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
Does a receiver who lives have knowledge of there life in the TU?
The only reason Donnie survived the first time was because the manipulated dead Frank led him out of the house. Now that Donnie is back in the PU their is no manipulated dead Frank so why would he survive?
The only possible reason that he might survive would be if he remembered events from the TU, which is also a possibility, yet he still chooses to die if this is the case.
Towards the end of his time in TU, the film recounts something Gretchen says, along the lines of "what if you could go back in time and tak all those hours of pain and darkness and replace them with something better". The film also recounts Donnie saying that he hopes when the world ends he can sigh in relief because their will be so much to look forward to, this he achieves through dieing.
He now knows what his survival would bring such as continued mental issues, the death of gretchen, the death of his mother and sister on the plane etc, all of these things were a direct result of him surviving the engine crash, so while those things may not happen a second time round, how do we truly know whether we can change our destinies or not. So maybe Donnie chose to replace all those "dark moments with something better" providing a better like for gretchen and his family by sacrificing himself, which would also give him a sigh of relief and so much to look forward to knowing the good deed that he had done and the improvements to the peoples lives that he cared about the most that would come from his sacrifice.
Hope I explained it well enough for you.
There was once a man who found himself in position to save the world... He found that people had written about him and his mission over 700 years before he was born... He accomplished what he was sent to do...
Who has believed our message
and to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?
He grew up before him like a tender shoot,
and like a root out of dry ground.
He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him,
nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.
He was despised and rejected by mankind,
a man of suffering, and familiar with pain.
Like one from whom people hide their faces
he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.
Surely he took up our pain
and bore our suffering,
yet we considered him punished by God,
stricken by him, and afflicted.
But he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was on him,
and by his wounds we are healed.
We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
each of us has turned to our own way;
and the LORD has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.
He was oppressed and afflicted,
yet he did not open his mouth;
he was led like a lamb to the slaughter,
and as a sheep before its shearers is silent,
so he did not open his mouth.
By oppression and judgment he was taken away.
Yet who of his generation protested?
For he was cut off from the land of the living;
for the transgression of my people he was punished.
He was assigned a grave with the wicked,
and with the rich in his death,
though he had done no violence,
nor was any deceit in his mouth.
Yet it was the LORD's will to crush him and cause him to suffer,
and though the LORD makes his life an offering for sin,
he will see his offspring and prolong his days,
and the will of the LORD will prosper in his hand.
After he has suffered,
he will see the light of life and be satisfied;
by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many,
and he will bear their iniquities.
Therefore I will give him a portion among the great,
and he will divide the spoils with the strong,
because he poured out his life unto death,
and was numbered with the transgressors.
For he bore the sin of many,
and made intercession for the transgressors.
700 bc
Wake Up
Are we supposed to get all that stuff just by watching the freakin' film?! They should offer a user's manual along with the DVD.
I didn't understand one big thing: why did Donnie have to die? And I read like 20 comments, even an argument on whether its a lot or alot, kinda funny, and all the pages. The reason Donnie has to die is because the PU had Donnie originally set to die. But before the engine fell, the TU began, and it says when the TU begins all hell can break loose, so he has the ability to do all these things so he can remake the engine fall, kill him, and then the TU will have a dead Donnie(like the PU was meant to have since the beginning).
I didn't understand one big thing: why did Donnie have to die? And I read like 20 comments, even an argument on whether its a lot or alot, kinda funny, and all the pages. The reason Donnie has to die is because the PU had Donnie originally set to die. But before the engine fell, the TU began, and it says when the TU begins all hell can break loose, so he has the ability to do all these things so he can remake the engine fall, kill him, and then the TU will have a dead Donnie(like the PU was meant to have since the beginning).
"Deus ex machina" is what Donnie says while fighting w the bullies toward the end of the movie. Look it up
I believe god was used in the film however I don't believe that 'god' is the cause of events if you know what I mean. Hard to explain..
Kevin and NCR,
Are you serious? Did you even watch the movie? Donnie and his science professor clearly talk about God's path for an individual and how if it manifests itself into a visual construct, then an individual would be able to change his planned destiny, as directed by God.
And you're saying that God had no part in the plot of this film at all?
Having watched this film several times and being an adoring fan, I must say that I have read numerous theories and alternative suggestions as to the nature of its meaning. As you've said, this is greatly open to interpretation. But I believe there is a vital thread you have missed out on:
1) donnie is not afraid of dying. He is afraid of dying ALONE.
2) this fear is the reason he does not believe in God, as suggested by the therapist.
3) that he ultimately chooses to die alone is the result of the manipulated beings, namely Gretchen, who shows him the beauty of the world.
4) in this way, religion is very prominent, as suggested when he is walking out of the house to burn down Jim's house- the film is called "the last choice of Christ" or something similar, which draws a link between donnie and a kind of messenger from the heavens
5) WHICH is ultimately what creates such irony, the film is completely about fear and love. Loving the earth and not being afraid of dying alone.
I AM NOT RELIGIOUS/ TRYING TO SPOUT PIOUS PLATITIUDES. This is my honest opinion and I agree wholly with the sentiment concerning the tangent universes etc ( although I understand this less than the theological aspect!)
What Kevin said, this movie is not about the magical fairy called god. how did anyone even think of that?
IMO God has nothing to do with this film, religious people see "God" in everything.
If donnie didnt die in the PU after he came back from the TU then wouldnt he have a chance to save the girl in the future? or would everything be entirely different and only happened the way it did in the TU because the ghost people needed to get Donnie into the trap?
The section on the manipulated living contradicts the philosophy of time travel?
Reposting this so that others can see. Was sort of hoping to get some feedback, but I'm just going to leave this here and stop pursuing this.
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Not sure if this helps for those that can't understand the outline of it, or if this is spot on what Dan says but:
1. PU has the instance of TU.
2. PU and TU are two separate realities. Anything that is done unto the TU does not affect the PU. In other words, because one thing happens in one, it doesn't mean it happens in the other; like a mirror image moving with the person. They are entirely separate of themselves, and only through that vortex was there any sort of link.
3. In the event of a TU, PU becomes frozen in time, i.e., nothing happens in the PU. Time assigned itself to the TU.
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[My approaches and attempts to resolve any other questions]
Main Approach:
Target: The Philosophy of Time Travel
1. There would be more than two universes in order for MDF to appear in the way that he did, which would create an infinite loop of contradictions due to each universe requiring an MDF's existence (not for the resolving of the TU, but for MDF's existence to begin with). MDF stopped TU Donnie from being killed by the TU's Artifact (specifically, the jet engine), and in order for that to have happened, Frank would have had to have been killed in a different reality. Because PU is timeless at the instance, and the TU cannot have a universe within itself, there must have been a third universe, and another to that, and another to that, thus creating a clear contradiction. In these instances, there cannot be loops, it must stop somewhere in order for anything else to resolve. Therefore:
1a. Nothing happened, and all of this is junk.
1b. The loop exists, and nothing ever resolves.
1c. TU never existed, and in "PU", Donnie just dies in a lucid dream (happens quite often while on psych meds, which would also explain if he ever sleep-walked).
1d. Maybe something else, but I can probably keep on going.
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Theological Approach:
Target: God
Whatever God you want to believe in does exist. This is His test unto Donnie. Donnie is given the choice of what should happen. God saves Donnie from the Artifact by proposing the image of MDF, thus causing TU Donnie to move. All events happen, and PU Donnie dies, while TU Donnie watches his universe collapse.
This all, however, presents many problems to begin with:
Given: God is omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent, omnibenevolent, and omniwhateverthehellelseyouwanttosay.
1. God is not omniscient, because he does not know what TU Donnie will do.
2. God is not omnibenevolent because he allowed the death of Frank, and Gretchen for some game of chance, and the erasure of an entire existence, which would imply the question "Why was an alternate universe needed to begin with?".
3. God is not omnipotent, because he would not have been able to undo their deaths or erasure.
4. Maybe something else, but I don't need to keep going.
5. Because God is none of those things, he can no longer withhold the title of God, and is no longer viable of existence in this supposition of reality.
6. Because God does not exist in this reality, it leaves the explanation to other hands.
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Paranormal Approach:
Target: Supernatural powers, and paranormal activity
1. Assuming TU Donnie has quasi-ESP among his other supernatural powers, Manipulated Dead Frank would be his vision. MDF is sort of a reminder from Vision Donnie that he killed in events undisclosed to us. It's like someone contemplating the events, but they forget those were just thoughts, and have an unconscious reminder in the back of their mind (MDF).
1a. In order for MDF to even exist as a vision, TU Donnie must have survived to begin with. This leaves this approach null and void.
2. TU Donnie was visited by a time-travelling ghost, Manipulated Dead Frank, and was moved to those events simply because it refuses to die.
2a. Refer to 1a.
3. There may be more things to say, but regardless, it may all point back to 1a.
4. Donnie has ESP, and was dreaming a vision. Refer to Coincidental Approach.
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Coincidental Approach:
Target: Free will, and coincidence
1. The TU was never dependent on predetermined events, and was the exact opposite of the PU, hence the supernatural powers, the anomaly of TU's existence to begin with, the TU's possibility for collapse along with existence's possibility for destruction through the Black Hole. This is all free will, and MDF was just a nightmarish hallucination that seemed coincidentally similar to Frank's costume. Evidence of this is the drawing on Donnie's poster, which seemed quite different from the actual costume. Donnie woke up, and sleepwalked into survival. This may hold as a viable answer.
1a. Around the beginning, Donnie seems to pass by Frank in his red car. He could subconsciously remember Frank's face, and for some reason, apply it to the not-so-similar bunny costume, along with having one eye punched in with a bullet.
2. Schizophrenia allowed for events similar to 1.
3. Practically anything you want to say. E.g., a fly with a virus exclusive only to the TU bit Donnie in the head, and caused the hallucinations, caused him to get out of his house; refer to 1.
4. Donnie is dreaming all of this after seeing Frank. Because it's all just a dream, the theory of time-travel may not be 100% viable.
4a. This could lead to Donnie physically killing Frank due to schizophrenic episodes, and ending with Donnie arrested, but unaware of it.
4b. This could also lead to the TU being real, and still, Donnie dreams of Frank, wakes up, kills him, and the entire story works out by mere chance. Refer as similar to 3, 2, and 1.
4c. Referring to 4b, it could compose a contradiction for the purpose of every being, such as the Manipulated Dead, and Manipulated Living. All of the contradictions can be based purely on your own opinion; e.g., why Gretchen would be a Manipulated Dead in this supposition, et cetera.
* This is where practically anything is possible, which semi-renders this approach rather useless and open to anything. I highly doubt this is what the creator intended.
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Now, obviously, there's probably a bit I've missed, but my intents were to clarify as much as I can, and then push in some of my suggestions.
herpderp - inteligent comment..... NOT!
sort of comment one might expect from someone with a rather small brain!
//// LivingReciever, fuk off
It's interesting reading this explanation. Just gotten into the Donnie Darko film recently, and have found it very relatable, so I decided to look it up on the internet and here I come across this - and, I have to say, like someone previously wrote on here, that most of this intentional story/plot isn't suggested in the final film, which I do agree is a necessary cut, because I don't think many people in this world would grasp the concept of God manipulating people's destinies, though I do believe in this myself. It's so much better watching the film, as a little taster, and then researching the hidden meaning yourself - it's so obvious that there's more to the film Donnie Darko than meets the screen, and of course it's all up for interpretation, but I like the fact that my interpretation is close to the director's.
I have to say, personally, I am a living reciever, and I have gone through Donnie Darko's transformation just recently - I can even say that I have been in contact with a manipulated dead, whom has helped me a lot recently, and the people around me have even been forcing me to react in ways that's very far removed from my real personality. You might say that I'm reborn, and my true destiny is being revealed.
If you have ever seen the film 'Into The Wild', I am going through that kind of sitiuation right now, where I'm having to escape from fake society and be one with nature, or God ...
I love Donnie Darko. And I especially love the way it is shot, and even the soundtrack is amazing. I particularly like the song 'Head Over Heels' by Tears For Fears. :)
Even if this is the plot as the makers of the film intended it, it completely failed to illustrate these facts and fortunately so! The film works much better without all these arbitrary rules god pulled out of his ass.
Also, since you're confident Donnie has superpowers because he can burn things, wet things, axe things and get hit by large things (all while nobody else is looking!!) I'd like to know if you think I have superpowers too... I'll say it again, this could very well be the film as it was intended, but it's nowhere near the film I watched.
you all should check out http://www.donniedarkofilm.com/
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