Donnie Darko
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I agree, the movie is not about frank. though i can see your point. i remember reading somewhere on the website that people in the tangent universe will do almost anything to avoid obliteration. and since frank dies in the tangent universe, his motives are A) as manipulated dead, to guide donnie to put the artifact back where it belongs and B) not die.
haha, and honestly, i couldn't imagine a movie with a character's name in the title, that would not be the main character. it kinda defeats the point. it'd be like calling this movie Cherita Chen.
>>By i don't know everthing, but i know enough (Sunday, 27 Jul 2003 21:54)
This is my interpretation that I wanted to bring to the discussion... No one seemed to mention this, but remember one of the times Donnie was walking and talking with Gretchen she says "What if you could go back in time and replace all those hours of pain and darkness with something better?" The also replay the audio after the engine falls off.
I think at the end when Donnie was laughing and smiling is because from the tangent universe he replaced the vision of Frank calling to him with a nice memory, thus keeping him in bed to be killed by the engine.
It's my opinion that Frank was a halucination of Donnies that helped him understand what was happening to him. Being able to see the future that is. Frank in that bunny suit existed in the future. At the end you can see from his drawings Frank was designing it himself for halloween. He could see the future so he knew when that universe was going to end even if he didn't know exactly why yet. That's why in the theater when Donnie asked when it was going to end he said "you should already know". After that we don't see Frank the vision any more. Also Donnie speaks in the same child-like voice when he's under hypnosis that he does when he talks to Frank.
The portal/breach/wormhole occured on it's own connecting Oct. 2nd over Donnies hose with Oct. 30th under the plane with Mom and Sis. You see the portal connects those two moments in space-time and that's one end of the portal/wormhole over Donnies house at the end not a black hole. The tangent universe is what we see when Donnie survives. The Jet engine comes from the tangent universe and kills Donnie in the primary universe. Yes, that's a paradox, but you can't avoid a paradox when talking time travel (i.e. thewhat if you kill your own grandfather scenario?). The time it took for the jet engine to fall from the sky is when Donnie had the vision of Frank beckoning. Since the tangent universe with Donnie surviving wasn't working out, (his girlfriend died etc.) he decided to end it.
This all disregards the Roberta Sparrows book which I believe was probably written after the fact to fill out the web-site/DVD (I work in advertising so I think is most definitely the case). It doesn't necessarily contradict any of it either though.
>>By mysterfxit (Monday, 28 Jul 2003 07:01)
Has anyone noticed the similarity between the handwriting of "They made me do it" when the axe is in the bronze dog statue's head, and the note on the fridge by Frank near the end ?
Additionally, Donnie does not say "because you and I never had this conversation" to Gretchen, he says "because you and I'd never'v had this conversation." This just does not come out clearly due to slang, relaxed talking etc (and the fact that it was recorded there, outside.)
I think all this talk of artifacts, receivers, manipulated dead & living etc is all just wishful thinking. The movie in itself does not EVER use any of this terminology to explain anything, and the movie is guaranteed to contain all the clues necessary to decypher the meaning of the story for yourself without needing supplemental information from the website.
Those clues and that information was clearly placed on the website for those viewers unfortunate enough to not be able to figure out a solution for themselves... furthermore, this indicates to me that the creators of the movie themselves did not intend for any one obvious explanation but decided to make one up AFTER the completion of the movie in order to make some sense of the plot for those people visiting the site.
See, they could have created an entirely different set of clues and explanations to be written in 'sparrow's book' on the website, and then all you people harping on about all these artifacts and receivers etc would be going on about the alternative clues and explanations instead.
You really should be asking yourself, was it fate that you visited the website and read their clues ? Did they write those explanations and clues in order to guide you to believing the things about the movie that you now believe ? Would you think about Donnie Darko the way you do now, had you not visited the site ? Does that make you a living receiver... and the creators of the supplemental information the "manipulated dead" at some stage in the future ? ;)
I say, take whatever meaning you get from the movie for yourself and don't rely on what other people tell you, whether it be the official website or a discussion forum. The movie IS quite simply, a relatively ordinary story about a guy with a pretty crappy life, but the added twist thrown in of the whole time distortion factor. It appears to me the creators of the plot did not actually TRY to make the time travel/distortions realistically explained, but put them in there to make for an interesting and discussable story. The movie was just created by a human, after all. No human knows the actual secrets of time travel.
I also believe the religious connotations to be pointless. People make the same kind of religious connection to Neo in the Matrix, and no doubt various other movies where the main character has a large responsibility. Such situational connections are purely coincidental, and theories on these are just speculation as such.
Finally, I believe time travel is only possible in one direction: Into the future. Time is relative only to the individual, and as a result, cryogenically freezing yourself and waking up 200 years in the future IS indeed a realistic form of time travel, because to the traveller, he's gone to sleep and woken up in the future. To everyone else, life has gone on as normal and they live out their life and die. Obviously there will be other more advanced means of travelling into the future, but I do not believe there is any logical way of travelling back in time.
With this theory in mind, I claim that everybody time travels every night. You go to bed, you fall asleep, and the next thing you consciously experience is waking up the next day. It feels instantaneous. Despite the 6 to 10 hours or so that you were not conscious of the world, other people were still awake on this planet, going about their lives, working etc. Time for them has not gone by at any quicker rate than normal, except for when they too go to bed and sleep.
Excellent movie, hope everyone enjoyed it as much as I did. :)
>>By Mettler (Monday, 28 Jul 2003 07:24)
ok, well, filmmaking, is a form of art. and richard kelly can have any meaning behind his artwork that he wants. becuase after all, HE CREATED IT. so if he wants let people know about "the philosiphy of time travel" outside of the movie, good for him. it's his thing to do. an artist usually has some meaning to their own artwork. and the really great artists inspire other meanings in the minds of others. where, even though the artist knows what his piece is about, others still think of other explainations, add their own personal beliefs, past experiences, etc. so, if someone thinks that the whole movie is just a christianity parallell, good for them, if they think it's just another sci fi flick , hooray, or even if they think
"The movie IS quite simply, a relatively ordinary story about a guy with a pretty crappy life..." You (Mettler) say, " [T]ake whatever meaning you get from the movie for yourself and don't rely on what other people tell you, whether it be the official website or a discussion forum." ok, well, you should have put up a disclaimer before posting your opinion, and it should read as follows
*DISCLAIMER*
DON'T RELY ON WHAT OTHER PEOPLE TELL YOU, EVEN THOUGH I'M GOING TO PASS MY OPINIONS ONTO YOU.
congratulations, you make no sense.
>>By i don't know everthing, but i know enough (Monday, 28 Jul 2003 09:45)
I think the story makes no sense, but I really loved it ! The scene about the smurfs is really hilarious ! An excellent performance, great atmosphere and I simply adore the soundtrack !
>>By SnEm (Tuesday, 29 Jul 2003 07:31)
well, here is my theory, contrary to what many of you post on this site. I believe that richard kelly took the saying "your life flashes before your eyes" and played with it a bit. instead of the life you lived, when you die, you see the life you would have lived, had you not died. so donnie is sitting in his bed and right before he dies, his life flashes before his eyes. so, what we see of his vision, is him getting out of bed, avoiding his death, and everything else that follows in the movie. just about everything in this movie is all donnie's vision of what life would be like had he not died. the flooding of the school, him meeting gretchen, him burning down the house, none of it really happened. THIS IS ALL JUST HIS VISION OF WHAT WOULD HAVE HAPPENED IF HE DIDN'T DIE. that's why everything in the movie is soooooo weird and so confusing. BECAUSE IT WASN'T SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN. that's why it's all a paradox. because if you're supposed to die, and you don't, you seriously screw stuff up. ok, so it's all a vision up until we see donnie in bed (at the end of the movie) laughing, because his vision of what life would be like had he not died is now over. and he's laughing because the whole vision is just crazy. and he's glad that he's dying when he's supposed to. so, the only real pertinant things in this movie is before the engine falls, and when we finally see donnie at the end laughing in bed. that's the entire movie in a nutshell. donnie is alive, sees his life flash before his eyes, donnie dies. the end.
so basically, this is the dues ex machina that kelly used, IT WAS ALL JUST A VISION. the ironic thing, is that the vision (dues ex machina) itself is what sets up all the paradoxes, unexplainable events, and loose ends in the movie. none of which are real, or ever really happened to donnie.
and now, to try and substantiate my claim with bits of evidence. during donnie's vision, no one knows where the engine came from. but at the end (after donnie died), there is no discussion of where the engine came from, because, it most likely came from a plane that crashed. another thing that i noticed was when donnie was talking to monitoff, he says something like
Donnie: "Every living thing follows a long set path, and if you could see your path or channel, then you could see into the future, right? Like, that's a form of time travel."
Monitoff: "Well, you're contradicting yourself. If we were able to see our destinies manifest themselves visually, then we would be given the choice to betray our chosen destiny. The mere fact that this choice is exists would make all preformed destiny come to an end."
Donnie: "NOT if you travel within God's channel"
this is kinda what donnie's vision is. he's seeing his future manifested visually, but according to monitoff, if you can see your own destiny, then you have a choice, and that would make destiny come to an end. and donnie spouts off, not if you travel within god's channel. herego, his vision is in god's channel, he is seeing his destiny, and because it's in god's channel, he cannot change it. so, for all intesive purposes, MONITOFF IS WRONG. even if we see our destiny, we think we have a choice and that we can change it, BUT WE CAN'T.
ok, so in summary (if i haven't beaten the idea to death yet), the sequence of the movie is donnie's life, donnie's life flashing before his eyes (everything that occurs during the "28" days), donnie laughs at his vision, donnie dies.
and yes, i have read the site, and used to have different opinions, tangent universes, worm holes, and loose ended paradoxes. everything on the site, is, basically useless. and i say that, after reading a post from steve mathardi, who claims to have actually worked on the film, and he said that a post from austin stusalitus was the closest he had seen to the real meaning of the movie. and austin writes that the whole movie is just donnie's afterlife. so, my theory is similar to his in that, donnie died in the beginning.
well, i'm sure this is a lot to think about. and even if i am right, or if anyone else comes up with the answer, haha, honestly, it's not going to mean anything at all. we're not gonna get an award, find out the meaning of life, or anything else. that's the great thing about art. is that it can be so meaningful and yet, so pointless.
>>By someday it will all make sense (Tuesday, 29 Jul 2003 12:30)
Very interesting. Although if it's not real (doesn't actually happen) then why is Grandma death waiting for the letter that Donnie writes? And also that would mean Frank has to die twice. I think I'm basically with you on this but i think there has to be some elemant of time travel and of events having happened once before. I think it has some connection the The Last Temptation of Christ (the other movie showing at the movie theatre when he talks to Frank), where he is, as you say , given the chance to see what the world would have been like if he is to live the next 28 days as he desires. I also feel that Donnie is living an idealised version of his life (one where he stands up for the kid getting bullied, takes the leap, gets the girl, challenges his teachers, talks to his sister and is an all round hero) - which is interesting in relation to the quote you use - and saying that Monitoff is worng and that we can't change our destiny. I think that he's right and that Donnie does all the right things, changes his destiny but it still results in Gretchen's death so when he dies, he does so laughing, know that whatever he does it's better off if he dies. or something. whatever. it was good. great soundtrack too.
>>By Audrey (Tuesday, 29 Jul 2003 16:35)
Hello Groovers I have something for you.
Cellar door is the most beutiful phrase in this film because of the meaning hidden inside the letters.
Cellar door = Recall Rood. Rood is an ancient word used to descibe the cross that Jesus bore before his crusifiction.
Remember the sacrifice of one man to save the lives of others.
Another useful tid-bit is the fact that 28 days is the original monthly cycle from the Mayan calendar that was replaced by the currant Gregorian caledar. There were originally 13 months in a year with the new year being on July 25th "the day out of time"
>>By randominofect (Wednesday, 30 Jul 2003 05:28)
cool, hidden meanings inside words. lets look at randominofect. INFECT DOOR MAN!!! so you're an infected door man eh? i mean, you must be becuase of the hidden meaning, and the hidden meanings are always right. so yeah, cellar door, how about RECALL ODOR. do you RECALL THE ODOR THAT IS COMING FROM YOUR POST? man, it's stupid when people look so deeply into stuff like they're going to find some secret meaning to life. screw meaning. just live.
>>By someday it will all make sense (Wednesday, 30 Jul 2003 06:08)
I think it'll all make sense once you've switched to de-caf. Calm down brudda.
I am far from some kind of religious nutter attempting to reveal a hidden prophecy inside this film. I am however an artist/ writer, and writers tend to use anagrams as fun little ways to make folk think a bit. I thought it was funny. And obvious, considering the strong emphasis on the phrase along with the whole fire and brimstone end 'o' the world thing.
I believe the whole film was written metaphorically, as a dark romp through the world of metaphysics with a good soundtrack to boot. It's got the whole jacobs ladder feel to it and i believe that it was written to inspire thought and discussion. I'm sorry you don't feel comfortable discussing different theories outside you own judgement and i'm curious as to whether or not you even enjoyed the film??? You are however correct when you say "thats the great thing about art. is that it can be so meaningful and yet, so pointless." and i'm impressed at the lengths in which you undertook to write down the dialouge of the film to find some meaning in it to share with us here on this interesting site.
Your grasping of anagrams is second to none and i feel you have a bright future ahead of you as a writer. That was a real Cunning Stunt with regards to my little play on words nickname.
And as to the odor. I e-mailed a friend some of my fart and it must have ended up on your hard drive. Divine intervention or what??
>>By randominofect (Wednesday, 30 Jul 2003 07:32)
One more thing
I do apologize for the vague way i dropped my first statement regarding the cellar door anagram. It was not my intention to subject any reader to any kind of biblical hidden agenda. It was simply an interesting fact that i feel was...well, interesting! I simply forgot to include the word anagram. oops.
I've only seen it once and it's gonna get seen again. It is a work of art. I do not feel i could add any new insight to the diverse range of thoughts i've read so far, but i'll see it again and we'll see. The book sounds like it'll be incredible!!!!!!!!
>>By randominofect (Wednesday, 30 Jul 2003 08:13)
In Donnie's original room is a poster of an eye seeing a skull, I'm wondering if anyone knows if this poster can be bought off of the internet.
>>By andalusia (Tuesday, 5 Aug 2003 11:20)
Some people have been discussing the reason why Donnie's teacher was unable to continue the conversation because he might lose his job. Had you considered the fact that he might not have been talking about his job as a teacher...?
>>By Triggerfish (Wednesday, 6 Aug 2003 14:21)
trigger, i think that he was talking about his teacher job. Teachers arent really supposed to express their religious preferences.
Well for my take on DD, the theme is "every living thing dies alone." When donnie got out of bed in the beginning, he wasnt supposed to. He went out of God's set path, kind of proving God wrong, which led to a tangent universe with no God. Because if he proved God wrong then God no longer exists. So from that point on (in the tangent universe), every living thing on earth DOES die alone.
But when he sends the jet engine back to the primary universe, he allows himself to die by following God's path (staying in bed), proving God's existence, and proving that no one on this earth dies alone because we have God. He lays there and laughs because he's been so afraid of dying alone the whole time, but the solution was so easy.
But somebody else made a good point. At the end of the movie where donnie watches the black hole thing from the cliff, he gets flashbacks from what Gretchen and other ppl say. Gretchen talked about going back in time and replacing bad images with nice ones. So donnie might have gone back in time to where he was sleeping on Oct 2, and replaced Frank's voice calling him with another memory, something pleasant or funny. So he laid there and laughed about something totally different maybe?
>>By Dubbya (Friday, 8 Aug 2003 04:55)
o and also, i noticed in the very begining, as donnie is riding home on his bike, he passes by frank in his car. Its right before donnie's dad blows his sisters hair with the leafblower
>>By Dubbya (Saturday, 9 Aug 2003 00:54)
Wow, I had no idea people were putting SO MUCH thought into this! I just saw it as a movie where a kid finds out about a way to time travel, realizes that if he lives his girlfriend and a guy named Frank will die, so instead he sacrifices his life (he wasn't terribly happy with it anyway) to save the lives of others. Yes, it's presented in a bizarre and interesting way, but as far as I can tell it boils down to that. I'm not saying anyone else is wrong or that I'm right, I'm just surprised that people are seeing so much more in it.
>>By AlbertaJ (Saturday, 9 Aug 2003 08:36)
well man, If you sit there and watch the movie 4 times and visit the website, and then think about it for a few hours, it has ALOT more than just that.
He didnt sacrifice himself to save a few lives, he sacrificed himself to save ALL OF EXISTENCE, that black hole/tear in the tangent universe would have destroyed everything.
I noticed something else the last time i watched it.
In donnie's drawing of frank, above his calender, franks ears are drooping down beside his face, but they are supposed to stand straight up. ??
>>By Dubbya (Saturday, 9 Aug 2003 22:54)
Ok, please forgive me if I ramble, or make no sense, Ive been watching/reading about this movie for the last 8 hours, and its now 8am my time lol.
Ok, so a imperfection in the 4th diminsion causes a "rift", which opens the Tangent Universe. This Tangent Universe will last for a few weeks, where it will then destroy itself, and possibly all of creation (the website book sais possibly). So, through some sort of cosmic fluke, a Living Reciever is created, who must work to send the Artifact (plane engine) back to the Primary Universe. To aid him along, Manipulated Dead are "created" by dieing in that Tangent Universe (why Frank must be killed by Donnie, without his death he would not be the prophet which saves Donnie in the first place. Also, Gretchen is a Manipulated Dead, who shows Donnie that people do not die alone, and also that life is worth living). Also, Manipulated Living are "created", these are people who are associates of the Living Reciever (ie friends, classmates) who tend to act weird and destructive, but do so in ways that "push" the Reciever towards the conclusion that saves the Primary Universe (the rowdies at Grandma Deaths place are Manipulated Living, without whom there would be no Manipulated Dead, since they bring about the events that lead to both Franks and Gretchins death). The entire events in the Tangent Universe are nothing more than events that lead up to the creation of the Manipulated Dead, who in turn do the most to push the Reciever towards sending the Artifact to the Primary Universe. Along the way though, Gretchin does much to help Donnie realize that living is good, and you do not die alone, which in the "end" (back in the Primary Universe) gets a chuckle out of him.
I think thats the basics of the movie there, but there are still questions brought up by the movie and the website.
Who is Noah? (cant remember characters name, Donnie's science teacher) and whattup with his evasive answer?--my take is Noah was a very smart scientist, recruited by the CIA to work on "extra special" research, in fact to work on time travel and possibly pre-cog (telling the future). At some time during his research, he finds the book "Philosophy of Time Travel", and after reading it decides that it isnt something that should fall into the governments hands, and that also it is his duty to hold it for whoever the Reciever should happen to be. Having looked at the website, you see in the "notes" section in lvl 1 that it lists Manipulated Living and Dead, and between him and his wife they know most of those people...they themselves are listed as Manipulated Living. The Living Reciever's name is not legible though, so the fact that its Donnie gets a chuckle out of them both in the Primary Universe (they are both close to the events, and would remember much of what happend in the Tangent), because Donnie is not the most obvious person in their minds. Also, they have the book in the Primary, which, after Noah's death, is sent to a person who "will not let them find it". "Them" being the CIA I believe. His line about "I could lose my job" could mean, taken very literally, that he does not beilieve in God, and working at a religious private school that would get him fired. The undertones could suggest that he does not believe in God because of what he has learned from the book...or that he is talking about a entirely different job altogethor. It is for sure a line meant to bring on discussion, and open up multiple possiblities, and one of the lines that make the writing in the movie so great.
Who is Sparrow (Grandma Death)? What is her whole story?: Whe was a nun, who then becomes a Scientist/teacher, and who wrote a book detailing time travel, and the specifics of how the Universe works. It could be seen that her leaving the Sisterhood is a loss of faith in God, specificly because she somehow discovered that there is no God, only "nature". Surely, if there was a God he would take care of all this himself wouldnt he? Maybe, maybe not, according to the Bible he has no problem testing his creations faith, or lack of...One thing I believe is that she was never a Reciever, since all evidence points to the Recievers all being killed by the Artifacts in the Primary Universe at the conclusion of their tasks, it seems to me that death is their reward for a job well done (Donnie at least learned enough to be happy with Death).
Ok, thats all I have energy for so far...when I wake up maybe Ill put more down...please feel free to discuss, Id like some feedback. Oh, Ive only read about 10 pages of this forum, so all this may be a rehash lol.
>>By WildDealer (Tuesday, 12 Aug 2003 17:39)
Okay so i was reading the posts and i think you guys are amazing. Donnie Darko is definilty my favorite movie of all time. I just cant stop watching it and i want to thank all of you who helped explain some of the loose ends. I just have one question, and granted i havent read all the posts so it may have already been answered, if so im sorry. Why was Cunningham crying in the end?
>>By mad mad world (Sunday, 17 Aug 2003 20:26)
I love this movie! It is so deep, though, i'm not even going to try to explain my theory of it. This movie rocks.
>>By Aime (Monday, 18 Aug 2003 17:30)
Ya know the poster of the eye with the skull in the pupil that Donnie has in his room? I found it on the internet a long time ago and was going to buy it, but didn't save it. Does anyone know where it is?
>>By Kemen (Monday, 18 Aug 2003 19:53)
To preface I would say that this movie is one of the most thought provoking I have ever seen. I hope that someone watches this movie again after reading my theory and sees what I see, I believe there is more to this movie than time travel and paradoxes.
i·ro·ny
n. pl. i·ro·nies
1.
a. The use of words to express something different from and often opposite to their literal meaning.
b. An expression or utterance marked by a deliberate contrast between apparent and intended meaning.
c. A literary style employing such contrasts for humorous or rhetorical effect. See Synonyms at wit1.
2.
a. Incongruity between what might be expected and what actually occurs: “Hyde noted the irony of Ireland's
copying the nation she most hated” (Richard Kain).
b. An occurrence, result, or circumstance notable for such incongruity. See Usage Note at ironic.
Here is my theory…
I would like to submit for consideration that the main theme of this movie is defined with irony. This theme explores a human condition, the struggle for the belief of a higher power. Through and incredible use of irony (foreshadowed by the evaluation of the short story in Pomeroy’s class), Kelly portrays Donnie as a person searching for answers.
To remain brief (because there is a lot I could say about this movie) I will simply bullet a few observations that illustrate what I a talking about. The next time you watch the movie try letting go of resolving the paradoxes and assume that everything has an alternate and sometimes opposite meaning.
Theme – Search for evidence that we are not alone at the same time faced with hypocrisy and the apparent absurdity of various belief systems.
Frank – Donnie’s skepticism – Frank leads Donnie to speak or act out against those beliefs that seem preposterous. Dr Thurman – Donnie’s inner rational desire to believe.
Frank and Dr Thurman are analogous to the proverbial Devil on one shoulder, Angel on the other.
§ Time Travel – Crossing over
§ Tangent Universe - Heaven
§ Jet Engine – Religious event? Miracle? Artifact? – Defies explanation but is forever pondered.
§ School – represents the world shared by all belief systems
§ Principal - Government
§ Bronze “Bull” Dog – False idol
§ Flood – religious reference that in the contest of the school closing and 12 classrooms being flooded could
symbolize a cleansing like Noah’s flood.
§ Jim Cunningham – fallen televangelist
§ Fear – Love – Evil vs. Good / Righteous
§ Class Rooms – unique belief systems
§ Mrs. Farmer – Hard line Christian – legalistic, Judgmental very black and white.
§ Pomeroy – Possibly atheist
§ Monnitoff – Science – Possibly agnostic
§ The Philosophy of Time Travel – Bible
§ Roberta Sparrow – God
I could go further and also sight specific lines that has lead me to this theory but this requires cross-referencing just about the whole movie. All I ask is keep an open mind and look for what I have pointed out and any other references – There are others that I have not pointed out. I have been to the web site. Interesting as an addendum to the movie, but it does tell you how to interpret it.
>>By jmw0403 (Friday, 22 Aug 2003 00:00)
About the poster of the eye with te skull in the pupil, it's from a dutch graphic artist called M.C. Escher famous for his mathematical inspired artwork.
Suits the film pretty well!
Check: http://www.rhombus.be/Escher/Posters7.htm
>>By LUCULUS (Monday, 25 Aug 2003 01:06)
I am a little confused as to how I should describe this film. Basically it is a drama, but it is almost a psychological thriller as well. I also am a little unsure how I felt about the movie after only one viewing. The story is full of symbolism, and I suspect watching it again while listening to the director commentary, while help to gain a better insight into this dark and intriguing film. Set in October of 1988, the film follows a young boy named Donnie Darko played by Jake Gyllenhaal (who was the title character in last year's Bubble Boy). Donnie is an isolated and disturbed young man with a troubled past, he is seeing a psychiatrist, and on medication. Then there is Frank, a six-foot-tall man in a bunny suit that appears to Donnie, and tells him that the world is going to end within the next 30 days. Donnie's only source of comfort, other than that of his doctor, is Gretchen (Jena Malone) a girl with her own dark past that moves to the neighborhood. It soon becomes clear in this film that, the world and it's ridiculous notions as represented by Patrick Swayze's character Jim Cunningham, aren't always what they appear to be and that life isn't something that can be simplified into one thing or another. Things like love, time travel, the meaning of life, sacrifice, and the existence of God are all touched upon in this movie. I was surprised to see that Drew Barrymore, who not only acted in the film as Donnie's English teacher Ms. Pomeroy, was the film's executive producer. I am definitely am compelled to take another look at this film, while it seemed a bit too deep at times, I believe that there is an important message to be heard within it. As for the disc, it actually has quite a few extras; numerous trailers and TV spots for the film, 20 deleted and extended scenes, cast and crew info, and a commentary track with the director and star. There is also fairly funny section of the fake infomercial made for the film that has the fake director and CEO of the fake Cunning Visions corporation doing commentary. I don't know the exact purpose of it, but I laughed a lot at it. I think my opinion of the movie will go up in time, but for now I give it a 3.9.
>>By Led Gopher (Wednesday, 27 Aug 2003 06:41)
A great film. Left me wanting to watch it all over again when it finished. Thought the characterisation was very good. Nice to see Patrick Swayzee in something decent!
>>By Steed (Thursday, 28 Aug 2003 20:39)
I saw the film twice when it came out at the cinema. I bought the film today on DVD and am going to watch it again tomorrow. Or maybe I already have.
>>By Jimmy Quiz (Saturday, 30 Aug 2003 01:23)
I don't know if anyone has mentioned this before or not, but I think the time until the world ends has some meaning to it. I might be wrong, but 28 days is the amount of time for drug rehab, which makes you a changed person, and the 40 seconds. In the bible the number 40 was used to suggest a change in someone. Both numbers suggest someone changing, and Donnie does change a lot throughtout the movie. Anyone else know anything about the other numbers?
>>By Vancried (Wednesday, 3 Sep 2003 06:15)
Ok...I have a little observation...no one seems to understand why he is laughing before he gets killed at the end...well...i know why. as you notice, the image before it shows him in bed laughing is a poster with a picture of an eye with a skull in the pupil....helloooo? he's seeing death! He sees death and is realizing that life isnt bad...ta da!
>>By Catty (Wednesday, 10 Sep 2003 00:06)
oh yeah...and about grandma death...the reason she is checking her mailbox is because she understands time travel...therefore she knows that he is going to send a letter asking her about it.
>>By Catty (Wednesday, 10 Sep 2003 00:08)
OH! And another thing...if you had actually read the book and payed attention to the movie you would know that the reason Gretchen and Frank were the ones that he saw in his dreams...is because those are the people that died that werent meant to because he avoided the engine
>>By Catty (Wednesday, 10 Sep 2003 00:10)
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