Donnie Darko

[jenna rose]

I just watched "Donnie Darko" for the first time last night.

Am I the only one that didn't quite get it? I usually get movies, but this one still has me thinking. :dizzy:

~Jenna

[FalafelsRule]

I hate that movie.

[Dirty Martini]

What didn't you get, jenna?
Did you rent the DVD? Do you still have it?
If you do, then watch some of the extras & director commentary. Watch teh deleted scenes. I think those actually explain quite a bit that was "assumed" in the movie.

[Atlanta Newbie]

I love Donnie Darko.

Did you watch the original version or the Director's Cut? The DC is a longer version with a bit more explanation. Also, watching the extras on the DVD should help.

Failing that, you should be able to Google up some pretty thorough explanations on the Web. :)

[Atlanta Newbie]

And BTW, the movie will have you thinking for days. It's just one of those rare films that has this effect. Don't worry -- I haven't met anyone (including myself) who hasn't had the same experience upon first seeing the movie.

[Loki]

It had me thinking. It's a cool film though. I only really started to understand it after watching the directors commentary.

[SystmDwnGrl2]

I (heart) donnie darko.

[Kreeli]

i love existential movies,
and i love jake gyllenhaal,
so guess what i thought of this flick?

[tnkbr]

i loved this movie when it first came out,
but i saw it the other week and i really hated it. the acting was so poor and the script and mood of the film was so melodramatic and silly
i couldn't stand it
some of the jokes were still really funny, though. that's what i always liked best about the movie, anyway

[Tiggzie]

I love this movie and my little brother likes it even more. Mmm Jake and Maggie Gyllenhaal in one movie. *drool*

I got most of it the first time but I did watch it twice just to see if I missed anything. I think it's a very well made movie.

ETA: If your DVD has the "Philosophy of Time" book on it, that, IMO, will answer everything. It's not an actual book, it's on the dvd in the Extras section. I think it's also online.

[Daral]

That movie... I think I understand it about as close as you can understand it, but still. I'm pretty rational/scientific, so when I watch a movie I want to be able to logically connect everything and I've decided it just isn't possible with this movie.

Very good movie.

[808veggie]

I want to be the bunny

[Tiggzie]

:lol:

[renaissancesun]

I have not given it more than a cursory glance at the video store because it looks scary and I don't like scary movies. My 12 year old son wants to watch it. Is it scary? Is it suitable for a 12 year old (who is allowed to watch R movies with parents)?

[Atlanta Newbie]

I have not given it more than a cursory glance at the video store because it looks scary and I don't like scary movies. My 12 year old son wants to watch it. Is it scary? Is it suitable for a 12 year old (who is allowed to watch R movies with parents)?

If your son can handle very strong language and wacked-out, frightening imagery, yes. There's some violence but not a lot of over-the-top bloodshed... a lot depends on how sensitive he is to creepiness, teen cruelty, and really scary bunny costumes. :)

It would also help if he's really smart, because I can see a lot of 12-year-olds drooling through this one: "Huuuuuuuuh?"

[Funkified]

i wouldnt want a 12 year old to watch it. but maybe i'm just a big wimp (very likely, actually!). i saw it a couple years ago and it terrified the crap out of me (again, i'm a wimp).

granted, after initially hating it...and then thinking about it and having a few nightmares about it, i realized i actually liked the movie. but i'm not really sure why i like it. hm. what was the song playing on the last scene or during the credits..anyone know? i liked that song.

[misq17]

I didn't really understand it the first time, but after seeing it multiple times, I appreciate it a lot more.

"A pipe broke at the school and there were feces everywhere!"
"What are feces?"
"Baby mice!"
"aww"

:lol:

[Tiggzie]

Funk, it's Mad World by Gary Jules. Tis a Tears for fear cover. Also, Kyle is 12 and LOVED the movie. He analyzed it and made points I didn't even think of. :)

[pavlovskitty]

I really liked the original. Went all happy inside a couple weeks ago when the Directors Cut came out on dvd, but for some reason, didn't like it as much as the first time I saw it. I thought the DC fed too much to the audience.

On the same line, go check out 12 Monkeys.

[Tiggzie]

Because I never get sick of talking about the movie, here's my interpretation. Don't read if you don't want it spoiled. Please remember that my whole interpretation is based on the fictional book The Philiosophy of Time, that is not only mentioned in the book but was also "published" on the website when the movie came out and then put on the DVD.

Most of the movie takes place in an alternate universe of sorts called a tangent universe. When the clock strikes 12 in the beginning, right before the jet engine crashes, that's when everything "splits" and Donnie Darko enters the Tangent Universe.

To understand why this happened, read the fictional book The Philosophy of Time. No one knows why a tangent universe happens but Roberta Sparrow (grandma death) wrote in the book that when a tangent universe forms it is unstable and will only survive for a few weeks (or in this movie's case 28 days, 6 hours 42 minutes 12 seconds :p ). Then it collapses and the whole world will end. There are major points in the book:

The artifact - In the book it says that a tangent universe always includes a metal object that will come out of nowhere. In this movie it's the massive engine that kills the roof (ha!)

The reciever - That's Donnie. Receivers seem to be chosen at random. Why it's Donnie is not certain. He is the one that must fix things and save the world. The hallucinations are caused by him being the receiver. He gets all sorts of special powers too like super-duper strength (like when he swung the ax right into the dog statue that was solid copper, remember?) and telekineses (sp?).

The manipulated dead - That's gretchen and frank. They have an inkling of impending doom and are the ones who will guide Donnie to what he must do. That's why Gretchen and Frank never had that watery future thing Donnie saw in everyone else. Frank appears as a "ghost" or a hallucination fo sorts. Since he died in the Tangent Universe, that's possible. Frank told him to flood the school so he could miss school that say and meet Gretchen. Frank also told him to torch Cunningham's house, I think, so that the the parents can be away and the whole party/deaths can occur.

The Manipulated- everyone else in the movie. They do irrational/odd/out of the blue things things that will help Donnie get to where he needs to be: The english teacher writing "cellar door" on the blackboard, the roberta sparrow book, Roberta reading the letter Donnie sent her...It's all tied together.

So how does everything turn back to normal?
By throwing or pulling the jet engine (artifact) back to it's rightful place in time. How does he do that? The writer/director says it himself in the commentary-- Receivers have the power to move things with their mind. Thus, in the tangent universe, as the black cloud of impending doom settles over his house, Donnie pushes the engine back through the portal. In the real world, Donnie wakes up from a dream of what happened and starts laughing hysterically, lies down and is killed by the engine. Yep, the same friggin engine he technically sent back himself. Everyone in the tangent universe will remember what happened in the tangent universe but only as a dream (that's in the book too). That's why at the end of the movie everyone wakes up and they all look scared ****less and confused.

So yeah. To sum it up: the portal of armageddon opened up in a small town, alternate universe gets opened which makes the plane engine fall into it, boy must save the world before universe makes it collapse, boy sends back plane engine to save the world knowing that it might kill him...and it does. The end!

:)

[porvida]

tiggzie- :lovesign:
I love this movie. When I first saw it I didn't really get it, but I've seen it many times and even though some things were odd or unclear I'm just really into it. good movie. makes you think. alot.

[Pasta>Cruelty]

I loved Donnie Darko as well. I watched it twice, and I think I am beginning to understand it. It is brilliantly written and hilarious, while also very sad and touching.

[Tiggzie]

tiggzie- :lovesign:

:smitten:

[/usr]

I absolutely love Donnie Darko.

[booklover]

I enjoyed it quite a bit...