SteveSilver.net

Sorry to be late on the discussion of Donnie Darko, but just thought I would explain it to you guys, since many of you are way off about the characters and their purpose. Okay, maybe not way off, but reading the "Philosophy of Time Travel" pretty much will explain the entire thing to you.

First of all, the Universe becomes unstable, that is when Donnie begins to be warned of the end of the world. From the book by Sparrow it says:

"If a Tangent Universe occurs, it will be highly unstable, sustaining itself for no longer than several weeks." In Donnies world, this is the 28 days to the end of the world.

Next you have WATER and METAL. The book states:

"Water is the barrier element for the construction of Time Portals used as gateways between Universes at the Tangent Vortex.

Metal is the transitional element for the construction of Artifact Vessels."

Okay, so that is why the bunny appears in what appears to be a water vortex/barrier element. Metal is the ARTIFACT that traveled through the time portal.

Next is the meaning of the engine falling into Donnie's room. Note the following, also from the book: "When a Tangent Universe occurs, those living nearest to the Vortex will find themselves at the epicenter of a dangerous new world. Artifacts provide the first sign that a Tangent Universe has occured."

The engine is the sign that the tangent universe began. It is a metal artifact. Book says, "their appearance on Earth seems to defy logical explanation."

Next is the receiver...which is DONNIE. The book says all of the following: "The Living Receiver is chosen to guide the Artifact into position for its journey back to the Primary Universe.

No one knows how or why a Receiver will be chosen.

The Living Receiver is often blessed with Fourth Dimensional Powers. These include increased strength, telekinesis, mind control, and the ability to conjure fire and water."

Donnie floods the school and burns down a house...conjuring fire and water. Heh heh...following so far?

Book goes on to say, "The Living Receiver is often tormented by terrifying dreams, visions and auditory hallucinations during his time within the Tangent Universe."

And what about the Bunny Rabbit Frank? Is he GOD? Read the book you guys. The book says:

"The Manipulated Dead are more powerful than the Living Receiver. If a person dies within the Tangent Dimension, they are able to contact the Living Receiver through the Fourth Dimensional Construct.

The Fourth Dimensional Construct is made of Water."

Hello? Anybody home? Frank the rabbit is the manipulated dead. He died within the fourth dimension and has contacted Donnie to make things right.

Lastly, is Donnie the first person to die or commit suicide for the good of his people? Nope. The book finishes with this:

"Ancient myth tells us the Mayan Warrior killed by an Arrowhead that had fallen from a cliff, where there was no Army, no enemy to be found.

We are told of the Medieval Knight mysteriously impaled by the sword he had not yet built.

We are told that these things occur for a reason."

Bullcrap! Donnie accomplishes squat except dying at the end of an illogical movie plot based on a pseudoscientific new age hippie bullshit time travel theory written by a nutcase. The movie was not half bad though...up until the last 3 minutes that is. I was enjoying it immensely until the movie shat all over the place in the final scenes This movie pissed me off about as much as Mullholland Drive.

I feel the same but what I dont understand is that there was more than one person killed in the Tangent Universe, Donnies girlfriend. So why is she not controlling him too?

The end three mins were prob written in 30 secs!!!!

But wot a film, aahhh....to be Donnie!!

because donnie didnt kill his GF!

Do you no how many people probally died in that period?

A beautifully filmed pile of wank sauce.

I thought that that was one of the best explanations for the movie yet, and I think that the movie was a work of a very over active imaginative and creative mind, in short i thought it was a work of genious.

Wow. You all really, really missed the point. The amount of thought that has been put behind this film is, in itself, unthinkable. This explanation makes perfect sense and is well written. The only reason the film confuses you is because you never get to discover what is in the book - you are never told within the film. When you find out what is in the book you discover that is simply a movie based upon a science-fictional theory. A complex and well thought theory none-the-less.

http://www.tonystuff.co.uk/darko-spoilers.htm

This is another good site that agrees with this one. It has links to the book "The Philosophy of Time Travel" and also explains the reasons for the last three minutes of the film - which won't make sense until you have read this site. Deja-vu and the fact the writer directly and very cleverly states that certain things cannot be explained by anybody - not even himself - make this movie complicated but perfectly viable. It is just a plot put to a very outgoing piece of scientific theory. Take the time to try and understand and then re-watch the movie, it is truely phenominal.

Email me if you are interested. I only figured it all out recently myself.

Sometimes i doubt your commitment to sparkle motion.'

Does anyone know the significance of Charita Chen's character in the movie? i can't figure it out

reply to the first poster:

If you've seen the movie, and actually thought about it, you'd try and figure out WHY Frank kept on visiting Donnie. That was to TELL him that he can control and manipulate the tangent universe as he see's fit.

In the Cinema scene, Frank asks him "Have you ever seen a portal?"

What do you think Donnie used to transport the jet engine back to the normal universe?

How do you think he embedded the axe into the bulldog statues head?

Because he could control and manipulate water, fire, metal and time elements.

And how do you think he set Jim Cunningham's house on fire without matches?

Instead of just WATCHING the movie, you have to consider these things and take them into account, before just thinking "Oh wow, this was a REALLY cool movie!"

But yet, you contradict yourself in saying "Donnie accomplishes squat except dying at the end of an illogical movie plot based on a pseudoscientific new age hippie bullshit time travel theory written by a nutcase." and then you say "The movie was not half bad though...up until the last 3 minutes that is." which is where the climax of the movie IS! It sums up the onclusion and the closing of the tangent universe when Donnie transported the jet engine into the black hole, and this closing the tangent universe before it closed on itself...

Think logically when watching a movie like that..

reply to the first poster:

If you've seen the movie, and actually thought about it, you'd try and figure out WHY Frank kept on visiting Donnie. That was to TELL him that he can control and manipulate the tangent universe as he see's fit.

In the Cinema scene, Frank asks him "Have you ever seen a portal?"

What do you think Donnie used to transport the jet engine back to the normal universe?

How do you think he embedded the axe into the bulldog statues head?

Because he could control and manipulate water, fire, metal and time elements.

And how do you think he set Jim Cunningham's house on fire without matches?

Instead of just WATCHING the movie, you have to consider these things and take them into account, before just thinking "Oh wow, this was a REALLY cool movie!"

But yet, you contradict yourself in saying "Donnie accomplishes squat except dying at the end of an illogical movie plot based on a pseudoscientific new age hippie bullshit time travel theory written by a nutcase." and then you say "The movie was not half bad though...up until the last 3 minutes that is." which is where the climax of the movie IS! It sums up the conclusion and the closing of the tangent universe when Donnie transported the jet engine into the black hole, and thus closing the tangent universe before it closed on itself...

Think logically when watching a movie like that..

Rita:

In the book the "Philosophy of Time Travel" by Roberta Sparrow, chapter seven called "The Manipulated Living" states that close friends and neighbours of the "Living Reciever" (Donnie) will try help and guide him.

http://www.tonystuff.co.uk/darko-spoilers.htm states:

"
(iii) What is Cheritas role as a 'manipulated' and how does she guide Donnie?
General thoughts are that Cherita is another person proving to Donnie he is loved. She obviously worships him, helped by the fact that he's one of the only kids who talks to her like a normal person. When she drops her notebook at the end, she has his name written on the cover. At the end of the movie, when Donnie tells her "everything will be alright", he knows that he is going to save the world, and its in part thanks to her, as one of the "manipulated" helping him to realise that he won't die alone."

Hope this helps.

Personally...I'd rather have a soapy tit wank...!

And top top it off...my fanny is itchy.

Does anybody have any old Barry Manilow albums I can borrow?

I love blowing off in the shower me.

Personally...I'd rather have a pair of soapy tits...!

And top top it off...my fanny is itchy.

Does anybody have any old Barry Manilow albums I can borrow?

I love blowing off in the shower me.

If Donnie has superior strength.. wouldnt that mean he could of kicked the bully with the knife off and saved gretchen, and therefor would not have killed Frank... ?

This slip up makes the the "ensured trap" (i think its called) so much more useless as it would only be his mother and his sister he would be sacrificing himself for...

He doesnt have superior power. He has the ability to manipulate the universe, therefore being able to create a wormhole to return the engine.

Donnie stabs Frank's eye in the miror. This said, later on we learn that Donnie shoots Frank in the eye and that is why Frank's face was mutilated while in the cinema. If his injury was only linked to the car accident, then why do we see Donnie inexplicably stabing Frank, and what is that mumbo jumbo about Donnie controlling water and metal if that episode didn't occur... And if he was imagining that scene this would mean that all the events concerning Frank are not reliable. This said, if those elements vary or are uncertain, it means that the tangeant universe may not have existed at all and that he did not see the future through out the whole movie to decide to ultimately sacrifice himself, but that he simply laid in bed at the same time the plane engine fell from the sky. This said, Donnie had a smirk on his face...We have seen the whole movie and we know about the elusive dream or futuristic episode Donnie experienced, and we know his character awaits his death. But how would he await such a thing if the tangeant universe was just a product of a feverish brain?

Whoever wrote the top post is a dumbass. Thanks for looking up all the info that's already available on the net and summing it up, and then trying to pass it off as if it's your own conclusions. Give me a break.

If anyone reading this wants the REAL explanation on Donnie Darko, go here . . .

www.tonystuff.co.uk/darko-spoilers.htm

That's the REAL explanation, and that's where the dumbass who posted this ripoff explanation ripped it off from.

stop f ucking monaing u daft tarts, u americans are a bunch of whining arseholes. Who cares if he took it from another website, what he said adds up, and the guy who wrote this film/book whatever never interpretted the actual meaning od donnie darko, so it can mean anything. So SHUT THE FUCK UP.

A lot of people dont like this movie cuz they dont understand it... but type "Donnie Darko Explained" into your search engine and you'll find out stuff.

first of all, you guys hav a lot of time on your hands.
second, i must hav more to read what you all wrote
and third, i don't hav any barry manilow, get some ointment for your fanny or alternatavely stop blowing off in the shower.

haha

Also i think that Gretchen's Troubled life, where her mother has left because of her father will be fixed because of the sacrifice. This is key as it helps explain why he is compelled to die in the end. As i am sure many of us would only die to save someone we love. The end is a little "butterfly effect" in a way (normal ending)

If "Water is the barrier element for the construction of Time Portals used as gateways between Universes at the Tangent Vortex", then where was the water barrier that allowed the jet engine to jump universes? Up in the sky?

I suppose one has to accept that this is just another elaborate sci-fi theory which is too elaborate to be water-tight, so to speak. It does my head in. Full of holes.

look, no matter who you think you are, you cannot criticise this film and the immense thought that must have been put into it. As many people have said, if you think the plot is crap, there's a very likely chance you don't understand it, and it's a shame you don't just admit this because this film is not "crap" and the plot is extremely intricate, - very complex yet so simple, and it all fits together like pieces of a puzzle. The best thing to do if you don't understand it is not to ask for an explanation but find it yourself, by watching the movie carefully, as this is extremely satisfying and allows you to get the most out of the film, and i'm sure this is what the producers want. This film deserves to be appreciated as what it is, a masterpiece.

Donnie doesn;'t die for a purpose, theres 2 ways of looking at it. He either beleives like the others, that the whole events in the Tangent universe were just a dream and the death was an accident. Or my beleif, that he chose to die, he knew hehad saved the world, and he was no longer scared of death and so could happily die.

To leon d

If you think about where the jet was when the engine fell off, you'll see the connection with the water barrier.
Where was the the jet you may ask, travelling through clouds.....

It has to be said this film is probally one of the most thought provoaking films I have ever watched.

I will have to look into that website that was mentioned above so I can have a better understanding.

One thing though... if the engin or whatever it was crashing caused the universe to become unstable why did it crash through the house again? Would that have not just caused a loop?

xx

hmm everyone has very interesting and thoughtful comments (exculding a few =P) anyway I feel i have a pretty good general understand of the plot and underlining Ideas of the film. But i was wondering... I have read, in multiple places that the Jet engine that crashes into Donnie's Room in the begining of the movie literaly comes out of "Nowhere" and cannot be explained. but i was wondering, If maybe the engine could have come from the airplane that his mother and sister was in when they made the jump through the portal at the end of the movie. I mean why else would they show the plane Shake Violently and and show it falling from the sky? im not sure how this would imply how the engine got there in the actual begining of the film. (unless there was some sort of ongoing loop in the tangent universe)but it seems like it could have happened? but anyways... any thoughts?

hmm everyone has very interesting and thoughtful comments (exculding a few =P) anyway I feel i have a pretty good general understand of the plot and underlining Ideas of the film. But i was wondering... I have read, in multiple places that the Jet engine that crashes into Donnie's Room in the begining of the movie literaly comes out of "Nowhere" and cannot be explained. but i was wondering, If maybe the engine could have come from the airplane that his mother and sister was in when they made the jump through the portal at the end of the movie. I mean why else would they show the plane Shake Violently and and show it falling from the sky? im not sure how this would imply how the engine got there in the actual begining of the film. (unless there was some sort of ongoing loop in the tangent universe)but it seems like it could have happened? but anyways... any thoughts?

what i dont understand is if Frank made Donnie Darko get out of bed, because he told him to wake up, then Frank created the entire tangent universe and then had Donnie save it, so it was all pointless.

Some of these guys must have the smallest minds in the whole of the human race.
I love the way they all start slagging each other off in that 'internet loser' kind of way. What's that going to achieve?

The bottom line is that it's a film based on a fictional concept about time travel and time paradox.

If you're too stupid to bother reading the Philosophy of Time Travel - http://www.tonystuff.co.uk/darko-time.htm - then just accept that it's too well thought out for you.
It's not rocket science. I think the biggest problem is that people are trying to understand it as if it were real and entirely possible... WAKE UP!

*sigh*

Anyway, it is a great movie.

My thoughts exactly Sean - had Donnie stayed in bed there be no reason to save the world as we no it. but then there'd be no brilliant film I spose.

However, Donnie was suffering from sleep walking way before Frank donned his bunny suit so maybe Donnie would have dodged the engine anyway... Just a thought.

I believe Donnie intended to die. This is because of the parallels with The Last Temptation of Christ. The movie is even on the billboard of the movie theater he leaves to go burn down the house.

A sign of a great movie - it's got everyone arguing and giving theyre opinion on what the meaning of it is, why it all happened.... i have theories aswel, but i wont bore you all by telling you them. Sometimes i can start thinking about the film and all the meanings, and i find myself getting deeper and deeper into questions i cant get accurate answers for, just strong opinions. If this was the intention of the writer then congratulations, a great thinker and in my opinion the writer should never reveal his explanation of the movie as that would wreck the reason of the films existance. And to the people who are slagging off the film i will steal words from Dyaln: "Don't criticise what you can't understand"

I just watched the film for a second time last night. (I bought the directors cut for my fiance.) I told her after it was over, "it makes sense, I just don't know why" after doing some research and finding out alot on donniedarko.com (one of the most well thought out flash sites I've ever seen) I feel good about it now, it all makes as much sense as any similar movie. I love movies where lots of actions lead up to one twist that explains everything. Donnie Darko just doesn't have the twist right there in the end like the sixth sense or memento. I'm sure I'll notice many small things in the future that may open or close questions, but for now, I'm good.

I just watched the film for a second time last night. (I bought the directors cut for my fiance.) I told her after it was over, "it makes sense, I just don't know why" after doing some research and finding out alot on donniedarko.com (one of the most well thought out flash sites I've ever seen) I feel good about it now, it all makes as much sense as any similar movie. I love movies where lots of actions lead up to one twist that explains everything. Donnie Darko just doesn't have the twist right there in the end like the sixth sense or memento. I'm sure I'll notice many small things in the future that may open or close questions, but for now, I'm good.

Hay guys, i'm studying Donnie Darko in english and I watched it on Friday and i have to write an essay on it. HELP!! I think I understand most of it....the plane engine was the one that came off donnie's mum's plane and was transported through the porthole right? You see him at the end sitting on a car because you need something metal to get into the porthole yes? and does Donnie sacrifice his life to save his girlfriend's and his Mum's and little sister's? PLUS how come at the end his sisters and Dad are crying heaps, but his mum's just smoking? I know that 'the book' says that some people can remember what happened in that tangent universe, but shouldnt the rest of his family since they were so close?? Your help would be MUCHLY appricieated...I'm blonde, and struggling. :P

Oh ALSO!! how did donnie get into the porthole? It was that thing he was looking at when he was ontop of the car ae. Man, this is such an awesome movie. I love movies that make you think like this, a beautiful mind, memento, all those kinda ones. Dont u? :P

Great Movie! A second universe is opened and Donnie is forced to save the universe by self sacrifice or the orignal universe that we live in would collapse in on itself! He obviousily saves his girlfriend, but I believe he realized his sacrifice saves the entire human race. He must decide to close the second universe by making its existence non-existant. By dying, he makes all the events that took place in the tangent universe not become the reality of the original universe thereby not makin the universe collapse in on itself. Just a few ideas that the movie made me conclude. I'm probably way off but this is how i percieved the movie.

The biggest problem i had with this movie was the title "Donnie Darko." It sounds like a dumb movie, maybe some B-horror-flick. I can't imagine myself at the ticket booth, "two adults for donnie darko please." Obviously, I have seen the movie and of course was glad for the experience. I must admit to shutting it off several times due to frustration and continuing it later. I had to watch it a second time, of course, to pick up everything i had missed.

The main character, with a name as dumb as the title, angered me throughout the movie. "Kid, you have everything, a great home with a great family, in a great town, with a great school (not so great teachers). So quit whining and pretending you're depressed!" Half way through the movie i recall exclaiming, "So he's in a parallel universe that ends in 28 days (lunar cycle) and has a chance to fix all the things he would've wanted to change about his life. that's nice."

But i detest not understanding things. To that end, i got past all the minor annoyances and watched the film a few more times. Then I began to research it online. It still didn't make any sense. then it occurred to me to watch the deleted scenes. Why were those deleted? now the movie was starting to make sense.

making sense except for those liquid looking trails. i half expected to see 20minutes of us flying through colors to ultimately end up looking at the starchild (see 2001).

I'm no expert at making movies, but we're all experts at watching them. This movie has been relegated (for me at least) to realm of novel experiences. I think it could have been a smash hit if the following changes were made:

1. Lose the liquid trails (i know they told us what they are in the film, but those were seriously lame).

2. I would have let dear old dad hit the crazy old lady. then have her whisper whatever to donnie as she died.

3. Don't delete scenes! you guys worked hard to make those scenes! especially don't delete the ones that help explain the final moments of donnie's life.

4. The kid can still be named Donnie Darko for dramatic effect if you want. his name being darko did add to his "darkness." I felt that device to be more than a little transparent.

5. and most importantly. I'm not the only one that didn't watch the movie because the name made it sound silly. I'm not arrogant enough to suggest a better title, but "Donnie Darko" turned a lot of people off from appreciating a lot of people's hard work.

Would i recommend it to a friend? only if i was sitting there to explain it to them.

you guys who keep on critizing and bashing this film. you are either very frustrated and confused or just stupid. if you didn't understand the film the first time then you are like everyone else who has seen it. you just need to take the second step, grab a brain and try, through deleted scenes or the internet to figure it out. i got a lot out of this movie and thought it was brilliant. just cause something in this overexplained, dumbass proof world got you thinking doesn't mean you should just take it out on the people who took a chance at making a great film.

you guys who keep on critizing and bashing this film. are either very frustrated and confused or just stupid. if you didn't understand the film the first time then you are like everyone else who has seen it. you just need to take the second step, grab a brain and try, through deleted scenes or the internet, to figure it out. i got a lot out of this movie and thought it was brilliant. just cause something in this overexplained, dumbass proof world got you thinking doesn't mean you should just take it out on the people who took a chance at making a great film.

.,,

.,,itz sorta kinda a bit similar, kindov sorta like .... lol......... itz a great film, im 12 and i understand it... u adults must be really dumb ( mostly aimed at the ones who criticised the film )

.,,itz sorta kinda a bit similar, kindov sorta like .... lol......... itz a great film, im 12 and i understand it... u adults must be really dumb ( mostly aimed at the ones who criticised the film )

Maybe I missed this somewhere, but I was curious, is Donnies death essential to saving the universe. If I understand correctly, when he moves the engine through the black hole, it goes back to the real universe, and this collapses the tangent universe. Ignoring the fact that said event triggered the tangent universe to begin with, isn't donnie's death unessicary as the tangent universe has already been erased, or does the return of the engine reset time and then Donnies death ends the tangent universe, and it was his surviving that triggered the tangent universe, not the arrival of the engine? Does this make sense?

No - I don't think Donnie's death is essential to saving the universe. He closed the Tangent Universe by sending the artifact (the plane engine) back through the vortex via some magical power granted him (telekinesis?).

So I don't get it either. Maybe he choose to die because he's afraid of repeating the mistakes he made in the tangent universe? But he is an intelligent character and should realize that the actual universe wouldn't revolve around him like the tangent universe did. And why the hysterical laughing? Donnie's death is the only aspect of the film's plot that still doesn't sit well with me

Sorry - I just went back and read this excerpt from "Philosophy of Time Travel"

"Ancient myth tells us the Mayan Warrior killed by an Arrowhead that had fallen from a cliff, where there was no Army, no enemy to be found.

We are told of the Medieval Knight mysteriously impaled by the sword he had not yet built.

We are told that these things occur for a reason."

Apparently the Living Receiver is always killed by the artifact in the end. Any speculation as to why this might be?

HiFi a commment you made:

"2. I would have let dear old dad hit the crazy old lady. then have her whisper whatever to donnie as she died."

You cant have that cos otherwise later on in the film Frank wont of dodge her and drive over Donnie's Girlfriend :-)

dodged* drove* oops :-)

Well,
As to the question of whether or not Donnie's death was necessary:

Donnie was able to see what a possibility of his future was through the tangent universe, if he had lived. Closing the tangent universe wouldn't mean anything if Donnie's future in the real universe played out like it did in the tangent.

And yes, one could say that Donnie, knowing his future, could change it in the real universe. But remember, this came up in the topic w/ the science teacher. The science teacher tells Donnie that he contradicts himself, b/c knowing one's future means one can change his future. But Donnie retorts "not if you follow in god's channel", or something along those lines. So Donnie may not have thought he had a choice in changing his future in the real universe, and wanted the future to be different than the one in the tangent universe, and so, Donnie realized that he must die.

Hope that somewhat makes sense....

so does a plane actually crash or does the artifact just come out of nowhere???

so does a plane actually crash or does the artifact just come out of nowhere???

yes the plane crashes because the engine kills donnie. this time it is happening "for real" so to speak. at the beginning of the movie when it happened the engine came through the portal and back in time creating the tangent universe. recall also that they could not find a nearby crashed plane. this is why donnie had to send it back. when he sent it back he closed the tangent universe and the normal universe resumed from where it left off - the plane crashing.

so a plane crashed in the normal universe? why dont they show the plane crashed in the movie and who was on the plane since his mother and sister survived it??

am i rigt in thinking frank is an angel that is killed by donnie (in the future) so he haunts donnie and makes donnie save the world thus saving frank as donnie kills him in the future so frank saves donnie and donnie saves frank? wierd!

The plane were it shakes which causes the engine to fall did it actually crash and his mum and sister die? If so this is the reason that he stayed in bed and died because there are still always loose ends, the plane still crashed but some how it did come back in the time engine, but due to donnie dying his mum and sister were not on the plane oO

K, well here's a brain teaser that's bothering me. If Frank has never contacted Donnie, thereby creating the tangent universe, then Donnie would have never gone to Grandma death's house that night, meaning Frank never would have hit Gretchin, and would have never been shot. So how did Frank die under circumstances that wouldn't have happened unless he was already dead?

Even more of a brain teaser is if Frank never contacted Donnie, would Gretchin and Donnie have ever hooked up to begin with? Remember, it was only after Frank suggested that Donnie break the water main that Donnie and Gretchin were able to talk. Without this talk, they more than likely would not have developed the relationship so early in the timeline. Thus Frank would have not run over Gretchin.

To the person who asked why Rose was just standing under the tree smoking instead of crying with her family----I would think that the mother was one of the people who retained knowledge of what happened in the Tangent Universe. She was one of the people that was deeply affected by what went on.

All in all, this movie is nothing more than speculation of a phenomena we do not understand or even have a reason to believe truly exists.

well, from my understanding . to answer Thor's question about the brain teaser. My understanding is that he was not just saving Gretchin but the entire human race. This was because without setting things right, the universe will collapse within a few weeks (according to what i read, this is outlined in the book)so although your right in a sense about him not being there if the bunny didnt tell him to. he had a higher goal, which was to save the universe from collapsing

well, from my understanding . to answer Thor's question about the brain teaser. My understanding is that he was not just saving Gretchin but the entire human race. This was because without setting things right, the universe will collapse within a few weeks (according to what i read, this is outlined in the book)so although your right in a sense about him not being there if the bunny didnt tell him to. he had a higher goal, which was to save the universe from collapsing

Frank was sent back from the end of the universe to make sure Donnie completed the circle, Donnie used his telekinetic powers to break off the engine and make sure the jet engine appeared in the first-place. Then everyone woke up back in the Primary Universe after having had "a terrible dream" and Donnie wasn't moved again by Frank due to the fact the circle had already been completed(technically in the "dream") the rest is also all part of Frank making sure Donnie saved the world, everyone else seemed to wake up affected by howthey had acted in the Tangent universe.

Just watched Donnie Darko for the first time. I do understand it, but thought it really wasn't that great. Like it has been said above, the movie was pretty good, until the end.

The reason why I feel this is because of the B.S. ending. A deus ex machina is NOT a "brilliant" or ingenious" plot device, as some people have claimed. It is a suck out.

A deaus ex machina is brought into a plot when the writer has found himself caught in a problem with no reasonable solution, so God comes down from heaven and saves the day, or something similair. (The main character can "manipulate" time.)

If the writers of the movie wanted us to believe that Donnie was able to manipulate time-space, then I feel that the rest of the movie should have been a little more science fiction-ey. My point is- everything in the movie is somewhat believable, until the very ending. It really was a curve ball, even for this particular script. It just isn't really believable, even within the context of the rest of the film.

I don't really think it was a BAD movie, just a crappy ending. And crappy endings kinda have a way of ruining movies.

However, if any of you reading this ARE interested in similair movies, check out the movie Primer.

Primer is an independent film, but i think they have it at most Blockbusters. Now THIS is a film worthy of time-travel scenarios. You will literally have to watch this one at least three times to BEGIN to understand all the complexities.

Whether you agree with my opinion of Donnie Darko (that's what it is-an opinion)or not, I do hope you check out Primer, because if you were at least interested in Donnie Darko, you should really enjoy it.

Im no Expert but after reading the "Philosophy of Time Travel" I started thinking about all the various elements. Being mostly led by speculation I started to think that the Plane Engine is not the said Artifact. I believe the book touches on it when it says "An Arrow Head", "A Sword" things like these that would appear to be metal and then I realized that There it is the whole time--almost too obvious. The Artifact is the Mask. It links Frank to Donnie, It is made of Metal, It is on the Original Box Art Cover and In the end When frank is rubbing his eye, where he was shot by donnie, the mask sits alone, also drawings of it appear in the scene, maybe suggesting research or the like. But it seems more like the artifact, then an airplane engine which seems like a reaction caused by the rip in time. Also if interested there seems to be an influence based on the "Philadelphia Experiment" and the "Montauk Project" and speculation that a plane went down due to a rip in time. Both Phila. Exp. and Montauk had guys like Albert Einstien, Nikola Tesla, and John Von Nueman and are supposedly Real. Theres my 3 cents.

To all the people talking about why was the plane crash not found or did the place crash and if so, why does the mother and daughter come back alive etc.

The plane DID crash yes, but you never get to see that because at the time of the engine coming off and going back in time to the primary universe, the film goes back to the point of 28 days before - so you see the engine go thru the roof and kill Donnie. BUT, now that he is dead, those events will never happen (the mother and daughter wont need to be flying on a plane etc) so that is why they are still alive and never got on any plane..

As for understanding the movie, I'm not gonna say i get it as i only just finished watching it for the first time right now and I thought it was good and I also think I'll find the true answers to the film.. some of which I think I have found on this thread..

One theory of mine tho, is that maybe the film maker have made it so that there isn't actually an explaination - like, if the bunny suit dude is an angel/god/ghost/being from another universe etc, did he exist first and THEN came to see donnie in the past OR was donnie's actions a cause for the bunny guy to appear if you get what im saying!?! And when donnie goes back in time, the bunnie guy is there too with no bullet in his eye, so before he ever got to be some crazy being....

pretty much a 'which came first? the EGG or the CHICKEN?' in which case, NO ANSWER!

just a thought :)

well the fact that we take what happened in the tagent universe as what happens in the main universe is a very big assumption seeing as the tangent universe is very unstable the events that happened there where for the purpose of reurning the artifact to close it didnt anyone notice that during the whole movie most of the things that happened seem to be unbelieveable such as him dating that girl so fast or how she was asleep in the movies the whole time while he burned down a house i would think that it implies the the whole tanget universe is on a seperate time stream in which places and events are subjective and manipulated to further push the living reciver to complete his goal so as far as his sister dying or the girlfriends mom leaving that wouldnt happen because the fact that donnie is not there to make those events happen the reason that the plane crashes was that the tanget universe opened up donnie closed it before it was created this sounds extremly complcated but think bout it how did the artifact come to be? it was made before the tangent universe was created and to further prove that point the artifact came from the "future" it was at the end of 28 days in the tangent universe that the plane crashed but in the main universe it was still oct 2 showing that the universe was closed at the exact point of impact with the house killing donnie continued the regular time stream at which the jet wouldnt of crashed or it would start over again so no the mom or sister wouldnt die and the girlfriend not coming into contact with donnie would not share the same time stream so she would not gone through the same chain of events that lead to her mom leaving i hope this makes sense to all of u just my thoughts on how people were confused on how he died and seemily didnt save anyone

well the fact that we take what happened in the tagent universe as what happens in the main universe is a very big assumption seeing as the tangent universe is very unstable the events that happened there where for the purpose of reurning the artifact to close it didnt anyone notice that during the whole movie most of the things that happened seem to be unbelieveable such as him dating that girl so fast or how she was asleep in the movies the whole time while he burned down a house i would think that it implies the the whole tanget universe is on a seperate time stream in which places and events are subjective and manipulated to further push the living reciver to complete his goal so as far as his sister dying or the girlfriends mom leaving that wouldnt happen because the fact that donnie is not there to make those events happen the reason that the plane crashes was that the tanget universe opened up donnie closed it before it was created this sounds extremly complcated but think bout it how did the artifact come to be? it was made before the tangent universe was created and to further prove that point the artifact came from the "future" it was at the end of 28 days in the tangent universe that the plane crashed but in the main universe it was still oct 2 showing that the universe was closed at the exact point of impact with the house killing donnie continued the regular time stream at which the jet wouldnt of crashed or it would start over again so no the mom or sister wouldnt die and the girlfriend not coming into contact with donnie would not share the same time stream so she would not gone through the same chain of events that lead to her mom leaving i hope this makes sense to all of u just my thoughts on how people were confused on how he died and seemily didnt save anyone

My take is that Donnie dies when the engine hits the first time. The whole movie basically is a sequence of dreamlike scenes that Donnie experiences, much in the way we dream and our dream fits with a noise that wakes us (e.g., book falls from my desk waking me up, but at the time it falls i'm this complex and lengthy dream and the sound of the book falling fits right in to my dream). Donnies dream sequence - basically the whole movie - is his "going to the light" so to speak and is dense with symbols from his life (e.g., his family, his sister's boyfriend frank, a girl he sees and likes in school - gretchen - but really never met).

That's my take so far. I don't believe in the sci fi stuff as an explanation of the story but do believe that it has symbolic value, as does everything else.

At the end of Donnies journey, he accepts his fate and is ready - he stays in bed (and i think he smiles).

This is just a start and in no way sums up the movie, but i think it is a much more reasonable approach than talking about tangent worlds and other such stuff as if these things were real physical realities.

I have just watched the film for a third time and contarary to popular opinion of those watching it with me I refuse to write it off as an ok movie with a crap ending...as is the case with most movies (besides a small handfull) if you think about it you can tell everything that is going to happen because you have seen it all before, but hey if Mediocrity rules your life then so be it, but try to think a little different every now and again!!

One thing I want know is what about all the good deeds Donni carried out through out the film e.g burning down the house and flooding telling his teacher what he thought of her anal teachings is all this erased and will everything now go back to normal???

Basically i think that because the rabbit in Donnies vision prevents him from dieing and there fore creating the events of death and so on and so forth. Doesn't that mean that if the rabbit never came to Donnie in the vision and saved him from the plane engine crashing into his home, non of the events would of happened ... if ya get me ?
all the stuff about tangent universe wouldn't matter if the rabbit wouldn't of lead donnie away from his death....
so ultimatley the film means nothing if the rabbit never saves donnie from his death.