Donnie Darko: Explained

Rating: 10/10 (15 September 2015)

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 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.
Writing
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 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.
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.
Check out my full review at http://windreelandprintmoviereviews.blogspot.com/
Or search Wind Reel And Print Movie Reviews