Alternative Explanations

There is little doubt that this movie is very much open to interpretation. There are several possible explanations and in most cases plenty of viewers will love it even though they have no idea what happened. To be honest there can't be many people who completely understood the movie the first time they watched it unless they had some inside knowledge.

The real explanation follows "The Philosophy of Time Travel" and you can read it here. When you follow this explanation there doesn't seem to be any holes in the plot. Every scene makes sense, the story is consistent and the whole movie comes together.

Here are some of the alternative theories.

Schizophrenia

Dr Thurman It is implied in the film that Donnie is a schizophrenic and therefore the film is him going through an episode of his illness. This theory is plausible because every single event could be put down to this. Hallucinations and hearing voices is a schizophrenic trait and could easily explain Frank’s appearance. There is a scene with Donnie’s therapist at the end of the film where she admits to giving Donnie placebo’s as medication for his illness. This would suggest that he in fact never was a schizophrenic. For me Richard Kelly put the idea of Donnie being schizophrenic into the movie deliberately as a red herring. It's an easier alternative theory that allows first time viewers to still enjoy the movie.

Dream

Frank in the clouds The whole movie was a dream theory is of course possible but ultimately pointless. When he goes to sleep on October 2nd at the beginning of the movie he dreams this mystical adventure just before he gets smooshed by jet engine.

The obvious hole in this theory is why do the first few minutes of October 2nd happen twice? An easy theory to enjoy maybe for the first watch but why would the director create this amazing magical alternative Universe theory and then just make it all out to be a dream?

Donnie Is Shown the Future

The Ghost Of Christmas Future This is quite a popular theory. It portrays Frank as a kind of Ghost of Christmas Future character who saves Donnie and then either shows him or allows him to live the next 28 days of his life. At the end Donnie returns back to October 2nd and now has the opportunity to choose his own fate.

So many bad things happened in those 28 days including his girlfriend getting killed and Donnie becoming a killer himself that he decides to stay in bed at the end of the film to sacrifice himself for the good of others. By dying he saves Frank, Gretchen and his mother and sister from a plane crash.

Unfortunately this theory asks more questions than it answers:

Why is Frank giving Donnie this choice?
Why does he tell Donnie to Flood the school and burn down Jim Cunningham’s house?
Why does Frank appear as a dead version and an alive version?
Why does “The Philosophy Of Time Travel” appear in the story?
How does the unexplained jet engine figure in the story?

The biggest weakness in this theory is the fact that Donnie is shown or lives out a completely different future from what would normally have happened. Most of the events only happen because we are within a Tangent Universe.

Frank gets Donnie to flood the school which means Donnie walks Gretchen home.
Frank gets Donnie to burn down Cunningham's house which leads to the party
Donnie rips the engine off the plane his mother and sister are on

None of these things would happen in the real world. What's the point in Donnie being shown an alternate future and then given the choice to live or die based on events that wont happen?

There are just too many plot flaws with this theory. It just doesn't work and there are virtually no scenes in the movie to back it up.

The Looping Tangent Universe

Carpathian Ridge here is a theory out there that follows The Philosophy of Time Travel but with one major change. The idea is that every 28 days the Tangent Universe collapses, then loops back round to October 2nd and starts over again. Basically the Tangent Universe is a repeating time-loop that will continue until Donnie is successful in returning the jet engine into the Primary Universe. The film is Donnie's first successful attempt at returning the jet engine and there have been several failed attempts before.

This explanation can be read at www.themoviegoer.com/donnie_darko. One of the reasons this theory is so popular is it usually comes up on the first page of google if search for a Donnie Darko explanation.

I don't think this idea follows The Philosophy Of Time Travel accurately enough. The Tangent Universe only lasts for several weeks before it collapses and destroys the whole Universe. If it looped back round every time then the Universe wouldn't be in danger.

This theory seems to hinge on only a few pieces of the movie. The main basis of this theory is that Donnie wakes up on the mountain laughing at the beginning of the film. He's laughing as if he remembers something from the previous Tangent Universe loop. Now the major flaw there is Donnie wakes up on the mountain on October 1st yet the Tangent Universe doesn't start until midnight on October 2nd. Why would time loop round to before the start of the Tangent Universe? Another thing is wouldn't you find it a little amusing if you woke up half way up a mountain. Surely that is a better explanation for him laughing.

Another point in this theory is the characters like Mrs Pomeroy, Grandma Death, Dr. Thurman all seem to have some kind of inside knowledge and a sense of what's going, like they have done this before. Well yes they do but not because they have done this several times before, it's because they are the Manipulated Living. There behaviour may be irrational or bizarre as they are trying to guide the Living Receiver to return the Artifact. They subconsciously behave in the necessary way in order for Donnie to succeed.

Rebekah Taylor

February 10th 2012 | 1:36:07

Me and my Fella just watched this film as i was completely blagged the first time i watched it. We came up with several theories all of which are named above yet EVERY theory here and every theory we came up with had a floor.

Theory 1: (Not named above)
The whole film is simply showing us what would have happend if donnie didnt stay in bed and was killed by the jet engine.

Theory 2: (Not named above)
The film is backwards. It should go Donnie shoots the guy (Frank) in the eye, that makes him go a little crazy, he starts taking the pills and seeing the phsyciatrist.

Theory 3: (Not named above)
All the stuff does actually happen, yet some how through time travel he finds a way to show himself (As Frank *Guilty Concsious*) and stays in bed instead of going out.

Theory 4: (Not named above)
All the stuff happens but 'Frank' lets him live the 28 days making him do stuff that end with some bad consequences and some will end up good consequences (Jim cunningham was a pedophile) letting him choose whether to re-do his time and live with the mistakes or give himself up to undo the mistake. So, When the plane crashes it crashed near a loop hole which transports the jet engine BACK 28 days 6 hours etc therefore giving him the choice to either die or live with the mistakes.

Such an Awesomely head blagging film.
Anyone know where i can download a good copy of S.Darko?
(UK) Email retaylor@live.co.uk

A sigh of relief

February 2nd 2012 | 13:10:06

@kaitlin :
if the TU collapsed it would become a black-hole that would eventually destroy the PU

Big Fan

February 1st 2012 | 15:47:23

Firstly I gotta say I love this movie, I just finished watching it like a half hour ago. It was the 2nd time I'd seen it, I'm 27 and the first time I saw it I was only 17 so as you can imagine i made a lot more sense of it this time around.
I was still unsure of quite a bit until I read the PoTT, and after reading that and thinking back to the movie I'd have to say I disagree with the 'loop theory'. It seems to me that the way in which Donnie reacts to being on this quest throughout the movie is not a reaction of someone who has been on this 'quest' before or who has that knowledge. Also why would he need to be told by Frank to flood the school or burn the 'perverts' house down if he was stuck in a loop, he'd have done that before surely. I'd have to agree with the theory Dan Smith puts forward on this site, as it the makes the most sense and answers a lot of questions. The only thing I'm unclear on is why Donnie wakes up in the middle of a road at the start of the movie? If anyone could enlighten me on this I'd appreciate it.
I also agree with Tanya's comment earlier about Deja Vu, and next time I have it I'm deffinetley gonna think I'm having a flashback to a TU!!!! Bottom line is Richard Kelly is a genius for writing such a brilliant yet complex story, and respect to Drew Barrymore for producing it. One of my top 5 movies of all time.

Kaitlin

January 31st 2012 | 23:13:09

Since Donnie experiences the tangent universe, and then wakes up again (taking the death from the engine), doesn't that mean it just looped around?
Also, what would be wrong with the tangent universe collapsing, since it doesn't even matter (if there's a safe, Primary Universe)

matty

January 15th 2012 | 0:23:33

It shows the jet engine coming off the plane from the future. But what causes this in the normal universe if the over universe has been reversed. The other universe being reversed would mean that he would of never moved the jet engine through the portal which would mean the jet engine would not fell through the roof.

Anon

January 5th 2012 | 12:49:18

Different things interest different people, so it is not wrong to be interested and to form an explanation for your fascination. So to "XXX", you have your hobbies, and probably don't think past the surface of a thought. So shut up, and stop being judgemental.

XXX

January 4th 2012 | 20:45:57

you guys need to get a life, it is a movie and has no real basis in physics. go read a book on Membrane theory.

Young money stack west side up

January 2nd 2012 | 22:52:16

Firstly this explanation is written assuming that you've seen the film. There are spoilers throughout so it could ruin the enjoyable experience of watching it for the first time.

The film has been carefully made so that there are multiple explanations to what happens. With the release of the director's cut some of the ambiguity has been taken away and the director's true version of the story becomes clearer. The explanation heavily revolves around the book Donnie gets from his teacher, "The Philosophy of Time Travel" written by Roberta Sparrow (Grandma Death). The book is a fictional one but some of the pages were in the film's web site and included into the director's cut version of the movie. You can read those pages here.

PU = Primary Universe (The Universe we exist in now)
TU = Tangent Universe (The parallel Universe that most of the film is set in)
PoTT = Philosophy of Time Travel

Tangent Universe

The PoTT states that time is usually a stable construct but every now and then the fourth dimension gets corrupted. When this happens it creates a TU which is highly unstable and will only last a few weeks before it collapses in upon itself. There is a danger that when the TU collapses it could cause a black hole capable of destroying the PU as well.

This is what happens in the movie, there is a corruption in time and at midnight on October 2nd a TU is created. The next 28 days are now set in this alternate reality. Shortly after the TU starts Frank wakes Donnie up and lures him out of the house. A few minutes later a huge jet engine falls though the rip in time and lands in Donnie's bedroom.

It is important to remember that the TU is NOT created by the jet engine or Frank waking up Donnie. We are already within the TU when both those events occur. Unfortunately we never find out what caused the TU to begin, it's just an unexplained phenomenon.

The Artifact

According to the PoTT when a TU is created an Artifact will also spontaneously appear. The Artifact is the first sign of evidence that a TU has been created and are always made from metal. In this case the Artifact is a giant jet engine.

Where the Artifact originally comes from is never disclosed. It was most likely created as the TU was being formed. The TU is an exact copy of the PU with one of everything copied into it. During the copying process there was a glitch and two jet engines were formed. The second engine has nowhere to go as it already exists so it's just dumped where the TU began, over Donnie's house.

The Artifact makes the TU unstable; it can't handle having the anomaly of a duplicate object within it. In order for the TU to unravel without forming a black hole it must once again be an exact copy of the PU. By removing one of the duplicate jet engines it will balance out the Universe allowing the TU to collapse safely. The only way to remove the Artifact is to send it through a portal into the PU.

The Living Receiver

When a TU occurs with an Artifact then a Living Receiver is also chosen. This person is chosen seemingly at random and in this case Donnie is the chosen one. As Donnie was at the epicentre of the TU this is most likely why he was selected. The Living Receiver's mission is to guide the Artifact out of the TU.

This person is usually blessed with some supernatural powers during their time in the TU to help them with their quest. Some of these include increased strength, mind control, the ability to conjure fire and water and telekinesis.

He uses strength to bury the axe into the school water pipe and solid bronze mascot.
He uses fire to burn Jim Cunningham's house down
He floods the school and constructs a time portal from water.
He uses telekinesis to rip the jet engine off the plane to send it through the time portal.
Donnie is not aware of his responsibilities at first though and he doesn't even know he is within a TU. As his journey continues he slowly starts to realise what is going on and what he must do.

Manipulated Dead

Anyone connected to the Living Receiver who dies in the TU becomes Manipulated Dead. These people are very powerful and have the ability to move through time and talk to the Living Receiver through a Fourth Dimensional Construct. They also have some knowledge of the impending disaster and help guide the chosen one.

Frank is killed in the TU and therefore becomes one of the Manipulated Dead. He travels back in time and helps Donnie with his quest to return the Artifact. The first thing he must do is save Donnie by waking him up before he gets squashed by the jet engine. He is like a reverse ghost who appears before he was killed. Gretchen is also Manipulated Dead but she doesn't appear to Donnie in the same way as it might be to confusing for him.

Manipulated Living

All the people connected to the Living Receiver are the Manipulated Living and these people will subconsciously help guide the Living receiver. They will behave in the exact perfect way necessary to push Donnie toward his eventual destiny. Nearly every event in the film has a specific purpose designed to aid Donnie to save the Universe.

The driving force behind there behaviour is God. It's actually a very religious film, the idea that you follow God's channel to decide your own fate. God is moving all the characters around like pieces on a chessboard, making a sequence of events that will lead to Donnie's success. The Universe is in grave danger and God has stepped in to help save it.

The Ensurance Trap

The PoTT states that all the Manipulated are trying to lure the Living Receiver into a trap so has no choice but to send the Artifact out of the TU into the PU. The PoTT calls this the Ensurance Trap (old English) . This is effectively the role all the Manipulated play, they are trying to save themselves by guiding Donnie to complete his mission. If Donnie fails they die as well.

Frank tells Donnie to flood the school which in turn leads to Donnie walking Gretchen home and him then asking her to be his girlfriend. This event is not just coincidence; it's specifically put in place as part of the trap.

Gretchen plays a crucial role in the trap, remember Donnie only meets and falls in love with her within the TU. He is given someone to love then she dies. He's so upset at Frank for killing Gretchen he shoots him dead. This has now created Manipulated Dead Frank, the person guiding him to do these things. He must create Manipulated Dead Frank in order to be saved himself in the beginning.

The manipulated have now successfully set the trap. Donnie was saved from death and is now in a desperate situation. His girlfriend is dead and he's a killer on the run. He knows what his purpose is now and only has one way out even though it will ultimately end his own life. Sending the engine through a portal will erase the last 28 days from history and time will return to October 2nd... back to when Gretchen was still alive.

The End of the Film

At the end of the film we see a vortex appear over Donnie's house. It's the beginning of the TU collapse and is centred over where it began. Donnie is aware of what he must do now so he drives up the mountain for a better vantage point. The plane with the same jet engine has been manipulated to fly overhead at this exact time. Donnie rips the engine off using telekinesis, constructs a time portal from water and guides the engine through it.

We now see parts of the last 28 days rewinding as the TU starts to unravel. The TU has collapsed safely and the PU that was on pause starts back up from when it stopped. We are now back in reality on October 2nd, the last 28 days never happened. Donnie wakes up in his bed laughing after dreaming some of the events within the TU. He then goes back to sleep seemingly content with life now. The experience has brought him closer to God and he is no longer afraid to die. The jet engine Donnie sent through the time portal then falls into his bedroom killing him.

Many people assume Donnie has to die otherwise the TU would start over again. From a scientific point of view Donnie's death is not relevant at all , the corruption is already fixed before he dies and if he got up and avoided death then nothing would change. The PoTT tells us of previous Receiver's who died after the Artifact was returned but we only here about them because there death defies logic. Any Receiver's who escaped death would go completely unnoticed.

It's almost certain Roberta Sparrow was a Living Receiver in a previous TU and that is how she came to write the PoTT. She survived her experience proving that the Receiver doesn't always have to die.

This film does blend science and religion together so his death may emphasise him as a saviour and his belief in God. In death Donnie's role as the Living Receiver seems even greater than before.

Dreams

Even though the last 28 days never actually happened some of the Manipulated will be haunted in their dreams by their experiences within the TU.

There are bits of evidence to prove this. Frank touching his eye in the final montage and Gretchen waving to Donnie's mum proves that some of the characters have some knowledge of what happened within the lost world.

We see Jim Cunningham crying in the montage as he wakes up... clearly disgusted with himself. Ten days later he clears out his child pornography dungeon and shoots himself on the 14th hole of the golf course... his dirty secret is never revealed.

Young money stack west side up

January 2nd 2012 | 22:52:12

manny

January 2nd 2012 | 22:51:21

fml

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