Works Cited

• Donnie Darko. Dir. Richard Kelly. Perf. Jake Gyllenhaal, Drew Barrymore, Jena Malone, Patrick Swayze. Pandora Cinema, 2001. Film.


• Halfyard, Kurt. "8 Time Travel Tangents: Some Companion Films for Source Code." Row Three. Web. 12 April 2011. http://www.rowthree.com/2011/04/03/8-time-travel-tangents-some-companion-films-for-source-code/


• Source Code. Dir. Duncan Jones. Perf. Jake Gyllenhaal, Michele Monaghan, Vera Farmiga, Jeffrey Wright. The Mark Gordon Company, 2011. Film.

Comparative Analysis

Source Code, a recent film that deals with themes of time travel and tangent paths, is also an excellent work of science fiction starring Jake Gyllenhaal. "One wonders if Source Code is not a slicker, establishment-made bookend to Darko’s rough and tumble up-and-comer" (Halfyard). Both films have Gyllenhaal's character travel back in time along tangent paths in order to change an outcome. In Donnie Darko, his purpose is fixing a rift in the universe and putting everything back the way that it should have been. In Source Code, Gyllenhaal's character is searching for a bomb on a train in order to capture the terrorist and prevent subsequent, catastrophic attacks. Both films are melancholy, require close (and even repeated) viewing, involve tragic romances, and posit Gyllenhaal as an unorthodox but deeply sympathetic hero.

Theme Analysis

The most complicated interpretation of the film, and one that can be gleaned after repeated viewings, involves time travel and the idea that there are tangent paths (or parallel universes) that co-exist alongside our "real" paths. We can neither see, hear, nor experience these parallel existences, but Donnnie Darko gets this opportunity. Because he is a hero, Donnie gets to travel on one of these tangent paths in order to learn how to save--not only his loved ones--but the entire universe. According to the book that Donnie reads in the film, The Philosophy of Time Travel, a rift or disruption can occur in the space/time continuum. This rift is revealed when an artifact from the future (the jet engine) shows up in the past (in Donnie’s bedroom) without traveling along the proper channels. This corruption will mean the end of the world, unless Donnie can figure out how to fix things. This rift also creates a tangent path (or universe) that Donnie may travel upon (or through). Frank (the bunny) comes from the future of this tangent universe. Throughout the film, Donnie travels on this tangent path and learns about time travel to save the world. A wormhole (or proper channel) must be created for the jet engine to pass through. At the end of the film, Donnie finds the wormhole. The jet engine (along with Donnie) now travels along the wormhole to the past point. The engine appears in the same place it did the first time around, but this time it has a reason for its appearance. Donnie is in his proper place. Now there is no corruption (no rift), and the universe is saved. At the end, the other characters do not have conscious memories of this tangent universe, but they may have some subconscious memories that appear in dreams. This explains the scene toward the end in which we see the characters in their bedrooms. They are dreaming of the tangent universe or remembering it on some level. It also explains the fact that Gretchen and Mrs. Darko seem to recognize each other after Donnie dies. If tangent universes exist, this theory could account for things like deja-vu and the feeling we get when we feel like we know someone we’ve just met.

Setting Analysis

In the film Donnie Darko, director and writer Richard Kelly pays homage to the 1980s through his use of politics, music, and films. There are many political and cultural references sprinkled throughout the film, such as the 1988 Bush/Dukakis presidential race, the Smurfs cartoon characters, and especially the musical montages. In addition to Echo and the Bunnymen, the soundtrack features Tears for Fears, Duran Duran, and Joy Division. The '80s films Kelly references include Back to the Future, E.T., Evil Dead, The Last Temptation of Christ, and Poltergeist. Set in an upscale, Midwestern area called Middlesex that houses a local "hero" in the form of motivational speaker Jim Cunningham who is actually a pedophile, the movie exposes the dark underbelly of suburbia. The contrast of sunny and stormy skies, of bright daylight and murky darkness, provides a fitting backdrop for Donnie's journey through a tangent universe that is simultaneously familiar and strange.

Character Analysis

Donnie Darko is the ultimate anti-hero because even though he engages in disrespectful and even criminal behavior, his heroic qualities are much more prominent. He defends the innocent, such as the character Cherita whom the other boys tease. In one interpretation of the film, Donnie sacrifices his own life to save his loved ones. In this particular reading of the film, Donnie spends the majority of the film learning the secret to time travel. At the end, once he has mastered the secret, he chooses to go back in time in order to save: his girlfriend Gretchen’s life, Frank's life, his favorite teacher's job, and his mother and sister from a possible plane crash. Beyond just being a hero, he has superhero characteristics like the ability to foretell the future and to see other characters' true motivations. Even Donnie's name and "costume" (the hoodie he wears) are reminiscent of those of a comic book hero.

Proposal

My favorite movie opens with a slow motion scene in which the troubled protagonist rides his bicycle down a hill under a cerulean sky to the tune of Echo and the Bunnymen's "The Killing Moon." From this moment on, I was mesmerized. I first saw the film in the movie theatre almost ten years ago, and while many movies have captured my imagination since then, nothing has had quite the same impact on me. Whenever I am asked what my favorite film of all-time is, the answer is easy: Donnie Darko. What isn't as easy to articulate, however, is my response to the follow-up question: Why? About halfway through my first viewing, I was convinced that the movie was an eerily accurate portrayal of schizophrenia with a then-almost-unknown Jake Gyllenhaal doing a brilliant job of conveying the pain and confusion associated with that mental illness. After the film was over, however, I realized how much bigger the issues were that director Richard Kelly was tackling in the film: time travel, parallel universes, and fate versus free will, to name a few. It's a film one can watch over and over again and still be left with unanswered questions. It's a film that makes the viewer feel, as Donnie, the ultimate anti-hero, struggles with a profound sense of despair and eventually sacrifices his own life because he believes it is the right thing to do. Most of all, though, it's a film that makes one think, and I guess that's why it remains my favorite.