My Recent Thoughts on Donnie Darko
Photo Credit : Matthew Kam
Donnie Darko is the epitome of complicated and complex to the outside viewer. There are countless mentions of almost incomprehensible concepts, allusions to the past of the characters, and science-speak. However, I opine that the concepts unearthed in the movie are somewhat simple- at least to Donnie.
What we know at the beginning of the movie: Donnie sleepwalks, takes medication, and goes to the therapist. It is heavily implied, if not outright stated that Donnie is Schizoaffective. This point is somewhat important, but easy to miss in the long-term regarding the movie, as it is also implied that everyone around Donnie thinks he's crazy, from his parents to his teachers.
What is shown: Everyone, and I mean everyone, fails Donnie in some way, shape or form. From his teachers being unable to accurately depict science and having to withdraw from conversation, to the therapist not taking his visions seriously, telling him the world would still exist without him. His sister, his parents, and even his own world is a failure to Donnie. It is through these approaches that the viewer gains sympathy for Donnie and his plight.
Donnie is a confused person, and the confusion seems to grow, culminating in the death of his girlfriend, Gretchen. It is at this point Donnie takes his fears to the next level, killing his "antagonist" Frank. It is at this point that the movie deconstructs, and leads Donnie back to his bed, where he dies after laughing hysterically for a moment and going to bed.
What I propose here, is that while the viewer does not essentially understand what is going on with Donnie, why these things are happening or otherwise, and even at the end of the movie, asking why he had to die. This, in fact, is a natural response, and the response that the directors wanted from the audience to cement his status as a hero.
The audience lends Donnie, in the end, affirmation for his actions, as the entire world is wiped away and given to the void- all the events never occurred as Donnie himself was in bed, being crushed by the jet engine that lands on top of his roof.
But Donnie doesn't need that affirmation, nor does his want it. Donnie has been let down by every institution, and to put it nicely, could not care less whether or not the audience thinks about his decisions being a good or a bad thing. Donnie, through years of anti-societal letdown, simply wants to accomplish what he set out to do. To execute the plan of his to save the world.
Throughout the film, it is shown that Donnie is a particularly sharp, skilled, and genius individual, owing to the events where he intercepts the bullcrap spouted by Kitty, Jim, and others, and engaging in what is simply college level conversation with his physics teacher, Dr. Kenneth. It is even stated at several points that his teachers think he is brilliant.
Donnie, instead of simply trying to fight the will of the void, embraces it fully. All of his actions, including taking Gretchen out on that night to see Roberta Sparrow, were all planned. His own visions led him there to see her on that night, of all nights, and even if he seemed scared, it was because the end was drawing closer and closer to him. So he goes to see the one person he knows is capable of explaining everything, Roberta Sparrow.
In the Director's cut, there is a chapter about the "Manipulated Living," and the "Ensurance Trap" both of which are utilized to make the "Living Receiver" fulfill his duties to stop the end of the world. In terms of this, Gretchen's death is exactly the means of the Ensurance trap, and directly lead to his final confrontation with Frank, whom Donnie knows he must kill, particularly by shooting him in the face.
It is his fate to kill Frank, as that is the exact trap set for him; and when he does so, it finally sets in motion his return to the "real world," after saying his goodbyes.
Donnie, however, knows this, and completes the steps willingly. Having read "The Philosophy of Time Travel" by Mrs. Sparrow, Donnie's position is completely fulfilled. He doesn't attempt to stray from this path, at least not willingly, and when his therapist tries hypnotherapy, is is shown that Frank is serving as a reminder that he cannot stray from his path.
Donnie's death is his choice, then. When he returns to the "real world" he is shown laughing, having made peace with everything, and proven that his intuition was correct. His story is over, and there is nothing left to do but embrace fate, and the world that he saved, as well as its intention.
Donnie recognizes his story and purpose is fulfilled, and that is why he does not attempt to flee or run away from the inevitable jet engine falling. The events of the "pocket universe" never occurred, and his story has essentially ended. There is nothing left for him to do, except embrace himself.
To conclude, the events of Donnie Darko are exactly what was meant to happen, and it was Donnie's own choice that led him to his demise at the end of the film, not because he had to, but because he recognized that his story needed to end there.
