its journey back to the Primary Universe.
No one knows how or why a Receiver will be chosen.
The Living Receiver is often blessed with a (sic) Fourth Dimensional Powers. These include increased strength, telekinesis, mind control, and the ability to conjure fire and water.
The Living Receiver is often tormented by terrifying dreams, visions, and auditory hallucinations during his time within the Tangent Universe.
Those surrounding the Living Receiver, known as the Manipulated, will fear him and try to destroy him.
*************
Chapter 7
The Manipulated Living
The Manipulated Living are often the close friends and neighbors of the Living Receiver.
They are prone to irrational, bizarre, and often violent behavior. This is the unfortunate result of their task, which is to assist the Living Receiver in returning the Artifact to the Primary Universe.
The Manipulated Living will do anything to save themselves from Oblivion.
*************
Chapter 10
The Manipulated Dead
The Manipulated Dead are more powerful than the Living Receiver. If a person dies within the Tangent Dimension they are able to contact the Living Receiver through the Fourth Dimensional Construct.
The Fourth Dimensional Construct is made of Water.
The Manipulated Dead will manipulate the Living Receiver using the Fourth Dimensional Construct (see Appendix A and B).
The Manipulated Dead will often set an Ensurance (sic) Trap for the Living Receiver to ensure that the Artifact is returned safely to the Primary Universe.
If the Ensurance Trap is successful, the Living Receiver is left with no choice but to use his Fourth Dimensional Power to send the Artifact back in time into the Primary Universe before the black hole collapses upon itself.
*************
Appendix A
(map of human body with unreadable descriptions pointing to various parts of the body.
*************
Appendix B is the same type of stuff, apparently showing how time vectors come out of the body.
*************
Chapter 12
Dreams
When the Manipulated awaken from their journey into the Tangent Universe, they are often haunted by the experience in their dreams.
Many of them will not remember.
Those who do remember the Journey are often overcome with profound remorse for the regretful actions buried within their Dreams, the only physical evidence buried within the Artifact itself, all that remains from the lost world.
Ancient myth tells us of the Mayan Warrior killed by an Arrowhead that had fallen from a cliff, where there was no Army, no enemy to be found.
We are told of the Medievel Knight mysteriously impaled by the sword he had not yet built.
We are told that these things occur for a reason.
*************
Notes
Living Receiver
Donnie Darko (died October 2, 1988)
Manipulated Dead
Frank Anderson
Gretchen Ross (not her real name)
Manipulated Living
Edward Darko
Rose Darko
Elizabeth Darko
Samantha Darko
Katherine Farmer
Elizabeth Farmer
Jim Cunningham (died October ??, 1988) - I couldn’t read the date
Kenneth Monnitoff
Karen Pomeroy
Carey Cole
Cherita Chen
Seth Devlin
Ricky Ranforth
Joanie James
Susan Bates
Susan Bailey
Sean Smith
Leroy Jones
Michael Carter - another bit that’s hard to read
Linda Connie
Roberta Sparrow

 

[Bill Harris]

Thats good stuff Seth. Thanks for typing that out.

 

[Garrett Lundy]

As for the ending...
If DD opens the wormhole to the primary dimension to send the 747 engine, thus killing him, doesn't this mearly create another "unending loop" of time/space in that:
747 engine from october 30th. cannot travel backwards through time without Donnie's control, Thus killing himself?
... if he's dead on october 30th of the primary dimension (due to the engine) Then the plane should not lose it's engine, so what killed him? This would seem to be another incident of a corruption in the fabric of time? (That also needs to be fixed, less the universe implode)
Also: Donnie only leaves his room at the pivotal time because Bunny/Frank wakes him up. If Frank didn't wake him up, Donnie would have died, and Frank would have lived (thus not been able to time-shift in Bunnyguise), So how did Frank materialize to awaken Donnie?
Damn, The paradox's in this film are like 12 Monkey's squared.

 

[RogerB]

Seth,

Excellent analysis. And thanks for posting the text of the book.

 

[Rob Willey]

A very thought provoking film that I'm still processing after viewing it a couple of times over the weekend. One question:

If the parallel dimension (or whatever you want to call it) starts on Oct. 2 with the jet engine crashing, what is Donnie doing up on the ridge at the beginning of the film? Did Frank start talking to him prior to Oct. 2?

It's amazing that a film this good can sail under our collective radar screen until the DVD is released. I'm glad so many of us will catch up to this one in our HT's.

Highly recommended.

Rob

 

[RogerB]

After reading (and re-reading and re-reading...) The Philosophy Of Time Travel I tried to fit the movie into the book to help me understand it better and came up with the following:

The movie opens in the Primary Universe. Something happens to create the Tangent Universe (what?). It’s not really so much an event as just a point in time where the PU ends and the TU begins (not like a Parallel Universe where the two exist at the same time). A jet engine (Artifact) falls on Donnie’s house in the TU. The source of the jet engine cannot be explained. A TU is unstable and can exist for only a matter of weeks before collapsing on itself which forms a black hole in the PU that can destroy all of existence. Donnie’s job as the Living Receiver is to return the Artifact to the PU with the help or coercion of Manipulated Living and Manipulated Dead people (everyone else in the movie following the creation of the TU).

Donnie’s primary motivation for returning the Artifact to the PU is to save Gretchen’s life (and, conceivably, the world).

In the end Donnie manages to send the jet engine back to the PU. He either knows that the black hole is going to form or he causes the black hole to form over his house and he knows that his family will be on a jet returning home at that time. So the jet engine returns to the PU where it falls on Donnie’s house and kills him.

One troubling thing in The Philosophy Of Time Travel is the statement: “Those surrounding the Living Receiver, known as the Manipulated, will fear him and try to destroy him.” I can understand why they would want to destroy him because they are, after all, products of the TU and if Donnie is successful, he will destroy the TU. But in other places we are led to believe that the Manipulated are there to “help”, not destroy, him. Of course, in helping him they are actually destroying him and themselves as well. So which is it? Then again, they are called “Manipulated”....so maybe their natural inclination is to destroy the Living Receiver but are being manipulated to help him.

Rob, I think Donnie was sleepwalking as a result of his psychological issues long before Frank appears.

EDIT: As mentioned earlier, the web site is a good source of information, like the following:

Undersigned Affiant, Who After Being Duly Sworn By Me, On Oath, Makes The Following Statement:

I have good reason to believe and do believe that

Darko, Donald J. /M 05-28-72

On or About The 12th Day of January 1986, In the incorporated limits of the county of Fairfax and the State of Virginia, did then and there commit the offense of:

Attempted Escape - Class A

My belief of the foregoing statement is based on personal knowledge. On 01-12-86 at about 3:43am I was circling the perimeter of the Clearview Juvenile Detention Center when I discovered a white male, dressed in prison clothing, asleep in the fetal position in a grass field approximately 30 yards from the nothern perimeter fence.

On arrival to the location I noticed that the subject was regaining consciousness. His clothing was torn in several places and I could see several lacerations and bleeding from his hands, arms and legs.

Clothing fragments were clearly visible in the barb wire at the top of the fencing, as it appeared to me that the suspect had climbed the fence without regard for personal injury.

As I took the subject into custody, he was cooperative and apologetic. "I'm sorry," he said. "I am so sorry, I don't understand why this happens to me. I am so sorry."

Subject claimed that he did not remember the escape attempt because of his problems with sleepwalking.

 

[RogerB]

Garret,

It's not the jet engines that disrupt the equilibrium of the universe, it's the fact that Donnie does not die in the beginning. His death at the end restores the equilibrium (IMHO).

 

[Dwayne]

It's not the jet engines that disrupt the equilibrium of the universe, it's the fact that Donnie does not die in the beginning.

But then why does Frank wake him up to begin with?

 

[RogerB]

But then why does Frank wake him up to begin with?

That's the BIGGIE. Maybe everything happened for the sole benefit of Donnie - so he could find some meaning for his life and come to terms with his search for God.

 

[RogerB]

Has anyone seen this poster? I'd love to buy it. I've only seen the black one with Frank's head.

 

[Seth Paxton]

But then why does Frank wake him up to begin with?

 

[JohnRice]

Just to add to what Seth said.

The movie makes a point of showing the grandfather clock at midnight the night Donnie doesn't die as well as the night he does die. Is that when the tangent universe is actually created? Who knows.

 

[Dwayne]

Has anyone seen this poster? I'd love to buy it. I've only seen the black one with Frank's head.

Pretty cool although I still prefer the original.

I think the poster above would work much better without the faces, IMO.