After narrowly escaping a bizarre accident, a troubled teenager is plagued by visions of a man in a large rabbit suit who manipulates him to commit a series of crimes.After narrowly escaping a bizarre accident, a troubled teenager is plagued by visions of a man in a large rabbit suit who manipulates him to commit a series of crimes.After narrowly escaping a bizarre accident, a troubled teenager is plagued by visions of a man in a large rabbit suit who manipulates him to commit a series of crimes.
- Awards
- 12 wins & 16 nominations
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaAt the wrap party for the film, Seth Rogen and Jake Gyllenhaal agreed that they had no idea what the movie was about.
- GoofsThe unmarried Jim Cunningham wears a wedding band throughout the film. According to Richard Kelly, this is an element of his untrustworthy and mysterious nature.
- Crazy credits"Proud to Be Loud" Performed by The Dead Green Mummies -- this song is actually performed by the band Pantera. (The Dead Green Mummies do not exist.) Pantera has all but disowned their first four albums, this song is track 5 on the fourth of those albums, "Power Metal." The band presumably did not want to be credited with the song (as they don't consider any of their pre-1990 material part of their discography) and made up the name The Dead Green Mummies.
- Alternate versionsChanges from the original in the Director's Cut:
- 2 mins: As Donnie Rides into town the music has changed from Echo and the Bunnymen's The Killing Moon to INXS's Never Tear Us Apart.
- 6 mins: Before Donnie's mother enters his room after dinner she has a short discussion with Elizabeth, asking how she knew Donnie has stopped taking his medication.
- 9 mins: As Donnie is awakened by Frank's voice we see a close up of his eye opening with Frank reflected in his iris. Also the sequence as he leaves the house is extended slightly.
- 16 mins: As Donnie, Samantha and Elizabeth sit in the hotel room Samantha tries to think of ways to make money from the accident, and Donnie tells her when she falls asleep he's going to "fart in your face."
- 17 mins: As Donnie's parents discuss Frankie Feedler the scene is slightly extended, Donnie's dad thinks someone was watching over him.
- 23 mins: As Gretchen Ross makes her first appearance in the classroom more reactions can be heard from the classmates.
- 24 mins: As Donnie and his dad drive, just before nearly hitting Grandma Death, they flick back and forth between radio stations, Donnie wins and music now plays throughout the scene.
- 28 mins: Frank's voice can now be heard during the Cunning Visions video, telling Donnie to watch closely.
- 29 mins: Another shot of Donnie's eye opening as Frank awakens him before he floods the school, water is seen reflected in his eye this time.
- 30 mins: While waiting at the bus stop, before they hear school is canceled, Donnie steals Samantha's poem and torments her. Donnie's friends also have another opportunity to bully Sharita Chen, calling her Porky Pig, and saying "I hope you get molested."
- 31 mins: More rumors fly around as to why school is closed.
- 33 mins: As Donnie walks home with Gretchen he mentions how he wants to be able to "change things."
- 37 mins: As the police check the student's handwriting we see Donnie looking nervous, and Karen Pomeroy noticing it. This also fixes the continuity as all the previous names on the list are called before Donnie.
- 41 mins: Newscast. Before the emergency PTA meeting Mrs. Farmer and Karen Pomeroy exchange words about Mrs. Farmer's intentions to get The Destructors banned.
- 44 mins: Donnie's English class have a poetry day, where Donnie reads a poem about himself and Frank. "A storm is coming, Frank says a storm that will swallow the children and I will deliver them from the kingdom of pain I will deliver the children back the their doorsteps And send the monsters back to the underground I'll send them back to a place where no-one else can see them Except for me Because I am Donnie Darko" Karen Pomeroy then asks him who Frank is, Donnie tells her he's a six foot bunny rabbit, and everyone laughs at him.
- 53 mins: We see the first of the excerpts from The Philosophy of Time Travel, concerning the tangent universe.
- 59 mins: We see Donnie waiting for the school bus a plane flies overhead and everyone looks up nervously, then the second excerpt from The Philosophy of Time Travel appears, Chapter 2, Water and Metal. Behind this transition there is a short new scene where Donnie sits down next to Gretchen and she asks him why he has blood on his neck.
- 61 mins: We see Donnie's parents out for dinner, discussing what they should do about disciplining him after the incident with Mrs. Farmer. Their opinions are wildly different, and they joke about getting divorced.
- 62 mins: Whilst the parents are out to dinner we see that Donnie and Elizabeth have been sitting at home carving the pumpkins seen later in the film.
- 64 mins: Another shot of Donnie's eye opening, along with footage of waves breaking on a beach.
- 65 mins: We see Donnie and Gretchen in an arcade, the scene is overlaid by chapter 7 from the book, The Manipulated Living.
- 66 mins: As Donnie watches Jim Cunningham's seminar at the school his perception changes, he sees things sped up, and mentions to Gretchen that he is travelling through time. The seminar now goes on longer, with extra scenes before Donnie steps up to the mic.
- 71 mins: Donnie and Gretchen go to visit Roberta Sparrow, there is nobody home but Donnie checks her mailbox and is inspired to write to her. This scene is overlaid with chapter 4 from the book, the Artifact of the Living.
- 74 mins: Karen Pomeroy tells the class they are no longer allowed to study The Destructors, and that their new book will be Watership Down, however if any student wants a copy of Graham Greene's book someone has put 20 copies aside at the Sarasota Mall.
- 75 mins: Another overlay from The Philosophy of Time Travel, this time chapter 6, the Living Receiver.
- 81 mins: Another eye opening shot, this time with flames reflected in it.
- 87 mins: Another overlay, chapter 10, the Manipulated Dead.
- 88 mins: Donnie returns home the morning after the fire and talks to his dad in the garden. His dad tells him that no matter how crazy he thinks he is, he should always say what's on his mind.
- 90 mins: As we see Jim Cunningham arrested on TV the voiceover on the TV is slightly different.
- 91 mins: Karen Pomeroy's firing is slightly shortened.
- 92 mins: Karen gives one of her last classes, after the students watch a section of Watership Down they discuss Fiver (the rabbit)'s visions, and how trusting those visions of the end of the world would save the warren. Gretchen and Donnie argue in the class about the meaning of them. Donnie doesn't see the point of crying over a dead rabbit, Gretchen tells Donnie he missed the point, and Karen Pomeroy tells the class that the Deus Ex Machina is what saved the rabbits.
- 97 mins: Donnie says goodbye to his mom in the street as she goes to LA with Sparkle Motion.
- 98 mins: As Karen clears out her desk, her talk with Donnie is different, she suggests on a Friday night Donnie should be out scaring old people.
- 103 mins: Donnie talks with his doctor about his belief in God, and she tells him he can stop taking his medication as they are placebos.
- 106 mins: There is an overlay of Chapter 9, the Ensurance Trap.
- 110 mins: As Donnie walks around the party, observing people's channels, there is another montage of his eye, as if he were putting all the clues together that lead him to thinking he should go to Grandma Death's house.
- 114 mins: As Donnie is pinned down with the knife to his throat outside Grandma Death's house, it is now very clear he is saying Deus Ex Machina.
- 116 mins: Roberta Sparrow tells Donnie a storm is coming, and that he must hurry.
- 118 mins: We see a montage of things reflected in Donnie's eye as Frank counts down to the end of the world.
- 120 mins: Another montage as we see the universe collapsing and rewinding as Donnie travels back through time.
- 123 mins: The final overlay is of chapter 12, Dreams, which explains why everyone seems to be having a sleepless night as Mad World plays.
- ConnectionsEdited into The Phoenix Portal (2005)
- SoundtracksThe Killing Moon
Written by Will Sergeant, Ian McCulloch, Les Pattinson and Pete DeFreitas (as Pete De Freitas)
Performed by Echo & The Bunnymen
Courtesy of Sire Records/Warner Music U.K. Ltd.
By arrangement with Warner Special Products
Featured review
Donnie Darko Shouldn't Work, But Does
Alternate universes are a concept not often used in film because the concept itself is seen as nothing but a risky addition to a story. Despite this fact, the film Donnie Darko seeks to utilize the concept of alternate universes to tell a heartfelt and genuine story. Donnie Darko is able to successfully make a simple story turn mind boggling without making it devoid of entertainment and substance.
Set in the year 1988, Donnie Darko is a story of a teenage boy named Donnie (Jake Gyllenhaal) who suffers a lot of psychological problems. One night after arguing with his parents, Donnie is lured outside of his house by an "imaginary" humanoid bunny named Frank (James Duval) and is told that the world will end in 28 days. After being lured to a golf course and falling asleep, Donnie awakes the next morning and returns home only to find that a jet engine has fallen onto his house, specifically Donnie's bedroom. Donnie then takes this psychosis-induced threat seriously and spends the next 28 days trying to figure out how to prevent the end of the world.
Written and directed by Richard Kelly, Donnie Darko is a film that showcases immense amounts of character development and unique plot devices. Plot devices as unique as a time traveling demented bunny help make this film most effectively send its message of how one's issues can help break through the conventions of society. Considering Donnie Darko is Richard Kelly's debut film as a director, it is very impressive that he is able to create such a well rounded story with such well written characters. For instance, characters such as Donnie turn from a psychologically challenged troublemaker to a quote unquote "superhero" as referenced in the film. The film itself does a very good job of making Donnie a relatable character. Actor Jake Gyllenhaal has quite an amazing performance as he goes on to make viewers truly believe Donnie's struggles. Being Gyllenhaal's first starring role, Donnie Darko took a risk and rolled dice with its chances of being an enjoyable motion picture. Similar films such as Unbreakable take risks by being a serious story accompanied with a superhero narrative. Although the film proves itself to be successful, there are some characters that could have been better written. For example, characters like Donnie's love interest Gretchen (Jena Malone) don't do a great job connecting with the audience and seem rather dull. Gretchen, like Donnie, is also a troubled teen, but she fails to make her struggles adequately believable to the audience.
Overlooking certain character elements of the film, Donnie Darko proves to satisfy its audience by having very beautiful and strategic cinematography. The film's opening scene showcases Donnie waking up on a dirty mountainside road with an enigmatic swirling storm of clouds and debris on the horizon. Another scene shows the jet engine gracefully yet violently collapsing on Donnie's house. Richard Kelly overall did an amazing job of crafting each and every scene.
Though many may view such a cult classic as "pretentious", Donnie Darko succeeds in strongly sending an underlying message of how nonconformity in a society is not a weird but rather important thing. It tasks viewers to think differently about the so-called "weirdos" in society. Weirdos are special...weirdos have the power to save the world. The film suggests that Donnie lives in a tangent universe, which can be created when the fourth dimension is corrupted. A tangent universe is similar to a primary universe in every way except it is greatly unstable and can collapse in on itself in only a few weeks after being created. The idea of saving the world is brought upon Donnie by his hallucinations: Frank tells Donnie that the world will end and then guides him to help stop it. Donnie soon comes to find that he must stop the tangent universe he is living in from collapsing in on itself and swallowing the primary universe. The story does such an outstanding job of coming full circle and it really makes you sit back and think about the philosophy behind it all.
Is Donnie Darko a film that's too difficult to grasp? I would say that it is not considering all the underlying philosophical jargon that is spread between the lines of the movie. Donnie Darko is a risk taker. It proves that incorporating difficult concepts to make a great story is not impossible. It ultimately sets up its own challenge and successfully tackles these challenges beautifully.
helpful•481
- jtvukovich
- Jan 22, 2020
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Official site
- Language
- Also known as
- Donnie Darko: The Director's Cut
- Filming locations
- 4225 Country Club Drive, Long Beach, California, USA(Donnie Darko's house)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $6,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $1,478,493
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $110,494
- Oct 28, 2001
- Gross worldwide
- $7,012,321
- Runtime1 hour 53 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 2.35 : 1
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