My Thoughts On The Film

Rating: 10/10 (20 October 2019)

Personally, I found Donnie Darko to be an incredible film filled with various metaphors towards life. This film feeds on its ability to control your brain through mind twisting comparisons between reality, and a tangent one. It is one of the more interesting films that I have seen, and one that I am sure to recommend. Because of the general nature of this piece, and the way that I feel that I have changed after seeing it, I have decided to refer to Donnie Darko as a film, rather than a movie. I found this film to be very ahead of its time, as it weaved in topics such as mental health into its plot, without bringing too much attention to it, as if this concept was the main point of the story. After watching the film, I needed several minutes to think about what I had just watched and how to interpret it. The best part about this film for me, is that I was left with several questions. Questions that could only be answered if I dove into the mind of the protagonist and inferred some of films missing pieces. To better understand the film and its concept, we need to go back to the beginning and ask ourselves, why didn't Donnie stay in bed at the start in the Tangent Universe? Donnie leaves his bed because Frank summons him outside. It is later inferred that Frank had to wake up Donnie, so that he could complete his mission and save the world. Even after Franks death in the Tangent Universe, we are left to assume that Frank has a duty to guide Donnie to ensure that everything ends up as it should. The ending of the film is a little different. Because the entire film takes place in the Tangent Universe, the ending is almost the first thing that we see in the main reality. In this case Donnie knows that the plane engine is going to kill him, and yet he stays in bed. This is because Donnie no longer has his powers in this universe. He has fulfilled his purpose and is choosing to die. This is the reason why Donnie laughs at the end of the film. I will definitely revisit this film, in hopes of better understanding it, and its universes. Although I recommend this film to everyone, I would recommend it to those in specific who enjoy conspiracy's, and finding theories within films. Finally, I leave a warning of caution, that this film will trap you in its world, and leave you wanting to know more.