Donnie Darko

Sometimes the best films are those you have to watch multiple times to fully appreciate. Such is the case with Donnie Darko. This film is so complex that in the director’s cut, writer and director Richard Kelly includes segments in between scenes explaining the rules of time travel to better explain these elements in the film. This film is one of a kind and therefore deserves a one of a kind review. Because there is so much complexity to this film which could easily be missed by someone who hasn’t seen it a dozen times I chose to provide my understanding of the themes and story of the film in addition to just a straightforward evaluation.

Characters

Jake Gyllenhaal’s breakout role may still be his best. Since this movie he has really come into his own as an actor with strong performances in Nightcrawler, Zodiac, Source Code, etc. As good as he’s been in those roles, though, there will always be a part of me that sees him as Donnie—the troubled and misunderstood teenager trying to make sense of his delusions. With so many movies having already been made about troubled teenagers whose parents don’t get them, seemingly every movie in the 1980s, it would have been easy for this age-old cliché to have detracted from such a complex story. Instead Gyllenhaal delivers a performance that is anything but cliché.

In English Class Gyllenhaal is the shy and quiet student, at home he is a sarcastic and vulgar teen, in his therapist’s office he is a vulnerable patient, around Gretchen a nervous teenage boy, and with Frank he is a possessed sleepwalker. While it is the many complex themes of the film which make it so unique, these themes are made possible through Gyllenhaal’s performance as Donnie Darko becomes the vessel through which we see into the portal (this film.)

Apart from Donnie there are several other actors whose roles serve two overall functions: the foils or “bullshitters,” as Mr. Darko calls them, whose narrow minded perspective on life provides a contrast to Donnie’s and the enablers who engage with Donnie’s view on reality and help him try to understand the truth. His sister, Maggie Gyllenhaal, serves as the overbearing but good hearted older sister who brings out the rebellious teen in Donnie. Other foils include his gym teacher Kitty and the source of her obsession Jim Cunningham both of whom preach his cult’s view of fear and happiness. Both of these characters show us the frustration building inside Donnie as they present oversimplified explanations and solutions of life’s problems which Donnie knows to be insufficient: “The world isn’t black and white,” he tells Kitty.

In addition to these “bullshitters” there are those characters who aid Donnie in his quest for the truth: his therapist, Grandma Death, his English teacher, and his science teacher. These characters are of far greater significance to the film as in addition to showing us the depth of Donnie’s character they are what progress the story. These “manipulated living,” as they are referred to in chapter 7 of the film, are portals of information for Donnie which drive him closer to enlightenment and ultimately help him to make a decision about his fate. In order to reset the universe to its original course Donnie requires the insight provided by these characters who function as Deus Ex Machina “God from machine” by providing the necessary resolution to the seemingly unsolvable problem of a collapsing space-time continuum.

Secondary characters like the English teacher, Drew Barrymore, have a vital purpose even though their screen time is minimal. We only see Barrymore a handful of times in the film, but her introduction of the term “cellar door” and the themes from The Destructors are instrumental in giving Donnie the knowledge he needs to make sense of time travel even though she does not understand the implications of what she’s saying. The information pours from her without her understanding because she, like the other characters who help him, have become the tools of God to put Donnie back on the path of his own death or else risk the destruction of the universe. I cannot imagine a greater purpose for secondary characters in a film than to highlight the strengths of the main character all while helping him to save the universe.

Special Effects 

Before I get to the heart of the film, its writing and story, I felt that I would give a deserving nod to some of the creative effects that Kelly uses to make time supernatural elements like time travel and a six foot rabbit feel like they belonged in this film. The bubble-like pathway which led Donnie to the gun he later used to kill Frank was both a unique and understandable way to show the audience how Donnie was being led to his fate. Donnie’s inability to cope with Frank, whom he sees as threatening, was very effectively displayed by having Donnie try to stab Frank through the mirror only for the knife to bounce off. Scenes of waves crashing and a pupil dilating captured the feel of his hallucinations as well as the tearing apart of the edges of the framework of the universe. The dark, foreboding cloud served as a visual symbol of Donnie’s death.

Writing

The writing of this film by director and screenwriter Richard Kelly is brilliant for his ability to tell a compelling story involving a troubled teenager, a cult-like pedophile, a six-foot rabbit, and time travel all without confusing his story or his audience. In addition to the major themes of the film, Kelly also showcases his talent for writing in some of his minor scenes. The scene where Donnie and his friends have an extensive discussion about the sexuality of smurfs is particularly clever and reminds me of many of the conversations in Tarantino films.

At first viewing Donnie Darko might appear to just be a story about a boy who was supposed to die and the universe’s attempt to convince him to correct its mistake, but there is much more going on beneath the surface. What distinguishes most independent films, and especially this one, from blockbusters are the major themes that are intricately weaved into a complex story. Most films could not take on so many complex ideas without either overwhelming the audience or suffocating the story. Donnie Darko succeeds because all of the major themes in it, even those that are very different from each other, all tie into one theme: Donnie is meant to die.

The first major theme is introduced in Donnie’s English class where he discovers that destruction can be a form of creation in a story where children flood a school. Once this idea is planted in Donnie’s head we see him act on this knowledge as he floods the school, defaces the school’s mascot, and eventually burns down Cunningham’s house. This is the first time Donnie is given information from a Deus Ex Machina (in this case his English teacher) and then given a task which is meant to compel him to choose to end his life and restore order to the universe. By flooding the school and burning down Cunningham’s house he willingly commits acts for which Donnie knows he is likely to suffer great consequences: “I only have a few days left before they catch me” he tells his therapist. Yet ironically it is not fear which motivates Donnie to do these things, which Cunningham claims motivates Donnie, but loyalty to Frank who saved his life and, more importantly, a desire to “know his master plan” (Whether “his” refers to Frank or to God is never made clear in the film and whether it is one or the other is irrelevant since what the film is primarily focused on is Donnie’s figuring out that he must choose to die.) The audience is meant to understand that while the fear of being caught hangs over Donnie, pushing him away from any attachment toward this tangent universe, it is the search for knowledge that drives him.

There are several other themes which are raised in the film that also point Donnie towards his death. Time travel is of course a significant part of the film and while it is certainly used to make the film more complex and therefore interesting, its ultimate purpose is to make it possible for Donnie to change the past and die as he was originally supposed to (another example of Deus Ex Machina.) The acceptance of one’s fate and that we all die alone is a subtler but equally important theme that pops up several times in the film including towards the beginning of the film when Grandma Death tells Donnie that “Every living creature on Earth dies alone.” This is another example of how a theme which seems to stand on its own is really just a vehicle for getting Donnie to accept death so that he can more easily make the decision to save the universe. Death itself also serves as an important motivator as the one person Donnie loves, Gretchen, is killed by Frank’s car as a result of Grandma Death standing in the street (not coincidentally, right after Donnie cries out “Deus Ex Machina.”)

Gretchen’s death proves to be the most significant motivator for Donnie. The morning after Gretchen’s death, we see Donnie return home. Though Donnie is faced with plenty of reasons for not being invested in this tangent universe (those mentioned above as well as for murdering Frank) he still tries to flee from his fate by driving away with Gretchen’s body after he sees the cloud formation in the sky which he knows will bring about his death. Sitting on a hilltop overlooking the valley below, the film reaches its climax as Donnie is finally faced the decision of whether or not to sacrifice himself for the universe. Donnie gets back into the car, takes a long look at Gretchen’s body and realizes that the only way to save her is for him to die. Following his decision the screen immediately flashes the word “purge,” signaling an end to the tangent universe and a restoration of order. Ultimately Donnie was not motivated by fear as Cunningham alleged, but by his love for Gretchen.

Conclusion:

Grade: WRAP: 100%

The complexity of this story and its many themes all working towards one beautiful resolution is what makes this film such a masterpiece. Kelly’s genius is demonstrated by his ability to take longstanding clichés like the story of a troubled teen, young love, and an overbearing school and effectively combine them with as complex a concept as time travel. Gyllenhaal’s acting, Kelly’s directing, and one of the most thought provoking screenplays combine for one of Hollywood’s greatest creations.