Donnie Darko was more than 'thought-provoking.'

Rating: 10/10 (19 June 2005)

It seems like everyone is saying the same thing about Donnie Darko, that it was 'deep' and 'thought-provoking,' and maybe they'll get off their lazy butts and put in another long word that means exactly the same thing. Yeah sure, Donnie Darko was deep and thought provoking, but it was also more.
Donnie Darko is a teenager. On the night of October 2, 1988, Donnie was supposed to die. Instead, he sleepwalked away from his fate. This movie is about how every living creature has a fixed path toward its destiny and how if you get off track, time will correct itself and you will get back on. Since escaping death is more extreme than any other "mistake in your path," Donnie needed the help of Frank, the 6 foot tall, monster-like rabbit to help him get back. In addition to Frank, they needed a time porthole to bring him back to the night of October 2, 1988, henceforth why Frank said "28 days, 6 hours, 42 minutes, and 12 seconds, that is when the world will end." What Frank meant by that was that a porthole will open from the sky, exposing the Tangent Universe and quite possibly ending the world. But the purpose of the porthole was not to end the universe but to send Donnie back in time to his appropriate destination.
When Donnie spoke to his teacher about time travel, the teacher stated that all you needed to travel time was a vessel of some sort and a porthole. It was destined for the Middlesex dance team to go to LA, so their plane (the vessel needed for time travel) would fall into the porthole.