Movie Explanation
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commentsFirstly 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.
There is a driving force behind the Manipulated's behaviour... although we never find out what it is for sure. God is one of the most popular ideas mooted, the film does use religion at many points. The story uses lots of religious symbols and often points to the idea that you follow God's channel to decide your own fate. This guiding force is moving all the Manipulated 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 this guiding force 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 seemingly brought him closer to God and he is no longer afraid to die. The jet engine Donnie sent through the time portal now falls into his bedroom killing him.
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.
Final Remarks
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 hear about them because their 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.
Other common questions concern the Artifact Donnie sends through the portal at the end of the movie. Many people ask why the PU is not in danger now it has a duplicate object with it. It seems to be the case that the issue of duplicate objects is only a concern once the Universe they're within starts going through the collapsing process. The PU is a stable linear time-line that never goes through a collapsing process so is therefore never in any danger from duplicate objects.
As stated above the Arrtifact is not the cause of the TU, it's just a by-product of it. This is why there is no danger of another TU starting up once Donnie sends his Artifact through the portal at the end of the movie.
- You can read more about some of the contentious parts of the movie by clicking here
- You can compare with some of the alternative explanations by clicking here
This is going to be extremely difficult to explain because I'm going to attempt to tie the alternate universe to this one so please bear with me here.
I consider myself a avid explorer of "time travel" if you will with the use of powerful hallucinogens like D.M.T. Before I saw this movie I had experienced this sort of dream realm. Now that you have read this please put your thoughts aside for a second. D.M.T is a spirit miolecuel that EVERY LIVING THING has inside of it, simply by doing it I can experience this dream realm, D.M.T is not a drug like meth so don't get caught up in how I get to the dream realm just understand that I have been there. When I took The D.M.T. I exhaled deeply and layed my head back while sitting in a chair, that's when it began, a ever growing powerful vibration was erupting inside my soul seperating me from my vessel "mind leaving body" for the vessel is used to carry us thought the consistent present realm and isn't able to travel with you. Once the desperation has occurred a sensation similar to Laying in a field alone at night looking at the stars takes over. You are then shot through this wormhole into the Abiss.. Before I saw this movie I had come up with the idea that this is the realm you go to after you die since nothing in this universe is created or destroyed you don't "die" you just leave your body in this realm. I always thought that untuil this movie. It seemed almost horrifying as this movie literally explained my life minus the visions and mental take over Donnie had experienced in the TU. at this point your either following me or thinking I'm a crack head, that's fine I've been places you haven't and experienced things with this that people won't ever know and that leads them to fear death, your loss is letting fear own you, and you probably put your life in gods hands, that's fine he has a path for you but it's more like a suggested route.. Anyways .. I saw this movie and did another D.M.T session to see what I could take from all this that's when I figured it out. This is my hypothesis in this given experience. The DMT allowed me to be aware and in controll like a video game character in a RPG game like grand theft auto. I warped though the universe only this time after seeing the movie it went further than ever , upon arriving in the dream realm I was greeted by a ever changing light to me the light was frank and it guided me though the realm to speak with people I have lost and they have me insight. After retuning to my body in the PU, I realized that time was perceived by us in a constant changing variable that is our present realm. The alternate realm is the one I travelled too. I'm able to warp realms with dmt but without that molecule I'm unable to. Things like dejavue are actual warps in time your experiencing. If life is an expected course plotted by god then life is like a movie and with the proper tools you can fast forward or rewind said movie. Some people will never unlock this secret or get close. Have I unlocked it? Telling you would only make you fear the unknown. Time travel can be done through dreams in this realm but its almost fake you can't actually be there your still dreaming from withing your PU vessel, you must utilize a tool that can seperate mind from body and in theory you are ready for organic time travel.. Artificial time travel is the kind sci fi shows. It usually shows people in the PU utilizing a machine that can take both mind and body through a wormhole then sending you to the TU and it feels like a dream like inception
What if the TU has nothing to do with this movie and truly exist in this PU, and has a portal that can actually stay open longer than a few weeks, you would probly all think thats stupid right? Richard Kelly or whoever the author is was inspired to tell this story from a source far greater than himself.
As someone already pretty much explained, I like to think Donnie is the center of the TU(s).The scenes of him waking up in several different places are him coming out of a TU he was in and possibly awaking in another TU that has begun after a pervious one has ended. By the time the movie starts i think he has been through a few different TU and he has somewhat figured out what is happening hence the smile when he wakes up on the road. By the end, I think he has figured it all out and he wants wants to end the loop of continuing TUs and the only way to do it is to kill himself as he is the center of them all.....this is just my two cents...still many unanswered questions
You've got an awesome site here Mr. Dan Smith
Ok my question is this: Does this movie ake place in the TU or PU? Are the people the copies in the TU or is it the "Real" Donnie who saves them all? I just am confused as to what was going on in the PU if this all took place in the parallel universe...
Wait, why isn't Gretchen one of the manipulated dead?
I'd seen half of the movie, but last night, I finally watched it all the way through for the first time. The ending really struck a chord in me. I couldn't comprehend what had happened. Thank you so much for clearing this all up for me. This is definitely my new favorite movie. The depth of the plot is incredible.
I have just watched the film for the first time and i don't understand the role of his two teachers in the film.
His professor says that he can no longer continue the conversation they are having because he may loose his job, but why? Didn't follow.
As for Drew Barrymore just didn't understand her role at all, like why she ran outside the school and screamed?
Also there is a scene where they metion the name donnie darko and exchange a laugh, but why? :-/
I think Donnie sent the engine back in order to complete the time loop. So the engine that hits Donnies bedroom is the one he sent back and he traveled back in time and into the PU with it. Therfore he knew he had to purposefully kill himself.
I think Donnie sent the engine back in order to complete the time loop. So the engine that hits Donnies bedroom is the one he sent back and he traveled back in time and into the PU with it. Therfore he knew he had to purposefully kill himself.
Very thorough explanation. My problem with the film is this; How on Earth am I meant to understand all of that with one watch!? Am I meant to have read up on time travel and alternate universes before watching? And just because a film is complex, it doesn't automatically make it an incredible film, (for all those who say "you just don't like it because you don't understand it").
Brilliantly explained!
Watched it for the first time tonight and loved it. The ending where Donnie woke up in bed through me for a loop. Great interpretation of the film. Thanks for sharing. Something that I did not see on here Donnie said he has to do what Frank says so I wont die alone. He got to met Gretchen because of Frank.
What I don't understand is that if if the engine still goes into the normal universe and kills donnie didn't that still create a tangent one?
I have started to look at things a little closer. I think your explanation is plausible and sound to an extent. I have say this may also be plausible, after reading your alternative explanation section. The time loop explanation and your explanation may work hand in hand. Maybe I'm wrong maybe I'm right, just another theory...
My Evidence:
- The opening scene is much closer to the start of the TU, maybe not the way it actually starts but very close to starting point. 28 days 6 hours 42 minutes 12 seconds, add a little time to that. Let's make it 29 or 30 days, I'll tell you why a little later.
- Donnie actually wakes up at the same exact location he is parked with Gretchen near the end of the movie when he sees the portal. (I have images from the movie to prove this) He wakes up and kind of smiles but to me it's as if he may have figured something out, not the whole thing but something important and maybe a small clue is in the opening song by INXS "Never Tear Us Apart". Notice the scene is shot at dawn.
- I believe the TU begins the night before and he's looping back. Maybe he's done this many times as suggested in the time loop theory but let's now couple that along with your explanation. Remember the TU is unstable which I would not consider very successful time travel. Which to me Suggests a tear in time that's creating the TU Loop. Also I would like to point out the next night Frank tells Donnie to wake up but he actually does not, he is sleep walking. Also as he walks down the stairs to leave the house Frank says to Donnie "I've been watching you."
- I know Frank tells Donnie the world will end in 28-days 6-hours 42-minutes 12-seconds. Frank seems to use a lot of scare tactics throughout the movie so maybe this is just one of them to help Donnie along at this point and maybe it is just the time table until the loop ends and the next one begins. I would imagine Frank winds up dead in all of the previous loops but Donnie still has not figured everything out so Frank finally steps in as the Manipulated Dead after he has figured some things out.
- Another thing is Donnie really seems at ease with everything. Look at his demeanor, he's a little snappy, not very surprised at most things and pretty much does whatever. Another example, him calling his mother a bitch, like an after thought and then he reflects on what he has just said and is not really happy about it. Does that not point to someone that is stuck in a loop seeing the same things over and over just not to the extreme as in Bill Murry's groundhog day. After all Donnie does have a type of manual to help him figure some things out, Bill did not. So while Donnie is actually working on his situation Bill takes advantage of his. (I just threw that in there to help break up the difference between the two scenarios.)
- Also in this particular loop, Frank gives Donnie several pieces of the puzzle. One verbal key piece in particular "I can do anything I want and so can you" At the end Donnie shoots Frank very nonchalant then tells his friend to go home and tell his parents everything is going to be ok. At this point he knows what he has to do. At the beginning of each loop, sleep walking is what saves his life not Frank. Frank only helps in the last loop and by the end he has figured how to stop it and save Gretchen. When he awakes he knows the loop is closed, smiles and being comfortable with this he falls back asleep instead of his normal sleep walking routine.
- Or another ending scenario; maybe, just maybe he has to send the jet engine back through time to cause his own death to close the loop and he knows this...
CORRECTION: witnesses only has one t, I hate when I proof read my shit after the fact.... geez
I really like your Explanation but I have one problem. The jet engine, the engine is from the plane that Donnie's little sister and mother are on. In the beginning of the TU they are wittnesses to the accident. The father and mother sign off to keep it a secret with the F.A.A. It is mentioned later there was no serial number on the engine and nobody knows where it came from. Flash forward to the end of the TU and everything is corrected, Donnie goes back to sleep and in comes the jet engine. I want to know where it comes from, mom and sis are in the house and once again wittnesses to the accident now tragedy. And to top it all off the plane wasn't supposed to fly over for two more weeks. I hate it when there is a question left unanswered! LoL :P
What I don't understand is that if if the engine still goes into the normal universe and kills donnie didn't that still create a tangent one? Please help me out here and explain it 2 me
SHHIIIIIIIEEEEEEET THANKS
and thank you Audrey, about getting clear who is, better say isn't, the Manipulated Dead, cause I wasn't sure how did Gretchen guide Donnie to return the Artifact. Which she would if she had been the MD.
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