Really a great story. Grandma Death tells Donnie his biggest fear: to die alone. He has to overcome that fear: in the end he dies alone. He chooses this to save the ones he loves (and all mankind) and restore the normal timeline/universe. Yes - Donnie Darko really is a super hero!! Every rewatch reveils new details. I still love it.
“Oh my god! That fuckin’….” “Absolute mindfuck”. I think those were my reactions to Donnie Darko the first time I ever saw it. Lots of content to unpack here and it’s near impossible to figure this movie out on the first viewing! Fantastic movie, fantastic reaction.
Glad you guys watched the theatrical version as a first time viewing and Nightcrawler is definitely another really good Jake Gyllenhaal movie to check out.
This movie was an immediate cult success. It did well enough at the box office for an indie release, but then it did EXTREMELY well in rentals and sales. Jake had already been in the very good October Sky, appeared in City Slickers (his first movie at 10yrs old but a major hit) and Bubble Boy. This is a superhero movie. It just doesn’t present itself as one.
There were a few style imitators in the years after, none on the same level. But if you wanted to find a second example, a 2005 movie called "The Chumscrubber" (yeah, they actually went with that name) delivers the best Darko-ish atmosphere.
@@arifeannor9573 The only thing I find a bummer, especially when it comes to reactions, with several movies including Donnie Darko and The Butterfly Effect, as well as a handful of others, is that there are multiple different versions where they literally change things, like the music and the endings. Like with Donnie Darko you have the changes between the theatrical and the directors cut and in its case I really really prefer the theatrical as a first watch. When it comes to The Butterfly Effect, it might as well be something like 4 different movies, since there are several differing versions. With it I'd recommend the directors cut as the first time watch, but of course many people, including reactors, end up watching a different one as the first time and there's always a bunch of people that think this one or that one is the best and the other sucks, etc. I constantly have to worry with movies like this, I Am Legend, Donnie Darko, The Butterfly Effect, T2, Mask, and others, which version are they watching, since every one of those has versions with totally different Sound Tracks and or Endings, as well as additional differing scenes. With this situation it almost never fails these days that people will watch what you might consider the wrong one first. It's annoying and aggravating and you only get one shot at a first time impression and experience. Like if they had watched Donnie Darko the director's cut first, they'd never have been able to go back and get the same experience they got watching the theatrical first. I really hope if they watch The Butterfly Effect they watch the DC version first, but you and others may favor one of the other 3 or 4 alternate version. It just makes it a complicated mess, in my opinion. Back in the old days a Directors Cut tended to just add a few scenes that hit the cutting room floor, not change the soundtrack and ending of the movie.
very good explanation: So, basically, how the movie works: Donnie wakes up one night and leaves his house because a jet engine crashes into it. This jet engine is the Artifact. In this setting, sometimes the universe splits into a parallel timeline (Tangent Universe), which is unstable, and will collapse in roughly a month. Whenever this happens, someone close-by to the Artifact is selected to return it, stabilizing the timeline, and returning it to the main universe. Donnie Darko becomes the person selected to return the artifact. Now, once the timelines split, the universe does everything in its power to restore the timeline and aid Donnie's quest. Because of this, every single choice every person makes, consciously or subconsciously, serves to help Donnie in some way. Additionally, whenever someone dies in the alternate timeline, they gain the ability to travel throughout the entire timeline and help Donnie. Finally, Donnie gains powers (super strength, telekenesis, time-travel-vision, etc) to achieve his goals. On the last night of the parallel universe, Donnie shoots frank, who is wearing a halloween costume of a bunny. Frank immediately becomes a Manipulated Dead (one who can travel throughout the timeline to help Donnie), and tells him that the world will end. He then convinces Donnie to flood the school, leading to it being cancelled that day. Because it is cancelled, he walks home with Gretchen, who he starts a relationship with. Frank then has Donnie burn down Jim Cunningham's house to reveal his porn stash, which gets him arrested. With him being arrested, Donnie's parents leave home for Halloween. Donnie's relationship with Gretchen is then allowed to reach its peak during the Halloween party, at which point Donnie goes to visit Grandma Death. It is implied that Grandma Death was at one point selected to return an artifact in a different parallel timeline, which is why she knows so much about how the Tangent Universe. In doing so, Gretchen dies, giving Donnie sufficient motivation to return the artifact (the plane's jet engine) and reset the timeline. However, once the timeline is reset, nobody remembers anything. They have vague flashes, but it's more like a dream than a memory. As such, Donnie does not remember that the jet engine will strike his bedroom, and he is killed by it. In doing so, ultimately, he saves the universe.
> _"On the last night of the parallel universe, Donnie shoots frank (...) he walks home with Gretchen, who he starts a relationship with."_ Sooo... Frank didn't run over Gretchen the first time around? Donny just shot him for no reason? OK... How many times has Donny gone through the time loop? The movie seems pretty adamant about it only happening once. As such, a more palatable explanation is that Frank was dead before he got shot... and there was a separate Frank just doing his own thing in the meantime. Nice job describing the explanation you've decided to post (whether you're just quoting without attribution or putting it together yourself) as "very good". That really sells it xD.
The early 2000's and late 90's had some great movies that messed with time/reality. I recall that after a while they started making very poorly made movies with these weird themes, and then the genera just sort of died. There have been a couple of movies since then that make you think this much (some by the same directors), but I think that was an era of movie making that can't return to modern audiences.
If you were a little confused, have no fear. This explains everything, because yes, this is a confusing (but amazing) film: The “primary universe” is where everyone is living a normal life, Donnie and his family, you, I, everyone. Then something unexplained happened-a jet engine crashed into Donnie’s room. Luckily for him, Frank (imaginary bunny friend) called him out of his room so he didn’t die. As a result of him surviving, this created a “tangent universe”. The tangent (alternate) universe is everything that would have occurred if Donnie survived, which he did and that’s all the events that played out in the movie after the jet engine crashed into Donnie’s room. Everything and everyone in the primary universe is duplicated in the tangent universe. The jet engine is what you call an “artifact”, an artifact (according to Sparrow’s book) spontaneously appears without explanation, and that means that the tangent universe is slowly being contorted, corrupted, and will eventually collapse on itself, no problem. Artifacts are not supposed to duplicate (but they can, according to Sparrow), as they come from the tangent universe itself. The problem here is that the jet engine did in fact duplicate-there’s one in both the primary and the tangent universe, so when the tangent universe collapses, it will collapse and form a black hole which will also destroy the primary universe-everything and everybody we know will die, the universe itself will collapse in the black hole. When this random event happens (the artifact duplicating itself), a “living receiver” is selected by the universe, or by the “gods” of the universe to be the individual who will dispel the artifact out of the tangent universe into the primary universe (so everyone and everything doesn’t die). This person was Donnie. According to Sparrow’s book, the individual who comes into contact with said artifact will become the selected living receiver (it was Donnie’s room so he was selected by the universe, although he was not there at the time, it was still his room). The living receiver is then granted powers from the fourth dimension to help with his/her task of dispelling the artifact from the tangent universe. These powers include mind control, telekinesis, psychic abilities, increased strength, and the ability to create time portals using water and metal, and to be able to move through those time portals. This is all according to Sparrow’s book. Everyone around Donnie is able to also help him with this task, these individuals are called the “Manipulated Living” and the “Manipulated Dead”. The manipulated living, for example, would be Donnie’s science teacher that gave him Sparrow’s book to read. This is how Donnie learned and understood everything that he needed to do to save the universe. The manipulated dead, for example, would be Frank that he shot in the eye and killed. Frank wasn’t a villain, he was actually helping and guiding Donnie throughout the movie to get Donnie to where he needed to be. For example, Frank had Donnie bust the water lines and school was cancelled. As a result, he met Gretchen his girlfriend that he loved. Gretchen served an important role, Donnie had to meet her that faithful day when school was cancelled. The reason being is that Gretchen was the “Ensurance Trap” which was mentioned in Sparrow’s book. The ensurance trap lays out the sequence of events to help the living receiver complete their task. Gretchen was ran over and killed (unfortunately) by Frank, then Donnie shoots Frank in the eye killing him, then Frank was able to now serve as the manipulated dead to go back in time to help Donnie. Do you understand? Without Gretchen dying (the love of Donnie’s life) Frank would have never died, so Donnie would have failed in completing his task and the entire universe would collapse and die. Now we are at the end of the movie and Donnie is running out of time. After Gretchen’s death, he realizes that the only thing he can do is take the artifact out of the tangent universe and time travel back to the primary universe with it (the start of the movie). But there’s only one problem, he would have to die as a result. Donnie accepts his death, because not only does it save his family, friends, but it saves his love Gretchen, it ultimately saves the entire universe! As Donnie accepts his death, we see that Donnie’s mom and sister are on a plane coming back from his sister’s dance competition. The plane undergoes a malfunction and the jet engine detaches from the plane (this is the duplicated jet engine, remember one was in the primary universe and one is in the tangent universe, this is that one). At this time the black hole starts forming over his house where the engine fell in the primary universe, the tangent universe is now collapsing and will take with it the primary universe. So, Donnie uses his fourth dimension powers and creates a time portal, and while using telekinesis he is able to guide the jet engine back in time through the portal to the primary universe (Donnie himself also goes through the portal with the jet engine, remember the living receiver can transport themselves through these portals as well). Now we are back at the beginning of the movie and Donnie is in his bed laughing, he has accepted his death and knows it has to be done for the sake of mankind. He succeeded and removed the duplicated artifact from the tangent universe. And of course the jet engine he transported there crashes through the roof into his room killing him. As a result, none of the events in the movie happen, but everyone survives-his family, friends, Gretchen, the universe itself. Gretchen of course doesn’t know who Donnie was because she never met him. Now, according to Sparrow’s book, everyone who played a role in helping the living receiver in the tangent universe will still distantly and faintly remember what happened, however these memories come to them in their dreams. I believe she referred to them as “phantoms”. That’s why Frank gently touched his eye at the end of the movie, he knew that something happened to his eye, that’s why Donnie’s therapist woke up in shock, that’s why the science teacher was tossing and turning in his bed, and that’s why Gretchen fumbles so slightly before saying that she never knew Donnie Darko. Thanks for listening!
This movie needs to be watched twice. First, the theatrical cut, and then the directors cut. When you rewatch it, go with the directors cut. It explains everything.
This movie is my favorite so just to answer your main most basic question to help you out when Donnie first meets Frank he said the world will end so by Donnie dying stopped the world from ending so the worm hole never opens up at the end... and frank the rabbit was like a spirit guide showing him what will happen if he doesn't die.
Donnie dying has nothing to do with the world ending. This is better explained with the director's cut because it gives you more insight into the Philosophy of Time Travel book. What actually caused the Tangent Universe to be created is a mystery, but Frank appears before Donnie makes the decision to leave. This shows that the Tangent Universe was created before Donnie ever had a chance to die, and eliminates any possibility it is caused by his death. Donnie dies simply because he doesn't know to leave. He is not the same Donnie as before the time travel happened.
@RJ-lg9hs that's the reason most of us prefer the original it's left to interpretation religious, self reflection, supernatural, etc. If there was no point of Donnie knowing what his death ment then there would be no point of Frank showing him the future/saving him. As for the world ending is the same left to interpretation... remember not only did Donnie see what happened some saw it, some felt it and others where oblivious to what happened.
@@rubenarias6538 The theatrical version still had The Philosophy of Time Travel in it, it just didn't tell you what was in the book. I don't think it's a good idea to just brush off the sci-fi elements and pretend they don't exist. There also doesn't need to exist a dichotomy of self reflection or sci-fi. They can co-exist. There are many scenes of the movie that do not relate to the sci-fi time travel stuff. Cherita Chen is a good example of a character that does very little to relate to the time travel aspect, and is completely representative of Donnie's feelings of loneliness, a core component of the story. " If there was no point of Donnie knowing what his death ment then there would be no point of Frank showing him the future/saving him." That's not true. The whole point of Frank was to act as a spirit guide and help Donnie send the jet engine (The Artifact) back to the Primary Universe so that the Tangent Universe can safely collapse. It doesn't require any understanding of what is happening by Donnie. Donnie is quite confused throughout the whole movie and doesn't seem to know what is happening. That's why he needs the Manipulated Living and the Manipulated Dead (chiefly Frank) to help him fulfil his duty as the Living Receiver. "As for the world ending is the same left to interpretation... remember not only did Donnie see what happened some saw it, some felt it and others where oblivious to what happened." There are definitely lots of things in the movie left to interpretation. We don't know how much of the Tangent Universe people remembered in the Mad World scene. Frank touched his eye, yes, but does he remember everything? Or is it just a strange feeling? Does it feel like trying to remember a dream? It's directly stated that Gretchen doesn't remember Donnie at all. Donnie was laughing at the end, but why? Does he think it was all a bad dream and is overjoyed that it's over? Is it just lingering feelings from the Tangent Universe that are unexplained, and the same reason why people in the Mad World scene started crying/ becoming distressed? Or is it true that Donnie realizes he needs to die and has finally come to terms with it? It's not explained by the movie and is definitely up to interpretation. For me, I don't think the last option makes much sense unless Donnie is simply mistaken that he needs to die because he doesn't how universes work in the Philosophy of Time Travel. But even then, Donnie writes a letter to Roberta Sparrow telling her how excited he is for the world to end and how much there will be to look forward to. This is contradictory. I think he simply does not remember the Tangent Universe and just has faint feelings of it, like waking up from a dream. Either that, or he simply doesn't realize that the engine will still fall onto his room again, thinking that he sent it somewhere else. Admittedly, I find that to be rather anti-climactic though. But, it does enforce the idea that none of the Manipulated cared about Donnie or wanted Donnie to understand anything. They just used him to fulfil their need of keeping the Primary Universe intact. If he dies, he dies.
The guy in the red track suit was definitely from the FAA. You can see him in the background in the scene with them in it.
Месяц назад+1
The crazy thing is that the girl says "Donnie Darko? That sounds like a superheros name...". Then he ends up BEING A SUPERHERO of sorts!!! By killing himself with the plane, he undid everything he did. Saving the girl, saving Frank, just the universe is a better place without Donnie in it, and he recognized that by the end of the film... The "end of the world" Frank was talking about wasn't for EVERYONE ELSE... Only Donnie Darko's world was ending! The only thing I HATED about the movie was that the guy with the KIDDIE PORN DUNGEON GETS OFF SCOT FREE BECAUSE DONNIE NEVER BURNS HIS HOUSE DOWN!?!!?!
its implied by hm waking up and weeping that hes feeling immense guilt, dont know if it changed anything but its implied.
22 дня назад
@@itachileesan No it doesn't... I thought he was HAPPY not guilty... That he got to save the girl's life... He saw in that final moment that everything was WORTH dying for... He finally got to be the HERO that the girl had mentioned when they first met... She told him "Donnie Darko? THAT SOUNDS LIKE A SUPERHEROS NAME!!!". So by the end of the film he ACTUALLY WAS A SUPERHERO!! Who used his time traveling ability to save her life!!
Yes, watch "Night Crawer"... Jake plays a perfect person with borderline Asperger's type personality that accidentally discovers a career in photojournalism, but with no regards to anyone else's needs or safety. Very good performance and very entertaining.
Welcome to the best cult classic wish More people would watch it . Comedy how you guys were lost the whole time excellent ..for me donny Darko was smart but understood that no matter how intelligent us humans are we are not God and he has a plan in the bigger picture ..thank you for watching it pass it on and God bless you guys 🎉
Donnie being on meds from the beginning makes him an unreliable narrator. The upshot is, although he expressed to his shrink that he didn't want to be alone, he died alone with a smile on his face.
One of the things about this movie is it was very low budget, Swayze and Barrymore took their parts for next to nothing because they like the script so much, I also believe Barrymore asked for a producer credit for doing so, which was appeased, you really have to watch this movie over and over to pick up more and more
There is some great irony in his choice is complex so it isn’t binary like he told the teacher during the lifeline exercise but strangely enough his decision did come down to love and fear, love Gretchen and fear dying alone
Don’t see the extended version it’s not worth it hand feeds you too much and makes you think less, the entire greatness of the movie is the philosophical questions you are left to debate. I recommend rewatching this version multiple times
Watch the Director’s version, they explain how the time traveling works. So in the beginning he dodges death because Frank(manipulated dead) coerces him to sleep walk to the golf course. From here on an alternate universe is created, but according to the book these altered universes only last about a few weeks. Well at the end he uses telekineses to rip the plane engine off and send it through the wormhole, and in true time traveler fashion he goes back to the night when the engine fell through his room. In order to save the world and close that loop, and to prevent creating another temp alternate dimension, he’s supposed to die from that engine falling on him, just like in the beginning of the movie as he was supposed to before Frank made him sleepwalk away. Throughout the movie the manipulated dead (Frank) leads our Mc to do feats using unnatural power to build him up to the point where he’s strong enough to manipulate elements (metal/water), that leads us to the end.
In the epilogue it's revealed that after waking from the 'dream' Jim Cunningham committed suicide, so even though Donnie wasn't there to expose him, his (Donnie's) actions still affected him nonetheless
The directors cut helps out with understanding the film, its still extremely hard to decipher even with that extra help. But he didnt time travel back to save gretchen, he was part of an alternate time loop and that timeline wouldve have caused every timeline to collapse if he didnt go back and sacrafice himself like the other timelines that he didnt survive the initial place and the manipulated living are the different major characters that have an extremely dark timeline and the worst outcomes for them all, and the point of pushing him to learn time travel and what he needs to do, each character thats truly focused on more than some others like Drew barrymore, were manipulated living that had to do the worst outcomes of their characters to help push donnie into going back in time to fix the timelines, he wakes up on the same hill in the beginning that he does at the end before the time travel, he didnt cause the plane to crash, they were going to die and the engine fell off and he was supposed to use it as his vessel to return to the beginning and die.
I love this film so much. But the director's cut is awful. This has mystery, and lets you think about it. The director's cut just tells you exactly what is happening.
I know I know, but I still hold it’s a good movie. Yes, it’s plot doesn’t work, it’s confusing and pointless. Exactly how it felt like growing up as a teen in the 90’ties. But yeah, by any objective standard it’s a bad movie.
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Really a great story. Grandma Death tells Donnie his biggest fear: to die alone. He has to overcome that fear: in the end he dies alone. He chooses this to save the ones he loves (and all mankind) and restore the normal timeline/universe. Yes - Donnie Darko really is a super hero!! Every rewatch reveils new details. I still love it.
“Oh my god! That fuckin’….” “Absolute mindfuck”. I think those were my reactions to Donnie Darko the first time I ever saw it. Lots of content to unpack here and it’s near impossible to figure this movie out on the first viewing! Fantastic movie, fantastic reaction.
Glad you guys watched the theatrical version as a first time viewing and Nightcrawler is definitely another really good Jake Gyllenhaal movie to check out.
I saw this movie when it came out, I was maybe 13 and it’s always stuck with me. A perfect film.
With the sci-fi angle interpretation, you can say that this movie is like Interstellar core message, that love transcends time.
This movie was an immediate cult success. It did well enough at the box office for an indie release, but then it did EXTREMELY well in rentals and sales.
Jake had already been in the very good October Sky, appeared in City Slickers (his first movie at 10yrs old but a major hit) and Bubble Boy.
This is a superhero movie. It just doesn’t present itself as one.
@24:47 Spencer from iCarly
extended version goes more in detail with the book that Roberta Sparrow wrote. It's a MUST watch
This is truly one of my favorite movies, I appreciate you uploading your reaction
Fun fact the actress who plays the youngest Darko kid played Samara in the Ring and voiced Lilo in Lilo and Stitch
And Chihiro in the english dub of Spirited Away!!!
@@ApocalypticHamTacos She's a very talented young woman
WHAT?!!! 🤯
There were a few style imitators in the years after, none on the same level. But if you wanted to find a second example, a 2005 movie called "The Chumscrubber" (yeah, they actually went with that name) delivers the best Darko-ish atmosphere.
Butterfly effect wasn't to bad. but yea not darko level
@@arifeannor9573 Butterfly Effect is actually good, but never thought of it as Darko-ish. The vibe is more like Memento.
@@arifeannor9573 The only thing I find a bummer, especially when it comes to reactions, with several movies including Donnie Darko and The Butterfly Effect, as well as a handful of others, is that there are multiple different versions where they literally change things, like the music and the endings. Like with Donnie Darko you have the changes between the theatrical and the directors cut and in its case I really really prefer the theatrical as a first watch. When it comes to The Butterfly Effect, it might as well be something like 4 different movies, since there are several differing versions. With it I'd recommend the directors cut as the first time watch, but of course many people, including reactors, end up watching a different one as the first time and there's always a bunch of people that think this one or that one is the best and the other sucks, etc.
I constantly have to worry with movies like this, I Am Legend, Donnie Darko, The Butterfly Effect, T2, Mask, and others, which version are they watching, since every one of those has versions with totally different Sound Tracks and or Endings, as well as additional differing scenes. With this situation it almost never fails these days that people will watch what you might consider the wrong one first. It's annoying and aggravating and you only get one shot at a first time impression and experience. Like if they had watched Donnie Darko the director's cut first, they'd never have been able to go back and get the same experience they got watching the theatrical first. I really hope if they watch The Butterfly Effect they watch the DC version first, but you and others may favor one of the other 3 or 4 alternate version. It just makes it a complicated mess, in my opinion. Back in the old days a Directors Cut tended to just add a few scenes that hit the cutting room floor, not change the soundtrack and ending of the movie.
very good explanation:
So, basically, how the movie works:
Donnie wakes up one night and leaves his house because a jet engine crashes into it. This jet engine is the Artifact. In this setting, sometimes the universe splits into a parallel timeline (Tangent Universe), which is unstable, and will collapse in roughly a month. Whenever this happens, someone close-by to the Artifact is selected to return it, stabilizing the timeline, and returning it to the main universe. Donnie Darko becomes the person selected to return the artifact.
Now, once the timelines split, the universe does everything in its power to restore the timeline and aid Donnie's quest. Because of this, every single choice every person makes, consciously or subconsciously, serves to help Donnie in some way. Additionally, whenever someone dies in the alternate timeline, they gain the ability to travel throughout the entire timeline and help Donnie. Finally, Donnie gains powers (super strength, telekenesis, time-travel-vision, etc) to achieve his goals.
On the last night of the parallel universe, Donnie shoots frank, who is wearing a halloween costume of a bunny. Frank immediately becomes a Manipulated Dead (one who can travel throughout the timeline to help Donnie), and tells him that the world will end. He then convinces Donnie to flood the school, leading to it being cancelled that day. Because it is cancelled, he walks home with Gretchen, who he starts a relationship with. Frank then has Donnie burn down Jim Cunningham's house to reveal his porn stash, which gets him arrested. With him being arrested, Donnie's parents leave home for Halloween. Donnie's relationship with Gretchen is then allowed to reach its peak during the Halloween party, at which point Donnie goes to visit Grandma Death. It is implied that Grandma Death was at one point selected to return an artifact in a different parallel timeline, which is why she knows so much about how the Tangent Universe. In doing so, Gretchen dies, giving Donnie sufficient motivation to return the artifact (the plane's jet engine) and reset the timeline.
However, once the timeline is reset, nobody remembers anything. They have vague flashes, but it's more like a dream than a memory. As such, Donnie does not remember that the jet engine will strike his bedroom, and he is killed by it. In doing so, ultimately, he saves the universe.
So the jet engine in the beginning came from a different version of the future through a random wormhole? And in that future his mom and sister die?
> _"On the last night of the parallel universe, Donnie shoots frank (...) he walks home with Gretchen, who he starts a relationship with."_
Sooo... Frank didn't run over Gretchen the first time around? Donny just shot him for no reason? OK... How many times has Donny gone through the time loop? The movie seems pretty adamant about it only happening once. As such, a more palatable explanation is that Frank was dead before he got shot... and there was a separate Frank just doing his own thing in the meantime.
Nice job describing the explanation you've decided to post (whether you're just quoting without attribution or putting it together yourself) as "very good". That really sells it xD.
I noticed the themes of love and fear is for me what this movie represents.
The early 2000's and late 90's had some great movies that messed with time/reality. I recall that after a while they started making very poorly made movies with these weird themes, and then the genera just sort of died. There have been a couple of movies since then that make you think this much (some by the same directors), but I think that was an era of movie making that can't return to modern audiences.
definitely watch and react to nightcrawler please. such a good movie.
good reaction, you guys are watching some good movies lately. keep it up.
No-one is ready for Donnie Darko.
Love this movie and have seen it probably 10 times & still only understand about 80% of it truly..:)
I saw this when it came out, I'd never heard of the Gyllenhaal's, so this was my first film with them and I loved.
If you were a little confused, have no fear. This explains everything, because yes, this is a confusing (but amazing) film:
The “primary universe” is where everyone is living a normal life, Donnie and his family, you, I, everyone. Then something unexplained happened-a jet engine crashed into Donnie’s room. Luckily for him, Frank (imaginary bunny friend) called him out of his room so he didn’t die. As a result of him surviving, this created a “tangent universe”. The tangent (alternate) universe is everything that would have occurred if Donnie survived, which he did and that’s all the events that played out in the movie after the jet engine crashed into Donnie’s room. Everything and everyone in the primary universe is duplicated in the tangent universe. The jet engine is what you call an “artifact”, an artifact (according to Sparrow’s book) spontaneously appears without explanation, and that means that the tangent universe is slowly being contorted, corrupted, and will eventually collapse on itself, no problem. Artifacts are not supposed to duplicate (but they can, according to Sparrow), as they come from the tangent universe itself. The problem here is that the jet engine did in fact duplicate-there’s one in both the primary and the tangent universe, so when the tangent universe collapses, it will collapse and form a black hole which will also destroy the primary universe-everything and everybody we know will die, the universe itself will collapse in the black hole. When this random event happens (the artifact duplicating itself), a “living receiver” is selected by the universe, or by the “gods” of the universe to be the individual who will dispel the artifact out of the tangent universe into the primary universe (so everyone and everything doesn’t die). This person was Donnie. According to Sparrow’s book, the individual who comes into contact with said artifact will become the selected living receiver (it was Donnie’s room so he was selected by the universe, although he was not there at the time, it was still his room). The living receiver is then granted powers from the fourth dimension to help with his/her task of dispelling the artifact from the tangent universe. These powers include mind control, telekinesis, psychic abilities, increased strength, and the ability to create time portals using water and metal, and to be able to move through those time portals. This is all according to Sparrow’s book. Everyone around Donnie is able to also help him with this task, these individuals are called the “Manipulated Living” and the “Manipulated Dead”. The manipulated living, for example, would be Donnie’s science teacher that gave him Sparrow’s book to read. This is how Donnie learned and understood everything that he needed to do to save the universe. The manipulated dead, for example, would be Frank that he shot in the eye and killed. Frank wasn’t a villain, he was actually helping and guiding Donnie throughout the movie to get Donnie to where he needed to be. For example, Frank had Donnie bust the water lines and school was cancelled. As a result, he met Gretchen his girlfriend that he loved. Gretchen served an important role, Donnie had to meet her that faithful day when school was cancelled. The reason being is that Gretchen was the “Ensurance Trap” which was mentioned in Sparrow’s book. The ensurance trap lays out the sequence of events to help the living receiver complete their task. Gretchen was ran over and killed (unfortunately) by Frank, then Donnie shoots Frank in the eye killing him, then Frank was able to now serve as the manipulated dead to go back in time to help Donnie. Do you understand? Without Gretchen dying (the love of Donnie’s life) Frank would have never died, so Donnie would have failed in completing his task and the entire universe would collapse and die. Now we are at the end of the movie and Donnie is running out of time. After Gretchen’s death, he realizes that the only thing he can do is take the artifact out of the tangent universe and time travel back to the primary universe with it (the start of the movie). But there’s only one problem, he would have to die as a result. Donnie accepts his death, because not only does it save his family, friends, but it saves his love Gretchen, it ultimately saves the entire universe! As Donnie accepts his death, we see that Donnie’s mom and sister are on a plane coming back from his sister’s dance competition. The plane undergoes a malfunction and the jet engine detaches from the plane (this is the duplicated jet engine, remember one was in the primary universe and one is in the tangent universe, this is that one). At this time the black hole starts forming over his house where the engine fell in the primary universe, the tangent universe is now collapsing and will take with it the primary universe. So, Donnie uses his fourth dimension powers and creates a time portal, and while using telekinesis he is able to guide the jet engine back in time through the portal to the primary universe (Donnie himself also goes through the portal with the jet engine, remember the living receiver can transport themselves through these portals as well). Now we are back at the beginning of the movie and Donnie is in his bed laughing, he has accepted his death and knows it has to be done for the sake of mankind. He succeeded and removed the duplicated artifact from the tangent universe. And of course the jet engine he transported there crashes through the roof into his room killing him. As a result, none of the events in the movie happen, but everyone survives-his family, friends, Gretchen, the universe itself. Gretchen of course doesn’t know who Donnie was because she never met him. Now, according to Sparrow’s book, everyone who played a role in helping the living receiver in the tangent universe will still distantly and faintly remember what happened, however these memories come to them in their dreams. I believe she referred to them as “phantoms”. That’s why Frank gently touched his eye at the end of the movie, he knew that something happened to his eye, that’s why Donnie’s therapist woke up in shock, that’s why the science teacher was tossing and turning in his bed, and that’s why Gretchen fumbles so slightly before saying that she never knew Donnie Darko.
Thanks for listening!
Nicely done, thanks!
This movie needs to be watched twice. First, the theatrical cut, and then the directors cut. When you rewatch it, go with the directors cut. It explains everything.
Your reactions when Gretchen was ran over is priceless
This movie is my favorite so just to answer your main most basic question to help you out when Donnie first meets Frank he said the world will end so by Donnie dying stopped the world from ending so the worm hole never opens up at the end... and frank the rabbit was like a spirit guide showing him what will happen if he doesn't die.
Donnie dying has nothing to do with the world ending. This is better explained with the director's cut because it gives you more insight into the Philosophy of Time Travel book. What actually caused the Tangent Universe to be created is a mystery, but Frank appears before Donnie makes the decision to leave. This shows that the Tangent Universe was created before Donnie ever had a chance to die, and eliminates any possibility it is caused by his death. Donnie dies simply because he doesn't know to leave. He is not the same Donnie as before the time travel happened.
@RJ-lg9hs that's the reason most of us prefer the original it's left to interpretation religious, self reflection, supernatural, etc. If there was no point of Donnie knowing what his death ment then there would be no point of Frank showing him the future/saving him. As for the world ending is the same left to interpretation... remember not only did Donnie see what happened some saw it, some felt it and others where oblivious to what happened.
@@rubenarias6538 The theatrical version still had The Philosophy of Time Travel in it, it just didn't tell you what was in the book. I don't think it's a good idea to just brush off the sci-fi elements and pretend they don't exist.
There also doesn't need to exist a dichotomy of self reflection or sci-fi. They can co-exist. There are many scenes of the movie that do not relate to the sci-fi time travel stuff. Cherita Chen is a good example of a character that does very little to relate to the time travel aspect, and is completely representative of Donnie's feelings of loneliness, a core component of the story.
" If there was no point of Donnie knowing what his death ment then there would be no point of Frank showing him the future/saving him."
That's not true. The whole point of Frank was to act as a spirit guide and help Donnie send the jet engine (The Artifact) back to the Primary Universe so that the Tangent Universe can safely collapse. It doesn't require any understanding of what is happening by Donnie. Donnie is quite confused throughout the whole movie and doesn't seem to know what is happening. That's why he needs the Manipulated Living and the Manipulated Dead (chiefly Frank) to help him fulfil his duty as the Living Receiver.
"As for the world ending is the same left to interpretation... remember not only did Donnie see what happened some saw it, some felt it and others where oblivious to what happened."
There are definitely lots of things in the movie left to interpretation. We don't know how much of the Tangent Universe people remembered in the Mad World scene. Frank touched his eye, yes, but does he remember everything? Or is it just a strange feeling? Does it feel like trying to remember a dream?
It's directly stated that Gretchen doesn't remember Donnie at all.
Donnie was laughing at the end, but why? Does he think it was all a bad dream and is overjoyed that it's over? Is it just lingering feelings from the Tangent Universe that are unexplained, and the same reason why people in the Mad World scene started crying/ becoming distressed? Or is it true that Donnie realizes he needs to die and has finally come to terms with it? It's not explained by the movie and is definitely up to interpretation.
For me, I don't think the last option makes much sense unless Donnie is simply mistaken that he needs to die because he doesn't how universes work in the Philosophy of Time Travel. But even then, Donnie writes a letter to Roberta Sparrow telling her how excited he is for the world to end and how much there will be to look forward to. This is contradictory. I think he simply does not remember the Tangent Universe and just has faint feelings of it, like waking up from a dream. Either that, or he simply doesn't realize that the engine will still fall onto his room again, thinking that he sent it somewhere else. Admittedly, I find that to be rather anti-climactic though. But, it does enforce the idea that none of the Manipulated cared about Donnie or wanted Donnie to understand anything. They just used him to fulfil their need of keeping the Primary Universe intact. If he dies, he dies.
Original is the best cut. Great 80s music
A+ film no complaints
The guy in the red track suit was definitely from the FAA. You can see him in the background in the scene with them in it.
The crazy thing is that the girl says "Donnie Darko? That sounds like a superheros name...". Then he ends up BEING A SUPERHERO of sorts!!! By killing himself with the plane, he undid everything he did. Saving the girl, saving Frank, just the universe is a better place without Donnie in it, and he recognized that by the end of the film... The "end of the world" Frank was talking about wasn't for EVERYONE ELSE... Only Donnie Darko's world was ending! The only thing I HATED about the movie was that the guy with the KIDDIE PORN DUNGEON GETS OFF SCOT FREE BECAUSE DONNIE NEVER BURNS HIS HOUSE DOWN!?!!?!
its implied by hm waking up and weeping that hes feeling immense guilt, dont know if it changed anything but its implied.
@@itachileesan No it doesn't... I thought he was HAPPY not guilty... That he got to save the girl's life... He saw in that final moment that everything was WORTH dying for... He finally got to be the HERO that the girl had mentioned when they first met... She told him "Donnie Darko? THAT SOUNDS LIKE A SUPERHEROS NAME!!!". So by the end of the film he ACTUALLY WAS A SUPERHERO!! Who used his time traveling ability to save her life!!
Im talking about the pervert guy
I saw this when it released, and even I'm not fully done processing it. Time will tell 😏
somewhere in time is the movie with chris reeves
Drew barrymore was the executive producer :)
Yes, watch "Night Crawer"... Jake plays a perfect person with borderline Asperger's type personality that accidentally discovers a career in photojournalism, but with no regards to anyone else's needs or safety.
Very good performance and very entertaining.
You do catch more details on rewatchs so if you guys have time to do it or your free time you should.
Welcome to the best cult classic wish More people would watch it . Comedy how you guys were lost the whole time excellent ..for me donny Darko was smart but understood that no matter how intelligent us humans are we are not God and he has a plan in the bigger picture ..thank you for watching it pass it on and God bless you guys 🎉
Don't worry no matter how many times I watched this, it just brings up more questions with every new answer :P
Watch a Donnie Darko explained video they explain everything. Great Reaction
Great reaction guys to a classic Jake Gyllenhaal movie. Nightcrawler is still his best performance thought I think. Big thumbs up
Donnie being on meds from the beginning makes him an unreliable narrator. The upshot is, although he expressed to his shrink that he didn't want to be alone, he died alone with a smile on his face.
please watch night crawler
I think you'll like the Netflix time travel German show "Dark" or the Netflix American show "Travelers" both are underrated as F..k
One of the things about this movie is it was very low budget, Swayze and Barrymore took their parts for next to nothing because they like the script so much, I also believe Barrymore asked for a producer credit for doing so, which was appeased, you really have to watch this movie over and over to pick up more and more
There is some great irony in his choice is complex so it isn’t binary like he told the teacher during the lifeline exercise but strangely enough his decision did come down to love and fear, love Gretchen and fear dying alone
Don’t see the extended version it’s not worth it hand feeds you too much and makes you think less, the entire greatness of the movie is the philosophical questions you are left to debate. I recommend rewatching this version multiple times
Watch the Director’s version, they explain how the time traveling works. So in the beginning he dodges death because Frank(manipulated dead) coerces him to sleep walk to the golf course. From here on an alternate universe is created, but according to the book these altered universes only last about a few weeks. Well at the end he uses telekineses to rip the plane engine off and send it through the wormhole, and in true time traveler fashion he goes back to the night when the engine fell through his room. In order to save the world and close that loop, and to prevent creating another temp alternate dimension, he’s supposed to die from that engine falling on him, just like in the beginning of the movie as he was supposed to before Frank made him sleepwalk away. Throughout the movie the manipulated dead (Frank) leads our Mc to do feats using unnatural power to build him up to the point where he’s strong enough to manipulate elements (metal/water), that leads us to the end.
Can you please react to The Heavenly Kid from 1985, hilarious comedy please 😊
In the epilogue it's revealed that after waking from the 'dream' Jim Cunningham committed suicide, so even though Donnie wasn't there to expose him, his (Donnie's) actions still affected him nonetheless
The directors cut helps out with understanding the film, its still extremely hard to decipher even with that extra help. But he didnt time travel back to save gretchen, he was part of an alternate time loop and that timeline wouldve have caused every timeline to collapse if he didnt go back and sacrafice himself like the other timelines that he didnt survive the initial place and the manipulated living are the different major characters that have an extremely dark timeline and the worst outcomes for them all, and the point of pushing him to learn time travel and what he needs to do, each character thats truly focused on more than some others like Drew barrymore, were manipulated living that had to do the worst outcomes of their characters to help push donnie into going back in time to fix the timelines, he wakes up on the same hill in the beginning that he does at the end before the time travel, he didnt cause the plane to crash, they were going to die and the engine fell off and he was supposed to use it as his vessel to return to the beginning and die.
I love this film so much. But the director's cut is awful. This has mystery, and lets you think about it. The director's cut just tells you exactly what is happening.
Kgf movie
the english teacher is the liberal and the gym teacher is the conservative. there is so much depth to this movie
If you watch the director's cut, it explains more of what is going on.
Please watch 2014 Predestination. It's a thinker.
There are two sets of people. The ones who don't understand this movie and those who do and make fun of the ones who don't understand.
And then the director went on to ruin his career with southland tales
I know I know, but I still hold it’s a good movie. Yes, it’s plot doesn’t work, it’s confusing and pointless. Exactly how it felt like growing up as a teen in the 90’ties.
But yeah, by any objective standard it’s a bad movie.
It's a mess, but at least it's original & entertaining. I'd always take that over a predictable "meh" movie.