I can’t be the only person who’s seen this movie, and was alternately puzzled and blown away. I’ve got a serious Jake Gyllenhaal crush going on, ever since “The Good Girl,” and heard this movie was great.
And it was. I haven’t seen a movie that had me discussing it for hours afterward since Memento. I don’t want to give away too much, so, has anyone seen it? What did you think? For me, it’s rewarding to discuss this because there are so many different interpretations of the film.
Hi, The Wrong Girl, and you can’t be too wrong if you like DD. One of the best cult films ever made, certainly; too bad it stuck around in theaters for exactly three days. I’m a big fan of the film and J.G.; I have a few criticisms of the film – especially setting in in the late 1980s. I’m in the minority on this among my friends, but I think that timeline (er, is that the word I want in a movie like DD?) doesn’t add much to the plot or the themes – but overall, I simply love it. I like the director’s commentary on the DVD, too - though I disagree with his insistence on calling Donnie a comic book hero and that other characters are “starting to realize he’s a comic book hero.” I don’t think that comes across at all.
Isn’t DD now ranked in the top 100 in the IMDB list? I think so, a tribute to a rush of popularity. All hail Frank!
The director’s commentary is embarrassing. But it’s still the best movie ever.
-fh
Yeah, I really have to get the DVD. I ordered it off of Amazon a couple of days ago–it should be here soon. I remembered reading somewhere about the reason the director set it in the late 80s–he wanted give the movie a real sense of the past, as in, all of this already happened. That setting it in the present would make it harder somehow for the audience to suspend their disbelief (does that make any sense?)
Plus, the music rocks. Echo and the Bunnymen and Tears for Fears are nice choices. And it’s in the top 100? Nice! 
My ex-girlfriend rented DD with me a few weeks ago when I was out in SF. I have to say I don’t understand the whole “greatest movie” ever thing. Don’t get me wrong, I thought it was a good movie, 100 times better then most of the shit that gets put out, but I wasn’t blown away.
I love that cover of Mad World. Great movie.
I really enjoyed it and the soundtrack was awesome.
Donnie Darko is currently number 117 in the IMDB top 250… although this far down I don’t know how stable the list is.
I don’t understand that either. It’s pretty good, and I’m slightly envious that the director is famous and only a couple of years older than I am, but… I saw it two days ago, and I still can’t decide if I liked it or not. Actually, I know I liked it- right up until the last 15 minutes when the logic pretty much goes to hell.
I get that “Frank” was supposed to be showing him what would happen if he’d lived, but what was the point? Even when he’s back and in bed, right before the engine crashes down on him, there’s no sense that he’s making a choice to stay in his bed and die to prevent some of the things that happened from occuring. Is the point simply to have made an Anti-It’s a Wonderful life?
I think we really should have a mod put a spoiler note on the thread title. It was stupid of me not to.
Okay, in response to elfkin’s comment, I thought he chose to die because his going on to live would cause so many other people to die–Frank, his girlfriend, his mother and his sister (although whether they would have died is in question, with the whole tangent universe thing)–so, to me, it was kind of an anti It’s a Wonderful Life. It’s a puzzle to me why he was laughing in that moment–perhaps because he’s finally figured everything out? However, the mother and the sister’s fate still bothers me a little. I still have to think this through a bit.
Does the DVD explain it more? I checked out the website and the stuff from the book “The philosphy of time travel” seemed to help piece it more together, but there’s still a lot I’m not sure of. It’s hard to know how everything relates…
That’s probably why i like it so much. Because you have to think about it.
The DVD commentary helps because it points out the exact moment everyone enters the tangent universe. The airplane engine that kills Donnie in the real universe is from the tangent universe. In the real universe, the plane doesn’t crash so his mother and sister are fine. I think. I need to watch again before I really get into this.
SPOILERS
(I don’t know how to do the black box thing)
Elfkin, I think Frank was helping Donnie not die alone (so he could meet that girl before dying).
This movie… it’s hard to put my finger on it. I watched it twice in a night and it had me thinking for a long time. In theory, so many things are wrong with it- time travel is supposed to be an ultimate screenwriter no-no. Also, I have to admit that I really didn’t care about the characters- did we learn anything important about the Noah Wyle’s character? The old woman? The storyline involving Patrick Swayze had about as much development as a Chicken Soup for the Soul story. But somehow I liked it. Or, at least, I thought about it for a long time (instead of forgetting the whole thing 5 minutes after it ended) maybe it’s the music.
I definitely recommend the DVD. Check out the deleted scenes- you’ll wonder why they were cut at all. The director says they were too “on the nose”, but I think they would have added a lot and made the whole film more smooth.
Anyway, I’m ramblin’.
My history teacher (he loves movies, and can rattle off virtually any statistic about any movie ever made) recommended that I see it. The local rental place only had VHS or I’d have got the DVD, but I loved it! I need to find the DVD. It really had me thinking.
I liked how it all (er, mostly) tied together at the end and it made sense. Especially with Frank. I loved the moment when I found out who he actually was. 
Terrific movie and soundtrack–they’re on my wishlists for Christmas.
Is there anywhere we can get a Frank the Giant Bunny Rabbit costume for Halloween?
Donnie Darko is, IMHO, a great film that never got the attention it deserved as a first-run. I’m still trying to figure it out, but I wanted to share what my friend said about it after we came out of the theater (gotta love midnight movies).
He said, “This is the kind of movie you want to sit down and have a conversation with.” Sums it up for me.
The only annoyance for me was the presence of Jena Malone, because by the time I saw Donnie I had already been thoroughly annoyed by her in The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys. Just me, probably
When did the mom & sister die?
Frank rawks.
ahem:wally
What a wonderful and creepy movie. The time-travel logic is hopelessly pretzeled, though.
Given that the airplane engine–in both original and tangent universes–came from the future, and all: a future that was only instigated by particular events in the original universe. Not to mention that if it hadn’t been for (dead) Frank’s urging, Donnie would never have gone up to Grandma Death’s on Halloween in the first place, and (live) Frank would never have been killed…
My take on the movie following a first viewing.