Talk:Donnie Darko

Genre

Is this really a horror film? I notice it was changed [1] from drama/psychological thriller/sci yesterday. 163.1.173.76 (talk) 11:14, 30 May 2008 (UTC)

No, it is not. It is regarded by ignorant people as a horror film (mainly after watching the trailer), but it really is a science fiction psycological thriller. Farslayer (talk) 11:06, 15 June 2008 (UTC)

SETH ROGEN IS UNCREDITED IN THE FILM. SHOULD THIS NOT BE MENTIONED?

References in popular culture

This was removed by User:Crossmr as trivia and was requested to be merged into the article. —Viriditas | Talk 07:28, 1 December 2007 (UTC)

• The film was parodied on the Australian movie show The Bazura Project in episode 2.06 as part of the episode's opening sequence.
• HORSE the band's song "Kangarooster 4057" on the album R. Borlax Re-Release has a sound clip from the film.
• Sage Francis' album Sickly Business contains several references to Donnie's confession about his dog dying under the porch, as well as a sample from the movie.
• In Ultimate Spider-Man, "cellar door" is the keyword said by Shaw that causes Harry Osborn to forget certain actions, notably anything involving his father's actions as the Green Goblin. It is later revealed that Shaw is really a figment of Harry's mind.
• American rock band Alter Bridge named their first album One Day Remains, after a chapter in The Philosophy of Time Travel.
• In an episode of the British soap opera programme Coronation Street, Sarah Platt referred to her brother as "Donnie Darko" upon seeing him sat depressed and playing loud music in his car.
• Rapper MC Lars parodies the embracing of the film by Brooklyn hipsters in his song "Hipster Girl", with the refrain "Donnie Darko makes no sense!"
• Canadian hardcore/metal band Dead and Divine used a quote from Donnie Darko at the beginning of their song Painting With Knives and Gunshots.
• American post-Hardcore band A Day To Remember uses a soundbyte of Frank in the beginning of their album And Their Name Was Treason
• American mathcore band Ed Gein use quotes from the movie on songs from their album It's a Shame a Family Can Be Torn Apart by Something as Simple as a Pack of Wild Dogs
• An indie rock band, Theset named their debut album The Philosophy of Time Travel after the fictional book from the film. Also, many of their lyrics reference the movie.
• In Clerks 2 there is a extended version of the car ride back from the go-karts in which Randal tries to convince Dante that he could have inpregnated his mother when Dante masterbated in the women's restroom. Dante responds by calling the logic a sick, Donnie Darko fantasy world. Director Kevin Smith did the commentary with Richard Kelly on the directors cut of the Donnie Darko.
• Post-rock band 65daysofstatic use a voice sample from Donnie Darko at the end of their song 'Uplifting Chart Trance'.

And this section on the director's cut's differences, too. --Nemo bis (talk) 00:35, 14 August 2008 (UTC)

Plot out of order?

Is it just me, or is the plot synopsis incorrect? Wasn't seeing the ripples of time after the burning? Farslayer (talk) 07:02, 11 December 2007 (UTC)

I agree, imo how can he travel back in time with the girl and the bike (hence water+metal=host and bike?) at the same time as when the plane's engine falls from the sky enters the wormhole and then the plane exits the wormhole and lands. Not only must he be living in an alternate reality but also be able to time travel. Wouldn't he be at two places at the same time? For instance the plane his parents are in leave Oct. 2nd in the past enter a wormhole of Oct. 31st in the future and come back to the 2nd in the past making the trip 11 days and 6 Hrs. We can also say the engine acted as the transportation device and not the plane. There is no explanation of how Donnie Darko managed to alter reality without explaining two alternative realities. Even Quantum mechanics doesnt allow that to happen. So from what I understood, this darko character has god-like powers.--69.255.16.162 (talk) 22:28, 20 March 2008 (UTC)

I am the real person that the fictious "Donnie Darko" is based upon. Please read my web site http://therealdonniedarko.com where you will read of the copyright infringement lawsuit and find out the TRUTH of what the film is REALLY about. Leonardhill (talk) 17:50, 4 April 2008 (UTC)

a serious problem with the plot, is this. when donnie decides to not leave his room to follow the voice of frank, in an attempt to kill himself, allowing gretchen to live and what not, he then in theory dies, so he couldnt be told by frank to burn down Jim Cunninghams house, exposing the kiddie porn, that causes Mrs. Farmer to have to leave to appeal for his court case, and making donnies mother take sparkle motion to the competition, and when donnies mother and samantha come home early and experience turbulance, losing the jet engine and killing donnie. so by donnie laying down submitting himself to death, he doesnt cause that chain of actions to be caused, so the jet engine in theory wouldnt fall into the loop hole and down through his roof

There are many things that can be taken in at the moment of Donnie's death. For one, just because the mother and daughter did not get on the plane does not mean that the plane does not exist, it just means that they are not on it. Donnie lays down after seeing what he can do to save everyone and the following happens. By committing this form of suicide he is changing what the future may have held and nothing, like the fire and flooding, happens because he is dying for the others in his life, "They are in great danger." Jim Cunningham (Kiddie porn man) wakes from a horrible dream and is overcome with a profound remorse for the regretful actions buried within his heart. (Spectulation that the sentence ends with heart.) All the others seem to wake from a dream and all are upset, except for the chinese girl who seems to be happy. Frank feels for his eye and we all figured why he did. Gretchen seems to recognize the mother as does Mom. ~Nakoma

We never see where the plane is so we cannot assume that it is going through that same field because we see the engine going into the wormhole, Tangent Vortex, that is funneling into his house. In a panaramic sort of shot, Donnie on the hood, we can see that it is possible for them to be above the entrance of the wormhole because the energy is flowing towards his home and not in the true center of the circling clouds, but that also is speculation. But if you pay very close attention most of the energy is above the funnel that leads to the house. Clouds have a natural moisture so that may be the water and the jet engine is the metal? The plane never enters the wormhole and lands, no one knows why the engine lands because no one can find the plane, it never entered. ~Nakoma

As such, it can be assumed the the plane flew close to the wormhole, if not into it, and this caused the engine to enter the wormhole.

Person with the IP address of 69.255.16.162, the alternative realities is explained, albeit briefly and subtly. A large portion of it is to be filled in by the viewer.

By even listening to Frank in the first place, getting out of bed, etc., he had corrupted the flow of time, and thus begins the alternative reality. You could pretend that the original reality (in which Donnie dies) has been paused. The events of the second alternative reality, make up the events of the majority of the film. Frank, who is widely considered to be a human form of God, or at least someone like God who controls time, tells Donnie to do such and such, beginning to repair the flow of time and let events happen in true chronological order. The jet engine, i.e. the Artifact, is sent through the wormhole as the last stroke to repair the flow of time, but it would only be repaired if Donnie had enough love, and not fear of dying, to actually get back in bed to be killed by the engine. There goes another major theme - fear and love. Farslayer (talk) 11:26, 15 June 2008 (UTC)

Midlothian High School

This movie was based off of the High school that Richard Kelly attended in Midlothian, Virginia Midlothian High School.

I've removed both instances of this from the article unless someone has a good source to add. This topic was addressed in The Donnie Darko Book (p. X) in an interview by Kevin Conroy Scott, but aside from talking about the High School he attended, Kelly does not claim that the school in the film was based on Midlothian. Now, perhaps someone can find the actual interview where he says it is and add it back into the article. —Viriditas | Talk 02:14, 29 January 2008 (UTC)

It's a truely great plot but in my opinion, you guys sad enough to write on here should probly be shot in the face. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 91.109.70.166 (talk) 19:06, 9 June 2008 (UTC)

Kevin smith commentary

Does anyone know why he was chosen or if he had any other associations with the film? Jepetto (talk) 16:41, 8 April 2008 (UTC)

"WashPo says he was a friend of the director, Richard Kelly. Skomorokh 16:45, 8 April 2008 (UTC)

Yes yes, but i was wondering if he actually had anything to do with production? Jepetto (talk) 16:59, 9 April 2008 (UTC)

awakened dead in the last scene

in the last scene of the movie, it shows a chapter exerpt from the philosophy of time travel, in chapter 12: dreams... "When the manipulated awaken from their journey into the tangent universe, they are often haunted by the experience in their dreams."

after that, it shows many key characters waking, presumably from nightmares. i took this as an implication that those characters, including donnie's therapist, his teacher, and frank, are the manipulated dead... but there's almost no mention of their stirring in the article. can someone change this? Krispykorn (talk) 05:42, 12 May 2008 (UTC)

they're the manipulated living 76.118.30.59 (talk) 05:13, 23 July 2008 (UTC)

They are. Only Frank (the bunny form, that is) and Gretchen are the Manipulated Dead. The other characters are the Manipulated Living. Farslayer (talk) 10:29, 24 July 2008 (UTC)