Originally posted by Aini
...yeah, I know its about time travel.......but besides that 🤨
Originally posted by Cinemaddiction
The premise of Donnie Darko is the mysteries of time travel. I'll explain, but I will have to throw it in spoiler tags for those who have yet to see the movie.Spoiler:
The movie opens up with the jet engine plummeting to land, and through Donnie's bedroom. He wasn't there, and from that I gathered that it was Frank, whom he had yet to meet, who saved his life by subconsciously having him sleepwalk through the golf course.Throughout the movie, Donnie, in addition to his own anyalysis of time travel witnesses and has it explained through Frank. Frank tells him that he has a little more than 28 days until he is faced with the exact same situation again, at which time he can decide to keep living his miserable life, or end it all.
Donnie develops a relationship with Frank, the time traveler, and understands that Frank his given him a second chance to re-evaluate his life.
It's alot like a dark version of "A Christmas Carol", only being set on Halloween, and this time, the person actually chooses to die, instead of change his ways for the betterment of himself and everyone else.
I understand alot of this may be over everyones heads, but it's the most basic explanation I can give of what is otherwise a rather deep and psychologically mind numbing movie.
The time travel theory doesnt explain why he dies.
I dont think Donnie Darko is about time travel or saving lives. I think its about some guy that dies, then gets to see life if he had continued to live. An sees that by him dying others survived so could be content in dying, like that question does your life/every life have meaning/purpose, even if you die tragically/at a young age? It was just shown in a different way than your normal movie of "die 1st then see life if you had continued to live movie". They just showed it in reverse. Saying he has special powers seems silly, he gets killed by a plane engine, theres nothing magically about that. Nothing ever eluded to the fact that he had to do anything to "save" anything. 28 days could of just been how long he was being told he had till it was over. If he knew the future an had time travel powers he could have still avoided the plane engine, but he couldnt which simply means that event had already happened, I. E. unavoidable an his 28 days where like a vision after already dying.
Many ways to interpret this movie.
Originally posted by lord krondor
Holy mother of god. You guys are so gullible. It was just something I posting as a stupid joke that a retard would be able to recognize, but THIS happened. Wow. Just wow. Thank you.Donnie Darko rocks!!!
Originally posted by Cringe
I didnt know where it was trying to go or what it was try to do so I got kind of uninterested about halfway threw the movie.I kept watching to see how it all turned out.I thought it was dumb.
Originally posted by ElectricBugaloo
it's a favorite of pretentious people
Originally posted by azza2110
I agree with Darth! its was rubbish! How you can say that its a brilliant film amazes me! If you havent watched it, please read no more!OK, firstly, time travel films never work. there are too many flaws in them, eg terminator (doesnt work), Timecop (not even worth going into),etc.
Secondly, he goes through the whole story just to think "hmm better that i die" and kills himself. So what was the point in the whole film? better to die then live? whats the meaning? where was the writer going with this? If the rabbit was visions of the person he kills in the end, how did he know the rabbit would be there unless he went back a previous time before the one we watch...therefore it loops and the only way to kill the loop is to kill himself.
The only thing i think this film achieves is to get people to talk about the film....hence it worked!
Its probably the 3rd most pointless film i have ever seen. 1st being Ice Storm (Kevin Kline), 2nd Sliding Doors. and now this...anyone shed light on why its so good please clarify!
Originally posted by WrathfulDwarf
OVERATED to the Max!Donnie Dorko...oops! I mean Donnie Darko is nothing but a cross experiment between 7th heaven and the Twilight Zone. Plus add some 80's tunes and you get this film. Man! I couldn't believe the hype behind this movie.
Originally posted by ragesRemorse
this movie may have been good, if it had any kind of point.
Originally posted by TraptUnderIce
It's sort of a bad movie. The first time you see it it's great but if you think about the time travel the logic is flawed. It was sort of a halfass theory to make the movie seem deep. It was just a gimmick so the guys could mess with lame graphics. I don't really want to mention the lame overlapping universes.
I'm glad to see others felt the same way I did. I just didn't get this movie at all. And by saying that, I'm not saying that I didn't understand the concepts behind the movie or it just didn't make sense to me etc. because that would be a very ignorant reason IMO for not liking it. Case in point when I first saw Memento, I didn't get every single detail of the movie but that didn't make me think it was stupid and I didn't like it. It made me watch it again a second time, in normal mode, it made me also want to check out the website and see what other info. there was available although at that point I understood pretty much everything and even then it still becomes a mater of personal perception and interpretation. Not necessarily a right or wrong but what you believe to be the truth, the flawed narrators version or the con mans version. These type of movies purposely leave you with open ended events that lead to healthy discussion and debate leter on and force you to come up with your own conclusions. The only reason why I mention this is to make it clear that I love movies that challenge your intellect and leave it up to you to fill in the holes and decide what you believe to be the ultimate truth.
Anyway, having said all this Donnie Darko really disappointed me in a lot of ways, especially since it was an indie film that many have liked and hyped up quite a bit. As someone mentioned this movie is just filled with all around pretentious artsy crap that tries to pass for a serious film but in the end it's just a futile effort from the director in a vain attempt of make something even relevant to having the distinction of being called a film. (As I'm writing this I'm reminded of another crap film, Irreversible). The plot is just a bunch of meandering pointless crap just strung together without any direction or purpose whatsoever with no real outcome or resolution in the end. Where this movie really failed for me was in it's attempt or lack there of of actually making you care or sympathize with any one of these characters, especially the main character. At no point in this movie did I feel any type of emotional connection to any of them. In the end I really didn't give a rats ass whether Donnie died or not, I just wanted the damn thing to be over with one way or another. I thought Berrymore's character was particularly pointless.
This film had the potential for so much more. I've always been intrigued by ideas of time travel and the existence of parallel universes, cause and effect, etc. I'm somewhat of a sci-fi nut so these type of films really appeal to me, unfortunately again I was really let down by this film. I hope there's another film out there that might be better at tackling these ideas and presenting in a more well thought out and articulated way.
Finally, just out of curiosity what is it that makes people like this film so much and what age of movie goer does this film mostly appeal to? If you like the movie because Donnie is young and cool and he's in school and he gets to tell his teachers off and talk back to authority figures and get away with making fun of that guy during his speech and trashing the school or you just simply like the dude in the rad bunny suit. Ok, I guess those are good enuff reasons. Or maybe you're just a big fan of Tears for Fears? I am but that still didn't make me like this movie. Btw, Gary Jules remake of 'Mad World' was very good indeed.
One last note, I asked a friend of mine who's very knowledgeable about movies to check it out and see whether he like it or not. He also didn't get it and it didn't appeal to him at all.
[Originally posted by ElectricBugaloo
it's a favorite of pretentious people
Originally posted by RZA
The plot is just a bunch of meandering pointless crap just strung together without any direction or purpose whatsoever with no real outcome or resolution in the end.
I find many of your posts tasteless, please start validating your opinions. I'm saying this to everyone that's posting "i understand the plot, but it's pointless". Firstly, that doesn't even makle sense. To have a plot, it'd have to have a general "point", yes?
If "Donnie Darko" doesn't have a point, I don't know what film does.