(Music: The Killing Moon – Echo and the Bunnymen)
Donnie gets on his bike and cycles home. At one point he cycles past a red Trans Am travelling in the opposite direction.
Donnie’s father is leaf blowing. Donnie’s sister approaches the father, and he points the leaf blower at her. She runs off, and the father laughs. Donnie arrives at home and dumps his bike. Donnie’s youngest sister is on a trampoline, and his mother is reading Stephen King’s It next to her in a chair. Donnie enters the kitchen and opens the fridge. “Where is Donnie?” is written on a board on the fridge.
All the family are eating at the table.
Elizabeth Darko: “I’m voting for Dukakis”
Eddie Darko: Hmm, well. Maybe when you have children of your own and they need braces, and you can’t afford them because half of your husbands pay check goes to the federal government, you will uh regret that decision ….
Elizabeth Darko: My husbands pay cheque? Anyway, I’m not going to squeeze one out till I’m, like, 30.
Rose Darko: *Chuckles*
Donnie Darko: Will you still be working at the Yarn Barn? Because I hear that’s a really great place to raise children.
Elizabeth Darko: That’s really funny
Rose Darko: No, I think a year of partying is enough. She’ll be going to Harvard next fall.
Elizabeth Darko: Mom, I haven’t even gotten in yet.
Rose Darko: Do you honestly think Michael Dukakis will provide for this country till you’re ready to squeeze one out?
Elizabeth Darko: Yeah, I do.
Samantha Darko: When can I squeeze one out?
Donnie Darko: Not until 8th grade.
Rose Darko: Excuse me?
Elizabeth Darko: Donnie, you’re suck a dick.
Donnie Darko: Whoa, Elizabeth! A little hostile there. Maybe you should be the one in therapy. Then Mom and Dad can pay someone $200 an hour to listen to your thoughts so we don’t have to.
Elizabeth Darko: OK, you want to tell Mom and Dad why you stopped taking your medication?
Donnie Darko: You’re suck a fuck-ass!
Elizabeth Darko: What?!
Rose Darko: Please.
Elizabeth Darko: Did you just call me a “fuck-ass”?
Rose Darko: Elizabeth, that’s enough.
Elizabeth Darko: You can go suck a fuck.
Father puts fingers in ears, and tells Samantha to do the same.
Donnie Darko: Oh please tell me, Elizabeth, how exactly does one suck a fuck?
Elizabeth Darko: You want me to tell you?
Donnie Darko: Please, tell me.
Rose Darko: We will not have this at the dinner table.
Donnie pushes his ears forward and mouths “I’m all ears” to Elizabeth.
Rose Darko: Stop.
Elizabeth Darko: Fuck.
Samantha Darko: What’s a fuck-ass?
*Father laughs
*Donnie is sitting up in bed reading. His mother knocks at the door, enters and closes the door.
Donnie Darko: I’m reading get out of my room.
Rose Darko: Where do you go at night?
Rose Darko: Would you just get out of my room?
Rose Darko: Did you toilet paper the Johnson’s house?
Donnie Darko: Is that what you came in here to ask me?
Rose Darko: No.
Donnie Darko: I stopped rolling houses in the sixth grade, Mom.
Rose Darko: What happened to my son? I don’t’ recognize this person today.
Donnie Darko: Then why don’t you start taking the goddamn pills?
Mother leave and closes the door.
Donnie Darko. Bitch.
<Mother hears Donnie and stops.>
<Father is lying on bed reading. Mother is standing next to bed.>
Rose Darko: Our son just called me a bitch.
Eddie Darko: You’re not a bitch. You’re bitching, but you’re not a bitch.
<Donnie opens bathroom cabinet and takes some pills.>
<Father wakes up and gets out of bed.>
Michael Dukakis (on television): I want to be a president of the United States who makes sure that we never again do business with a drug-running Panamanian dictator.
<Father is sitting in chair watching television.>
Michael Dukakis (on television): That we never again ….
Eddie Darko: Dukakis.
Michael Dukakis (on television): …. Funnel aid to the Contras through convicted drug dealers.
Eddie Darko: Son of a bitch.
George Bush (on television): Panama is a friendly country. I went down and talked to the President of Panama …
Eddie Darko: Tell him George!
George Bush (on television): …. about cleaning up their money laundering. And Mr. Noriega was there, ….
<Grandfather clock begins to strike midnight.>
George Bush (on television): …. but there was no evidence at that time. When the evidence was there, we indicted him.
MD Frank: Wake up.
Donnie gets up, eyes closed, and sleepwalks to the door.
MD Frank: I’ve been watching you.
<Donnie sleepwalks down the stairs.>
<Donnie’s father is asleep. Donnie sleepwalks through the room and into the kitchen. He takes the pen from the board on the fridge.>
MD Frank: Come closer.
<Donnie leaves the house. Donnie walks down the front garden path.>
MD Frank: Closer.
MD Frank: 28 days, 6 hours, 42 minutes, 12 seconds. That is when the world will end.
Donnie Darko: Why?
<TV is on but there is no signal. Father is still asleep in chair.>
<Mother is asleep in bed.>
<Rumble of car engine, and Elizabeth Darko enters, closes the front door, leans back against it, sighs, you can hear a car horn, she laughs to herself.>
**CRASH**
<Father is woken by crash. Impact knocks all the books on the floor from the bookshelves.>
<Mother is woken by crash.>
<Elizabeth sinks to her knees in fright.>
<Father gets out of his chair. Car alarms can be heard blaring.>
<Elizabeth can be heard breathing in fear.>
Dr. Fisher: Son? Son. Donnie Darko? Donnie Darko. What the heck’s going on here?
<Donnie begins to wake up.>
Jim Cunningham: Who is it?
Dr. Fisher: It’s Eddie Darko’s kid. I’m sorry about this Jim, it’s just a neighbourhood kid.
Jim Cunningham: I guess he was sleep golfing?
Dr. Fisher: (Laughs). Watch out for that drool spot.
<Donnie stands up.>
Jim Cunningham: Are you all right son?
<Donnie looks at his left arm. On it is written 28:06:42:12 in black felt tip pen.>
Dr. Fisher: So ah, lets stay off the links at night, OK?
Donnie Darko: I’m sorry Dr. Fisher. It won’t happen again.
<Donnie walks off.>
Dr. Fisher: I hate kids.
Jim Cunningham: Let’s golf.
<Fire engines, police cars and ambulances are outside the house, including personnel>
Fire-fighter: Let’s go, fire it up!
<Donnie approaches the house.>
Woman: Donnie, Donnie, Donnie. What happened to your house?
Police Officer: No one’s allowed through here.
Donnie Darko: This is my house.
<Police officer tries to restrain Donnie, but he pushes through.>
Police Officer: I said …
Donnie Darko: This is my house!
Police Officer: He’s OK.
<A jet engine is being winched clear of the house by a crane. The rest of the Darko family are standing at the foot of the crane watching.>
Eddie Darko: Wait a minute. Here’s your brother.
Rose Darko: Oh …
Samantha Darko: It fell in your room.
<A fire-fighter clears some debris from the roof.>
Fire-fighter: Watch yourself down there.
<Several men in black suits and sunglasses approach the family.>
Bob Garland: Ms. Darko, I’m Bob Garland. I’m with the FAA.
Rose Darko: The what?
Bob Garland: I’m with the FAA. If you don’t mind we’d like to speak to you and your husband privately.
Rose Darko: In private?
Bob Garland: Please.
Rose Darko: All right.
<The jet engine is lowered onto a truck. Rose and Eddie Darko are signing papers surrounded by the men from the FAA.>
Bob Garland: … and here ….
Eddie Darko: You got it.
Bob Garland: All right. We have arranged for you to stay at a hotel. Get some sleep and we will take care of things here.
Eddie Darko: Great.
Rose Darko: Thank you.
Eddie Darko: Kids, come on we’re going to a hotel.
Elizabeth Darko: They don’t know where it came from.
<Eddie is lying on the bed, and Rose is lying with her head on his chest.>
Reporter (on television): Local and national transportation authorities have begun a nationwide search ….
Eddie Darko: Frankie Feedler ….
Reporter (on television): …. despite the fact that no airline will claim ….
Eddie Darko: You remember him? From high school.
Reporter (on television): The FAA remained tight lipped on the details of the current situation.
Eddie Darko: He died.
Reporter (on television): The engine, which appears to have detached
Eddie Darko: On his way to the prom. Remember?
Rose Darko: Mm hmm.
Eddie Darko: They said he was doomed. Jesus. They could have said the same thing about Donnie.
<Donne is lying on bed. Elizabeth is lying on bed also. Samantha is sitting at the foot of Donnie’s bed. They are watching the news still on TV.>
Samantha Darko: It if fell from a plane then what happened to the plane?
Elizabeth Darko: They don’t know, Samantha.
<Donnie’s Mom drops off Samantha and Donnie.>
Rose Darko: Mrs. Farmer will bring you home after practice.
Samantha Darko: Bye mommy!
Rose Darko: Donnie? …. bye honey …. Donnie, good luck.
Joanie: Oh my God! OK, tell me everything.
Samantha Darko: I’m not allowed to talk about it.
Joanie: Oh, my God.
Samantha Darko: Hi, Cherita.
Cherita Chen: Shut up!
Ronald Fisher: Darko cheats death! Huh? You’re like a celebrity man! I’ve been calling you like a jillion times, where you been.
Donnie Darko: We stayed at a hotel.
Ronald Fisher: My Dad said he saw you at the golf course. You sleepwalking again now buddy?
Donnie Darko: I don’t want to talk about it.
Sean Smith: And now that you’re famous you gotta have a smoke.
Donnie Darko: What happens if you tell Mom and Dad about this, Sam?
Samantha Darko: You’ll put Ariel in the garbage disposal.
Donnie Darko: Goddamn right I will.
Joanie: So grotty.
Ronald Fisher: Hey Cherita, you want a cigarette?
Cherita Chen: Chut up!
Ronald Fisher: Chut up!
Sean Smith: Go back to China, bitch!
Donnie Darko: Just leave her alone.
Ronald Fisher: That’s some good shit huh.
Donnie Darko: It’s a fucking cigarette.
<School tower bell rings.>
(Music: Head over heels – Tears for Fears)
<Donnie and his friends exit the bus and enter the school. They see Seth Devlin who mimics a snarl at Donnie and walks past. Seth continues to walk and gives a fake smile to Kittie Farmer. Kittie Farmer surveys him coldly. Gretchen Ross is looking at herself in her locker mirror. She closes her locker and walks down the corridor. She walks past Seth and looks in distaste as he is snorting Cocaine with a friend. The headmaster walks past the pair oblivious. Kittie Farmer is outside talking with Jim Cunningham. The headmaster approaches and they shake hands. He gestures for them to go inside, and they meet Kenneth Monnitoff and Karen Pomeroy, and introduces them, they continue inside. Kenneth Monnitoff looks knowingly at Karen Pomeroy and shakes his head. Samantha Darko and her friends are practicing a dance routine. Karen Pomeroy takes a deep breath and enters the school. Karen Pomeroy is at the front of a class of children. She is reading from a book.>
Karen Pomeroy: “There would be headlines in the papers. Even the grown-up gangs who ran the betting at the all-in wrestling and the barrow boys would hear with respect of how Old Misery’s house had been destroyed. It was as though this plan had been with him all his life, pondered through the seasons, now in his 15th year crystallized with the pain of puberty.” What is Graham Greene trying to communicate with this passage? Why did the children break into Old Misery’s house? Joanie?
Joanie: They wanted to rob him.
Karen Pomeroy: Joanie, if you had actually read the short story, which at a whopping 13 pages would have kept you up all night, you would know that the children …
Ronald Fisher: You suck (whispered).
Karen Pomeroy: … find a great deal of money in the mattress, but they burn it.
<Ooh’s and Aah’s from the class.>
Karen Pomeroy: Donnie Darko, perhaps with your recent brush with mass destruction, you can give us your opinion.
Donnie Darko: Well, they say it right when they flood the house and they tear it to shreds, that destruction is a form of creation. So the fact that they burn the money is ironic. They just want to see what happens when they tear the world apart. They want to change things.
<The door opens at the back of the class and Gretchen Ross enters.>
Karen Pomeroy: May we help you?
Gretchen Ross: Yeah, I just registered and they put me in the wrong English class.
Karen Pomeroy: You look like you belong here.
Gretchen Ross: Um, where do I sit?
Karen Pomeroy: Sit next to the boy you think is the cutest.
<Murmuring from the class.>
Karen Pomeroy: Quiet! Let her choose.
<All the class turn and look at Gretchen. Gretchen looks at Donnie.>
Karen Pomeroy: Joanie, get up.
<Joanie changes seats, and Gretchen sits down. She looks at Donnie, and he looks back.>
Eddie Darko: The construction guys say it will take about a week to fix the roof. That damned airline better not fuck us on the shingle match.
Donnie Darko: They still don’t know?
Eddie Darko: Know what?
Donnie Darko: Where it came from.
Eddie Darko: No. Apparently they can’t tell us what happened yet. Something about a matching serial number that got burned. I had to sign a form saying I wouldn’t talk to anyone about it.
Donnie Darko: So we’re not supposed to tell anyone what nobody knows.
<Eddie turns to look at Donnie.>
Eddie Darko: Yeah (laughs). But you tell ummm … what’s your what …. what's your doctor’s name?
Donnie Darko: Dr. Thurman, Dad/
Eddie Darko: Yes. You tell Dr. Thurman whatever you want.
Donnie Darko: Dad?
Eddie Darko: What?
Donnie Darko: Dad!
<Eddie turns and sees Roberta Sparrow standing in the middle of the road and slams the brakes on. Donnie gets out the car. Roberta Sparrow walks towards her mail box and opens it. It is empty.>
Donnie Darko: No mail today. Maybe tomorrow.
<Roberta Sparrow puts her hand on Donnie’s shoulder and whispers in his ear.>
Robert Sparrow: <whispered> Every creature on this earth dies alone.
<Roberts Sparrow continues on to her house.>
Eddie Darko: Well? What did she say to you?
Donnie Darko: I made a new friend.
Dr. Thurman: Real or imaginary?
Donnie Darko: Imaginary.
Dr. Thurman: Would you like to talk about this friend?
Donnie Darko: Frank.
Dr. Thurman: Frank. What did Frank say?
Donnie Darko: He said to follow him.
Dr. Thurman: Follow him? Where?
Donnie Darko: Into the future.
Dr. Thurman: And then what happens?
Donnie Darko: And then he said …. Then he said that the world was coming to an end.
Dr. Thurman: Do you think the world is coming to an end?
Donnie Darko: No. That’s stupid.
<The class is sitting round a television, watching a video. Kittie Farmer is at the front of the class.>
Woman (on television): For my entire life, I was a victim of my own fear.
Jim Cunningham (on television): Love.
Woman (on television): I was feeding fear through food.
Jim Cunningham (on television): Fear.
Woman (on television): And finally, I looked in the mirror. Not just in the mirror. I looked through the mirror. In that image, I saw my ego reflection.
Woman 2# (on television): For two years, I thought it was normal for a 10 year old to wet the bed.
<Class burst into laughter>
Woman 2# (on television): We tried everything.
Kittie Farmer: Shhh! Quiet!
Woman 2# (on television): But the solution was there all the time.
Boy (on television): I’m not afraid anymore!
Jim Cunningham (on television): All over America, people have come together to join hands. People who believe that human life is absolutely too important, too valuable, and too precious to be controlled by fear. Hello, my name is Jim Cunningham. And welcome to “Controlling Fear”.
DARKO HOUSE, LIVING ROOM – LATE AT NIGHT
<Donnie is asleep on the sofa. Donnie is dreaming. He sees classroom walls submerged in water, surrounded by the sky.>
MD Frank: Wake up, Donnie.
<Donnie is in the school cellar with an axe. He swings and hits a water pipe.>
<Donnie is sitting on his bed.>
Samantha Darko: And the prince was led into a world of strange and beautiful magic.
<Two girls are running towards the bus stop.>
Girl: Hey, you guys, guess what?! My Mom said the school is closed today because it’s flooded.
Joanie: No way.
Girl: Yeah.
Ronald Fisher: Holy shit! That’s the best news I’ve ever heard!
<Water is cascading out of the main doors. The Principal and the Janitor are standing at the main doors with water cascading over their feet.>
Principal: My God, is this ever going to stop?
Janitor: Eventually, yes it will. But right now I got 12 classrooms full of water, all coming from a busted water main.
Principal: What else?
Janitor: What else?! Principal Cole, I’ll show you what else.
<The school mascot statue of a mongrel has an axe embedded in its head. The police, s security guard, the principal and the janitor are standing around the statue.>
Security guard: That’s unbelievable. That’s solid bronze isn’t it?
Man: Yep.
Principal: How did this happen?
Girl #1: Beth’s Mom said the boys locker room was flooded and they founded faeces everywhere.
Girl #2: What are faeces?
Girl #1: Baby mice.
Girl #2: Awwwww
<Donnie is walking home. Seth Devlin and his friend are pestering Gretchen.>
Seth Devlin: Hey …. has anyone ever told you that you’re sexy?
Ricky: I like your boobs.
<They both laugh.>
Donnie Darko: Hey.
Gretchen Ross. Hey.
Donnie Darko: School was cancelled.
Gretchen Ross: Do you want to walk me home?
Donnie Darko: Sure.
<Seth gestures at Donnie, but Gretchen and Donnie walk on.>
Gretchen Ross: Don’t look so freaked.
Donnie Darko. I’m not. You should check your backpack those guys love to steal shit.
Gretchen Ross. Yeah.
<Gretchen turns and raises her middle finger at Seth and Ricky>
Donnie Darko: So, why did you move here?
Gretchen Ross: My parents got a divorce. My Mom had to get a restraining order against my step dad. He has emotional problems.
Donnie Darko: Oh I have those too. What kind of emotional problems does your Dad have?
Gretchen Ross: He stabbed my Mom four times in the chest.
Donnie Darko: Oh. Did he go to jail?
Gretchen Ross: No, he fled. They still can’t find him. But my Mom and I had to change our names. And I thought “Gretchen Ross” was really cool.
Donnie Darko: I was in jail once. I mean I accidentally burned down this house. It was abandoned, but still, I got held back in school and I can’t drive until I’m 21. But I’m over all of that. I … I …. I’m painting and stuff. Writing. I want to be a writer, or maybe a painter, I don’t know, or maybe both. I’ll write a book and draw the pictures. Then maybe people will understand me. I don’t know, change things.
Gretchen Ross: Donnie Darko? What the hell kind of name is that? It’s like some sort of superhero or something.
Donnie Darko: What makes you think I’m not?
Gretchen Ross: Look, I should go. For physics, Monnitoff is having me write this essay. Greatest invention ever to benefit mankind.
Donnie Darko: It’s Monnitoff. But that’s easy. Antiseptics. Like the whole sanitation thing. Joseph Lister, 1895. Before antiseptics, there was no sanitation, especially in medicine.
Gretchen Ross: You mean soap?
Donnie Darko: Well, I’m really glad school was flooded today.
Gretchen Ross: Why is that?
Donnie Darko: Because you and I would have never had this conversation.
Gretchen Ross: You’re weird.
Donnie Darko: Sorry.
Gretchen Ross: No, that was a compliment.
Donnie Darko: Well, look, errr …. you want to go with me? (laughs)
Gretchen Ross: Where do you want to go?
Donnie Darko: No, I mean like “go” with me. You know like, it’s what we call it here. “Going together”.
Gretchen Ross: Sure.
<Gretchen turns and begins to walk off.>
Donnie Darko. OK. Hey, where are you going?
Gretchen Ross: I’m going home.
<Gretchen continues home.>
Donnie Darko: So stupid! (muttered) “Where are you going?”
PSYCHIATRIST’S OFFICE - EVENING
Dr. Thurman: I’d like to try something new this time. Have you ever been hypnotized?
Donnie Darko: No.
<Some time later>
Dr. Thurman: … and when I clap my hands twice, you will wake up. Do you understand?
Donnie Darko: Yes.
Dr. Thurman: So…. tell me about your week.
Donnie Darko: I met a girl.
Dr. Thurman: What is her name?
Donnie Darko: Gretchen. We’re going together now.
Dr. Thurman: Do you still think about girls a lot?
Donnie Darko: Yeah.
Dr. Thurman: How are things going at school?
Donnie Darko: I think about girls a lot.
Dr. Thurman: I asked you about school, Donnie.
Donnie Darko. I think about fucking a lot during school.
Dr. Thurman: What else do you think about during school?
Donnie Darko: Married with Children.
Dr. Thurman: Do you think about your family?
Donnie Darko: I just turn down the volume and think about fucking Christina Applegate.
Dr. Thurman: I asked you about your family, Donnie.
<Donnie starts to undo his trousers>
Donnie Darko: No <laughs> I don’t think about fucking my family. That’s gross.
Dr. Thurman: I’d like to hear about your friend, Frank.
<Dr. Thurman claps>
<Donnie wakes up and looks surprised to find his hand in his trousers, and starts to do his trousers up>
Principal: Sam Bylen?
Donnie Darko: <Coughs>
<Each student is being called up to write “They made me do it” on the blackboard>
Principal: Donald Darko.
<Donnie gets up and writes “They made me do it” on the blackboard. He returns to his seat>
<The Principal puts a question mark next to Donnie’s name in a list on a clipboard>
Principal: Daye Dennis.
<Donnie looks perturbed, and Gretchen glances at him and then looks away in thought>
<Donnie emerges from the toilet and goes to wash his hands>
Seth Devlin: Hey, you fuck! Did you tell them that I flooded the school?
Donnie Darko: I didn’t say shit.
Seth Devlin: Well that’s now what I heard. They think I did it.
Donnie Darko: Yeah, well, if you’re innocent then you have nothing to worry about, right?
<Seth grabs Donnie’s head and pulls a knife>
Seth Devlin: Fuck you! You know what I think? I think you did it.
Donnie Darko: <coughing>
<Ronald Fisher, Sean Smith and Donnie Darko are shooting bottles>
Ronald Fisher: Beer and pussy, that’s all I need.
Sean Smith: We gotta find ourselves a Smurfette.
Ronald Fisher: Smurfette?
Sean Smith: Mm-hmmm.
Ronald Fisher: Not some, like, tight-ass Middlesex chick, you know? Like this cute little blonde that will get down and dirty with the guys. Like Smurfette does.
Donnie Darko: Smurfette doesn’t fuck.
<Donnie shoots a bottle>
Ronald Fisher: That’s bullshit. Smurfette fucks all the other smurfs. Why do you think Papa Smurf made her? Because all the other Smurfs were getting too horny.
Sean Smith: No, no, no, not Vanity. I heard he was a homosexual.
Ronald Fisher: Okay, well, you know what? Then she fucks them while Vanity watches Okay?
Sean Smith: What about Papa Smurf? He must get in on the action.
Ronald Fisher: Yeah, what he does, he films the gang-bang. Later on, he beats off to the tape.
Donnie Darko: First of all, Papa Smurf didn’t create Smurfette. Gargamel did. She was sent in as Gargamel’s evil spy with the intention of destroying the Smurf village. But the overwhelming goodness of the Smurf way of life transformed her. And as for the whole gang-bang scenario <laughs> is just couldn’t happen. Smurfs are asexual. They don’t even have reproductive organs under those little white pants. That’s what’s so illogical, you know, about being a Smurf. What’s the point of living if you don’t have a dick?
Sean Smith: <sighs> Damn it, Donnie. Why do you gotta get so smart on us?
<A car horn is heard in the distance>
Donnie Darko: Grandma Death.
Kitty Farmer: Excuse me! Excuse me! Please stay off the road, Miss Sparrow. If this happens again I am going to call Social Services.
Ronald Fisher: I hate that Miss Farmer.
Kitty Farmer: Watch your step. That’s it.
Ronald Fisher: She’s such a fucking bitch.
Kitty Farmer: There you are, that’s a girl.
Donnie Darko: Yeah.
Ronald Fisher: How old is Grandma Death?
Donnie Darko: 101. She does the same thing every day. Just walks back and forth and back and forth to the mailbox. Nothing ever in there.
Sean Smith: Oh, wait, wait, wait. She goes…. she's going back to the box. We may still have mail.
Ronald Fisher: Mail, mail, mail.
Sean Smith: Here it is. And… ?
Ronald Fisher: This could be it. Ohhhhhhh! No dice, Grandma.
Sean Smith: No, sorry. Sorry.
Ronald Fisher: Someone ought to write that bitch.
<Donnie is lying on the sofa. Construction noises can be heard and construction workers are walking around>
TV Reporter: Authorities continued their search today for a suspect in the Middlesex Ridge School vandalism. The private school has asked for public donations to help restore its beloved mascot known only as “The Mongrel”. In other news….
<Sign outside the school says “Emergency. PTA Meeting. Tonight. 700.” Parents are entering the school>
Principal: In cooperation with the county police, we have begun an active investigation into the cause of the flooding. And our suspects include several of our own students…
Kitty Farmer: I want to know why this filth is being taught to our children.
<Kitty is holding a book in her hand>
Parent: That’s what I want to know.
<Donnie enters the bathroom, coughs, and starts looking at items by the sink>
Principal: Kitty, I would appreciate….
Man: Let her speak for God’s sake!
Principal: If you would wait….
Kitty Farmer: Dr. Cole, not only am I a teacher, but I am also a parent of a Middlesex child. Therefore I am the only person here who transcends the parent-teacher bridge.
<Donnie takes some pills>
Frank: Don’t worry. You got away with it.
Kitty Farmer: I have in my hand Graham Greene’s “The Destructors”. This short story is part of my daughter’s English assignment.
Woman: We’re with you Kitty!
Kitty Farmer: In this story, several children destroy an elderly man’s house from inside out.
<Donnie approaches the dimensional portal, and thumps it>
Donnie Darko: How can you do that?
<Frank thumps the portal>
Kitty Farmer: And how do they do this? They flood the house by breaking through a water main.
MD Frank: I can do anything I want. And so can you.
Parent: We pay good money for this school. It’s our children! <Applause>
Kitty Farmer: And I think that this garbage should be removed.
Rose Darko: Excuse me. What is the real issue here? The P.T.A. doesn’t ban books.
Kitty Farmer: The P.T.A. is here to acknowledge that pornography is being taught in our curriculum!
Karen Pomeroy: It’s meant to be ironic.
Kitty Farmer: Excuse me. You need to go back to grad school.
Donnie Darko: Why did you make me flood the school?
MD Frank: They are in great danger.
Woman: We have rights here!
Rose Darko: Kitty do you even know who Graham Greene is?
Kitty Farmer: I think we have all seen “Bonanza”
<Kitty sits down to scattered applause>
Principal: Good work Kitty. While we are on other topics….
Donnie Darko: Where did you come from?
MD Frank: Do you believe in time travel?
Samantha Darko: Who are you talking to?
Donnie Darko: I was just taking my pills, Sam.
<Donnie’s class is watching TV with Kitty Farmer>
TV Narrator: It is time to breathe.
Woman and son on TV: Thank you, Jim Cunningham.
Linda on TV: Thank you, Jim Cunningham.
Jim Cunningham on TV: So now let us begin Life Line exercise number one. Please press “stop” now.
Kitty Farmer: As you can see, the Life Line is divided into two polar extremes. Fear and love. Fear is in the negative energy spectrum. And love is in the positive energy spectrum.
Sean Smith: <Muttered> No duh….
Kitty Farmer: Excuse me? “No duh…” is a product of fear. Now, on each card is a character dilemma which applies to the Life Line.
Kitty Farmer: Please… take this…
<Kitty tries to hand a card to Seth Devlin who refuses to take it>
Kitty Farmer: … Thank you. Please read each character dilemma aloud, and place an “X” on the Life Line in the appropriate place. Cherita?
<Cherita gets up, stands by the blackboard, and reads from the card>
Cherita Chen: Juanita has an important math test today. She’s known about the test for several weeks but has not studied. In order to keep from failing her class Juanita decides that she will cheat on the math test.
<Cherita marks an X next to Fear>
Kitty Farmer: Good, good. Very good. Mr. Darko.
<Donnie gets up, stands by the blackboard, and reads from the card>
Donnie Darko: Ling Ling finds a wallet on the ground filled with money. She takes the wallet to the address on the driver’s license but keeps the money inside the wallet. <Scoffs> I-I’m sorry Mrs. Farmer. I don’t get this.
Kitty Farmer: Just place an X on the Life Line in the appropriate place.
Donnie Darko: No, I mean I know what to do, I just don’t get this. You can’t just lump things into two categories. Things aren’t that simple.
Kitty Farmer: The Life Line is divided that way.
Donnie Darko: Life isn’t that simple. I mean who cares if Ling Ling returns the wallet and keeps the money? It has nothing to do with either fear or love.
Kitty Farmer: Fear and love are the deepest of human emotions.
Donnie Darko: Okay. But you’re not listening to me. There are other things that need to be taken into account. Like the whole spectrum of human emotion. You can’t just lump everything into these two categories and then just deny everything else.
Kitty Farmer: If you don’t complete the assignment you’ll get a zero for the day.
Donnie Darko: <deep breath>…
Principal: Donald… let me preface this by saying that your Iowa test scores are intimidating. So… let’s go over this again. What exactly did you say to Ms. Farmer?
Kitty Farmer: I’ll tell you what he said. He asked me to forcibly insert the Life Line exercise card into my anus!
Eddie Darko: <snickers and coughs>
Woman: These are modern times. My political attitudes are forthright. And if there’s a Vice-Presidential candidate worthy of my vote, it has to be Dan Quayle.
Kitty Farmer: Nobody cares about responsibility, morality, family values.
Woman: Mm-hmm.
Kitty Farmer: <sighs>
Rose Darko: Kitty… Excuse us, please.
<Woman leaves>
Rose Darko. They’ve suspended him from after school activities for the next six months. Ever since this jet engine fiasco, I honestly don’t know what’s gotten into him…
Kitty Farmer: Rose, I’ll tell you this because our daughters have been on the dance team together for two years, and I respect you as a woman. But after witnessing your sons behaviour this afternoon, I have significant doubts about your… Our paths through life must be righteous. I urge you to go home and look in the mirror, and pray that your son doesn’t succumb to the path of fear.
<Elizabeth is on the phone>
Elizabeth Darko: Wait. Do you remember that weird gym teacher, Mrs. Farmer?
<Donnie enters the room>
Elizabeth Darko: Yeah. Okay, well, my brother told her to shove a book up her ass today. And then my parents just bought him all this new shit. Yeah, I know. I wish a jet engine would fall in my room.
<Elizabeth gets up and leaves>
Frank: I can show you the way.
<Schools bells are ringing>
<Children are leaving after a lesson. Donnie approaches Dr. Monnitoff>
Donnie Darko: Dr. Monnitoff?
Dr. Monnitoff: Donnie.
Donnie Darko: Urm. I know is gonna sound kind of weird, but err… do you know anything about err… time travel?
<Cherita is standing outside the classroom, and lifts up an ear muff to overhear the conversation>
Dr. Monnitoff: Ah, a wormhole with an Einstein-Rosen bridge, which is… theoretically a wormhole in space controlled by man. So, according to Hawking a wormhole may be able to provide a shortcut for jumping between two distant regions of space-time.
Donnie Darko: So in order to travel back in time, you have to have a big spaceship or something that can travel faster than the speed of light?
Dr. Monnitoff: Theoretically.
Donnie Darko: And be able to find one of these wormholes?
Dr. Monnitoff: The basic principles of time travel are there. You’ve got your vessel and your portal, and your vessel could be just about anything, most likely a spacecraft.
Donnie Darko: Like a DeLorean?
Dr. Monnitoff: Metal craft of any kind.
Donnie Darko: You know, I love that movie, the way they shot it. It’s so urm… like futuristic, you know?
Dr. Monnitoff: Listen urm… don’t tell anybody that I gave you this. The woman who wrote this used to teach here. She was a nun many years before that, but err… then overnight, she just err… became this entirely different person. She up and left the church, she wrote this book.
<Dr. Monnitoff hands The Philosophy of Time Travel by Roberta Sparrow to Donnie>
Dr. Monnitoff: She started teaching science, right here in Middlesex.
Donnie Darko: The Philosophy of Time Travel. Roberta Sparrow?
Dr. Monnitoff: That’s right. <chuckles> Come on. Roberta Sparrow?
<Donnie approaches an old photo of some teachers, he sees Roberta Sparrow as a teacher in the picture>
Donnie Darko. Roberta Sparrow. Grandma Death.
Donnie Darko: It’s called “The Philosophy of Time Travel”
Elizabeth Darko: What does philosophy have to do with time travel?
Eddie Darko: Let me see.
Donnie Darko: Guess who wrote it.
Eddie Darko: Who?... Roberta Sparrow?!... Huh. She wrote a book.
Donnie Darko: Grandma Death wrote a book.
Rose Darko: That’s a terrible nickname.
Donnie Darko: We almost hit her with the car the other day.
Rose Darko: She lives up there in that piece of crap house and you know she’s loaded. She’s…
Eddie Darko: Yeah, you’re right. She used to be known for her gem collection. Kids… used to go up there all the time and try and steal stuff from her. She became a total recluse. Huh, I didn’t even know she was alive till we damn near knocked her down the other day.
<Donnie and Gretchen are on the trampoline>
Donnie Darko: She was just standing there in the middle of the road, frozen. So I got out of the car and I walked over to her to see if she was okay. And she leaned over and whispered in my ear.
Dr. Thurman: What did she say?
Donnie Darko: I think Frank wants me to go talk to her, because the last time I saw him he asked me if I knew about time travel. And she wrote a book about it so that can’t be like a coincidence, right?
Dr. Thurman: Donnie, what did Roberta Sparrow say to you?
Donnie Darko: She said that every living creature on Earth dies alone.
Dr. Thurman: How did that make you feel?
Donnie Darko: It reminded me of my dog, Callie. She died when I was eight, and she crawled underneath the porch.
Dr. Thurman: To die?
Donnie Darko: To be alone.
Dr. Thurman: Do you feel alone right now?
Donnie Darko: I don’t know. I mean I’d like to believe I’m not, but I just… I’ve just never seen any proof so I… just don’t debate it any more it’s like I could spend my whole life debating it over and over again, weighing the pros and cons, and in the end I still wouldn’t have any proof. So I just, I just don’t debate it any more. <laughs> It’s absurd. The search for God is absurd.
Dr. Thurman: The search for God is absurd?
Donnie Darko: It is if everyone dies alone.
Dr. Thurman: Does that scare you?
Donnie Darko: I don’t wanna be alone.
(Music: Ave Maria)
Rose’s Friend: And so his tapes have me realize that for the last 39 years I have been a prisoner of my own fear.
Rose Darko: Fear?
Rose’s Friend: Rose, you have got to meet this Jim Cunningham. I can’t believe he’s single.
<Donnie, Eddie, Dr. Fisher, and Ronald Fisher are sitting watching TV>
TV Announcer 1: And it has been a disappointing night indeed for these Super Bowl champions.
TV Announcer 2: You’re right Dan. Coach Joe Gibbs is on the sidelines water dripping off his glasses, but he’s gotta be thinking “What happened? What went wrong tonight?”
<Samantha skips into the room around to the other door and leaves>
TV Announcer 1: And here’s the kick…
<Everyone groans>
TV Announcer 1: … and it’s no good.
Eddie Darko: Shit we need a quarterback.
Dr. Fisher: And a miracle.
Ronald Fisher: We need to go for a safety.
TV Announcer 1: Mark Rypien certainly has some big shoes to fill that’s for certain.
TV Announcer 2: He sure does. So what the future holds for this Super Bowl MVP we’re just gonna have to wait and see.
<Donnie turns to look at his Dad, and a time spear is emerging from his chest>
Eddie Darko: <sighs> You guys want anything?
Dr. Fisher: No.
TV Announcer 1: Darrel Green again with a display of amazing speed…
Eddie Darko: I’m gonna get a beer.
<Eddie Darko gets up and the time spear leads ahead of him into the kitchen>
<Eddie arrives at the fridge. “Vote Dukakis” is written on the fridge notice board. He gets a beer and returns to the living room>
TV Announcer 1: First down and 10…
TV Advert: Good evening ladies and ghouls. Join us at the Middlesex Pavillion Hall…
<Samantha skips again into the room, but this time preceded by a time spear>
TV Advert: …for the Middlesex Halloween Haunt <man laughs>
<A time spear emerges from Donnie’s chest. He looks down and chuckles. The time spear extends away, then forms a beckoning finger. Donnie gets up and follows it upstairs.>
<Donnie enters the bedroom and opens the cupboard following the time spear. He opens a box at the bottom of the cupboard and retrieves a pistol>
<Airplane engine whines overhead. Donnie looks up, as so his friends>
Gretchen Ross: And what if you could go back in time and take all those hours of pain and darkness and replace them with something better?
Donnie Darko: Like images, or what?
Gretchen Ross: Yeah, like a Hawaiian sunset, or the Grand Canyon. Just things that remind you of how beautiful the world…
Donnie Darko: You know we’ve been going together for like 2 weeks.
Gretchen Ross: Yeah?
Donnie Darko: Well, I err…
Gretchen Ross: Do you want to kiss me?
<Donnie leads forward to kiss Gretchen but she moves away>
Donnie Darko: I… I’m sorry.
Gretchen Ross: Look, Donnie, wait.
Donnie Darko: I like you a lot.
Gretchen Ross: I just want it to be… at a time when it…
Donnie Darko: When what?
Gretchen Ross: When it reminds me just…
Donnie Darko: When it reminds you how beautiful the world can be?
Gretchen Ross: Yeah. And right now there’s some fat guy over there staring at us.
<Donnie and Gretchen turn to a jogger in a red tracksuit, who is smoking. He put s out his cigarette and walks off>
Rose Darko: Thank you for seeing us at such late notice. We both felt it was time for us to come in and discuss…
Lilian Thurman: What I think is going on with your son?
Rose Darko: Yes. Well he’s erm… you know about his past, and he was suspended from school for insulting his gym teacher.
Eddie Darko: Well I’m not really sure that’s a good example Rose. I think he had just cause to insult her.
Lilian Thurman: Rose, let me just lay out what I believe is happening here.
<Donnie removes a large knife from the knife block>
Dr. Thurman (as voiceover): Donnie’s aggressive behaviour…
<Donnie takes some pills>
Lilian Thurman: His increased detachment from reality, seem to stem from his inability to cope with the forces in the world he perceives to be threatening. Uh… has he ever told you about his friend Frank?
Rose Darko: Frank?
Lilian Thurman: Yes, the giant bunny rabbit.
Eddie Darko: The what?
Rose Darko: I don’t recall him ever having mentioned a rabbit.
Lilian Thurman: Donnie is experiencing what is commonly called a daylight hallucination.
<Donnie stabs the dimensional portal with the knife. Frank can be seen on the other side.>
Lilian Thurman: This is a common occurrence among paranoid schizophrenics.
Rose Darko: What can we do?
Lilian Thurman: I would like to do more hypnotherapy, and increase his medication.
<Donnie continues to stab the portal, grunting with effort. A light shines from Frank’s eye>
Rose Darko (as voiceover): Whatever will help him, really…
Rose Darko: Because that’s why we’re here. We just would like him to experience some relief. So if you think that more medication will do that, then I think we should give it a try.
<Kenneth Monnitoff is looking through papers, Karen Pomeroy is eating lunch>
Kenneth Monnitoff: Donnie Darko.
Karen Pomeroy: I know.
<They both laugh>
Jim Cunningham: Good morning, you mongrels!
Audience: Good morning.
Jim Cunningham: Is that all the gusto you can muster? I said, good morning!
Audience: Good morning!
Jim Cunningham: Now that’s a tiny tiny bit better. But I can still sense some students out there who are actually afraid to say, good morning!
Audience: Good morning!
<Donnie doesn’t say it>
Jim Cunningham: Yeah, that’s what I like to hear! Because entirely too many young men and women today are completely paralysed by their fears. They surrender their bodies to the temptation and destruction of drugs, alcohol, and premarital sex. Now, I’m going to tell you a little story today. It’s a heartbreakingly sad story about a young man whose life was completely destroyed by these instruments of fear. A young man, searching for love in all the wrong places. His name was Frank.
<A slide appears on the project with a cartoon picture of a boy, and “his name is Frank” written next to it. Donnie looks concerned>
Female audience member: Hi, my stepsister… like, I sometimes worry that she eats too much.
Female audience member 2: Shut up, Kim!
Jim Cunningham: Sweetheart, sweetheart, please.
Male audience member: How can I decide what I want to be when I grow up?
Jim Cunningham: That’s a hard one.
Male audience member 2: What do I do to learn how to fight?
Jim Cunningham: What can I do to learn how to fight? Son, violence is a product of fear. Learn to truly love yourself.
Male audience member 2: Okay.
Jim Cunningham: Okay, get yourself up here.
Male audience member 2: Okay.
Jim Cunningham: All right.
Donnie Darko: Good morning.
Jim Cunningham: Good morning.
Donnie Darko: Um… how much are they paying you to be here?
Jim Cunningham: Uh… excuse me? What is your name, son?
Donnie Darko: Gerald.
Jim Cunningham: Well, Gerald, I think you’re afraid.
Donnie Darko: Are you telling us this stuff so we can buy your book? Because I got to tell you, if you are, that was some of the worst advice I ever heard.
Jim Cunningham: Do you see how said this is?
Donnie Darko: Do you want your sister to lose weight? Tell her to get off the couch, stop eating Twinkies, and maybe go out for field hockey. You know what? No one ever knows what they want to be when they grow up. It takes a little while to find that out. Right, Jim? And you… yeah, you. Sick of some jerk shoving your head down the toilet? Well you know what, maybe you should lift some weights or take a karate lesson . And the next time he tries to do it, you kick him in the balls.
<Adults gasp, students laugh>
Jim Cunningham: <chuckles> Son. Do you see this?
Donnie Darko: Right?
Jim Cunningham: This is an anger prisoner…
Man: Remove him.
Jim Cunningham: A textbook example. Do you see the fear, people? This boy is scared to death of the truth. Son, it breaks my heart to say this, but I believe you are a very troubled and confused young man. I believe you are searching for the answers in all the wrong places.
Donnie Darko: You’re right, actually. I am pretty… I am pretty troubled and I’m pretty confused but I… and I’m afraid really really afraid. Really afraid. But I… I think you’re the fucking antichrist.
<Audience gasps, the teachers move to grab Donnie>
Man: Get him out of here! Who do you think you are?
<Whistling and cheering from students>
Donnie Darko: It’s amazing. The man thinks he’s telling the truth and everything he says is just a fucking lie! Everything he says! Everyone think he’s so rad. He’s such a fucking chud. Everything he does…
Gretchen Ross: Are you okay?
Donnie Darko: Yeah.
Gretchen Ross: Sit down. Calm down.
Donnie Darko: You ever hear of Grandma Death?
Gretchen Ross: Who?
<Donnie passes Gretchen the book>
Gretchen Ross: The Philosophy of Time Travel. What is this?
Donnie Darko: She wrote it. I’m… I’ve been seeing stuff. Like, a lot of really messed up stuff. And there are chapters in that book that describe the stuff I’ve been seeing. And it can’t just be a coincidence.
Kenneth Monnitoff: Well each vessel travels along a vector though space-time, along its centre of gravity.
Donnie Darko: Like a spear?
Kenneth Monnitoff: I beg your pardon?
Donnie Darko: Like a spear that comes out of your chest.
Kenneth Monnitoff: Umm… sure. And in order for the vessel to travel through time it’s got to find a portal, or in this case a wormhole…
Donnie Darko: Well could these portals erm… could these portals just appear anywhere, anytime?
Kenneth Monnitoff: I think that’s highly unlikely. No, I think what you’re talking about is umm… an act of God.
Donnie Darko: Well if God controls time, then all time is pre-decided.
Kenneth Monnitoff: I’m not following you.
Donnie Darko: Every living thing follows along a set path. And if you could see your path or channel, then you could see into the future, right? Like err… that’s a form of time travel.
Kenneth Monnitoff: Well, you’re contradicting yourself Donnie. If we were able to see out destines manifest themselves visually, then we would be given a choice to betray our chosen destinies. And the mere fact that this choice exists would make all pre-formed destiny umm… come to an end.
Donnie Darko: Not if you travel within God’s channel.
Kenneth Monnitoff: Umm… I’m not going to be able to continue this conversation.
Donnie Darko: Why?
Kenneth Monnitoff: I could lose my job.
Donnie Darko: Okay.
<Donnie is lying on his bed playing with a rubix cube. He rolls onto his side and looks at the calendar>
<Donnie is walking along and sees a wallet on the ground, he picks it up and opens it. He checks a photo card and it is Jim Cunningham’s. He chuckles to himself>
MD Frank: Now you know where he lives.
Lilian Thurman: And they grow out of out chest… solar plexus?
Donnie Darko: Just like she described in the book, the way they moved and they smelled. It’s like… like they’re workers. Assigned to each one of us. They’re just… they’re like liquid. I followed it… into my parents bedroom.
Lilian Thurman: What did you find?
Donnie Darko: Nothing.
Donnie Darko: So we call them IMG’s.
Gretchen Ross: Infant Memory Generators.
Donnie Darko: Yeah, so the idea is that you buy these glasses for your infant and they wear them at night when they sleep.
Gretchen Ross: But inside the glasses are these slide photographs. And each photograph is of something peaceful of beautiful whatever the parents want to put inside.
Kenneth Monnitoff: And what effect do you think this would have on an infant?
Donnie Darko: Well, this thing is, nobody remembers their infancy. Anyone who says they do is lying. So we think this will help develop memory earlier in life.
Gretchen Ross: Yeah.
Kenneth Monnitoff: And did you stop and think that maybe infants need darkness? That maybe darkness is part of their natural development?
<Seth Devlin raises his hand>
Gretchen Ross: No.
<Seth clicks his finger>
Kenneth Monnitoff: Yeah.
Seth Devlin: What is the parents like put in pictures of Satan? Or, like, dead people? Crap like that.
Gretchen Ross: Is that what you’d show your kids?
Ricky: Err well, I mean… didn’t your Dad, like, stab your Mom?
<Seth does the stabbing motion with psycho music>
Kenneth Monnitoff: Get out.
<Class bell rings>
Donnie Darko: Gretchen! I’m sorry, Gretchen. Gretchen. I’m sorry about those guys. They’re fucking…
<Gretchen kisses Donnie>
Donnie Darko: Two for Evil Dead please.
Ticket booth attendant: That’ll be $2.
<Gretchen is asleep. Donnie turns and MD Frank is sitting next to Gretchen>
Donnie Darko: Why do you wear that stupid bunny suit?
MD Frank: Why are you wearing that stupid man suit?
Donnie Darko: Take it off.
<MD Frank removes his mask>
Donnie Darko: What happened to your eye?
MD Frank: I’m so sorry.
Donnie Darko: Why do they call you Frank?
MD Frank: It is the name of my father… and his father before me.
Donnie Darko: Frank? When’s this going to stop?
MD Frank: You should already know that.
Donnie Darko: <giggles>
MD Frank: I want you to watch the movie screen. There’s something I want to show you.
<A portal appears in the screen>
MD Frank: Have you ever seen a portal?
<Within the portal appears Jim Cunningham’s house>
MD Frank: Burn it to the ground.
<Donnie puts up his hood>
<Donnie comes out of the cinema, stops, smiles, and moves on. Behind him you can see the cinema is showing Evil Dead and The Last Temptation of Christ>
<Cherita is dancing>
Kitty Farmer: Okay, now girls I want you to concentrate. Failure is not an option. And Bethany, if you feel the need to vomit up there just swallow it.
Bethany Farmer: Okay Mom.
Jim Cunningham: Hey you guys, good luck out there.
<Someone whistles rudely as Cherita’s performance ends>
Seth Devlin: Get off the stage Cherita!
Principal: Hold on.
Jim Cunningham: Now that was really something. Thank you, Cherita Chen, with “Autumn Angel”. And now the moment we’ve all been waiting for is here. It is my very distinct pleasure to introduce to you Emily Bates, Suzy Bailey, Samantha Darko, Beth Farmer, and Joanie James. They are… Sparkle Motion.
<Sparkle Motion dance to Notorious – Duran Duran>
<Donnie is pouring petrol around the house>
<The performance ends>
Girl: All right Sparkle Motion!
<Sparkle Motion get a standing ovation>
<Cherita is sitting on the bench surrounding the Mongrel’s statue>
<Donnie returns and sits down. Gretchen wakes up>
Gretchen Ross: How long was I asleep for?
Donnie Darko: Whole movie.
<Firemen are walking round inside after having put out the fire>
Fireman: Captain looks like we’ve got another room back here.
<Elizabeth is watching TV>
TV Reporter: The blazed was extinguished sometime after 8:00 last night. Now fire-fighters discovered what has been referred to as a kiddie porn dungeon. Cunningham who has become a recent celebrity for his books and motivational tapes was arrested early this morning…
Elizabeth Darko: Oh my God!
TV Reporter: … at Sarasota Heights Country Club. Arson has not been ruled out as part of the cause of the fire.
<Donnie enters the room and sits down>
TV Reporter: A group of Cunning Vision employees lead my self proclaimed leader…
Elizabeth Darko: Oh my God. Dad played golf with that guy.
TV Report: … vehemently denied the alleged link to a child pornography publishing circuit. In a vicious statement Cunningham attacked the Middlesex Fire Department officials claiming a vast conspiracy.
Principal: I’m sorry, Karen, but we don’t think the methods you’ve undertaken here are appropriate.
Karen Pomeroy: With all due respect, sir, what exactly about my methods do you find inappropriate?
Principal: I don’t have time to get into a debate about this Karen. I believe I’ve made myself clear.
Karen Pomeroy: You call this clarity? I don’t think that you have a clue what it’s like to communicate with these kids. And we are losing them to apathy… to this prescribed nonsense. They are slipping away.
Principal: I am sorry that you have failed. Now if you’ll excuse me I have another appointment. You can finish out the week.
Karen Pomeroy: Fuck!
<Karen turns and sees Cherita is behind her eating lunch>
Principal (on tannoy): Good afternoon. It gives me great pleasure to announce that the Middlesex Ridge School dance team has been invited to perform on Ed McMahon’s Star Search 88 in Los Angeles California.
<Karen looks incredulous>
<Samantha is on the trampoline>
<Kitty Farmer is at the front door, answered by Rose>
Rose Darko (on the phone): No, it was ridiculous. I’ll call you back.
<She hangs up the phone>
Kitty Farmer: Rose.
Rose Darko: Kitty.
Kitty Farmer: Rose I’m sure that you’re aware of the horrible allegations against Jim Cunningham.
Rose Darko: I know, I saw it on TV. Something about a “kiddie porn dungeon”…
Kitty Farmer: Please, please. Don’t use those words! It’s obviously some kind of conspiracy to destroy an innocent man, and I have taken it upon myself to spearhead the Jim Cunningham defence campaign. Rose… I have to appear at his arraignment tomorrow morning. And as you know, the girls are scheduled to leave for Los Angeles in the morning. Now as their coach I was the obvious choice to chaperone them on their trip…
Rose Darko: But now you can’t go.
Kitty Farmer: Yes.
Rose Darko: Hmm.
Kitty Farmer: Now believe me, of all the other mothers I would never dream of asking you. But none of the other mothers are available to go.
Rose Darko: I don’t know Kitty. It’s a bad weekend. Eddie’s in New York.
Kitty Farmer: Rose! I don’t know if you realise what an opportunity this is for our daughters! This has been a dream of Samantha’s and all of ours for a long time. I made her lead dancer! Sometimes I doubt your commitment to Sparkle Motion.
<Rose is staring at Donnie’s drawing of Frank on the calendar. Donnie enters>
Rose Darko: Elizabeth will be in charge. She’ll drive you to therapy. If you need anything you promise me that you will call Dr. Thurman?
Donnie Darko: <softly> Okay. How’s it feel to have a wacko for a son?
Rose Darko: It feels wonderful.
<Donnie turns over a sealed envelope with DARKO *EXTREMELY IMPORTANT written in the top left-hand corner, and ROBERTA SPARROW written in the middle>
<Karen Pomeroy is reading, and Donnie is sitting at his desk>
Donnie Darko: So what do I tell the other kids when they ask about you?
Karen Pomeroy: Tell them that everything is going to be just fine.
Donnie Darko: What’s “Cellar Door”?
Karen Pomeroy: This famous linguist once said that of all the phrases in the English language of all the endless combinations of words in all of history, that “cellar door” is the most beautiful.
Donnie Darko: Cellar Door.
<Karen leaves the classroom, and gets stuck trying to get out the door with all her stuff, but manages to make it through. Donnie follows her and sees Cherita outside at her locker. He approaches her and she backs away. He grabs her by her earmuffs>
Donnie Darko: I promise that one day everything’s going to be better for you.
<Cherita pulls away and drops her books, and Donnie keeps hold of her ear muffs>
Cherita Chen: Chut up!
<Cherita runs away. Donnie looks down and notices she has written “Donnie Darko” on one of her books>
<Donnie is walking along wearing Cherita’s ear muffs>
Lilian Thurman <as voiceover>: I want to talk about your past today.
Donnie Darko <as voiceover>: No.
Lilian Thurman <as voiceover>: I want to talk about… you and your parents.
Donnie Darko: They didn’t buy me what I wanted for Christmas.
Lilian Thurman: What did you want for Christmas that year?
Donnie Darko: Hungry, hungry hippos.
Lilian Thurman: How did you feel, being denied these “Hungry, Hungry Hippos”?
Donnie Darko: Regret.
Lilian Thurman: What else makes you feel regret?
Donnie Darko: That I did it again.
Lilian Thurman: You did it again?
Donnie Darko: I flooded my school and I burned down that pervert’s house. <laughs> I only have a few days left before they catch me.
Lilian Thurman: Did Frank tell you to do these things?
Donnie Darko: I have to obey him. He saved my life. I have to obey him or I’ll be left all alone. And then… and then I won’t be able to figure out what this is all about. I won’t be able to know his master plan.
Lilian Thurman: Do you mean God’s master plan? Do you now believe in God?
Donnie Darko: I have the power to build a time machine.
Lilian Thurman: How is that possible? How is time travel possible? Donnie?
Donnie Darko: Time’s up, Frank said.
Lilian Thurman: When is this going to happen?
Donnie Darko: Soon. <crying> Soon.
<Donnie stands up and walks to the end of the room>
Lilian Thurman: What is going to happen?
Donnie Darko: Frank is going to kill.
Lilian Thurman: Who is he going to kill? Who is he going to kill Donnie?
Donnie Darko: I can see him right now!
<We get a flash of Frank in front of Donnie, and a flash of the sky in fast forward>
Donnie Darko: The sky is going to open up.
Lilian Thurman: If the sky were to suddenly open up there would be no law. There would be no rule. There would only be you and your memories… the choices you’ve made, and the people you’ve touched. If this world were to end there would only be you and him and no-one else.
<Donnie starts to cry and hugs Dr. Thurman. Dr. Thurman claps her hands and Donnie wakes up looking confused>
<Donnie walks into the kitchen>
Donnie Darko: Hey.
Eddie Darko: I got in. I’m going to Harvard.
Donnie Darko: Hey we should totally throw a party. I mean Mom and Dad are gone and… it’s Halloween Carnival. We could totally get away with it.
Eddie Darko: Okay, but it has to be small, all right?
<A man in a red jogging suit is looking around with a torch. Kids in Halloween costumes run past him>
Kid 1: What do you guys got?
Kid 2: Nothing good.
Kid 3: Happy Halloween!
(Music: Green Mummies – Proud to be loud)
<The Halloween party is in full swing. Donnie walks down the stairs and puts up his hood, the doorbell rings and Donnie answers it>
Ronald Fisher: We got eggs, water balloons, and a dozen rolls of toilet paper.
Sean Smith: I stole four beers from my Dad.
Donnie Darko: Well, we got a keg.
Ronald Fisher: Keg beer is for pussies.
<Donnie, Ronald Fisher, and Sean Smith get some keg beer. The phone is ringing but they do not hear it. The answer machine gets it>
Lilian Thurman (on phone): Rose, this is Lilian Thurman. It is extremely important that you call me as soon as you get this message. Thank you.
(Music: Joy Division – Love Will Tear Us Apart)
<Gretchen knocks at the front door>
Gretchen Ross: Hi.
Donnie Darko: Hey. Are you okay?
Gretchen Ross: Yeah, my mom’s gone.
Donnie Darko: You want to come in?
Gretchen Ross: Yeah.
<Gretchen and Donnie go upstairs. Elizabeth sees them go upstairs>
Gretchen Ross: I don’t know, she… she didn’t leave a note and the house was all messed up.
Donnie Darko: But you’re okay?... Did you call the cops?
Gretchen Ross: Yeah, they said I should leave the house, and that I should go to a safe place. I’m just so scared. I keep thinking something awful is happening, and… it’s my fucking step dad, I know it… I guess some people are just born with tragedy in their blood.
Elizabeth Darko: Hey have you guys seen Frank?
Elizabeth’s Friend: No, I think they said they were going on a beer run.
Elizabeth Darko: Shit.
<Donnie and Gretchen are kissing. The phone rings. The answerphone gets it>
Rose Darko (on phone): If you’re there please pick up. Oh well. Good news. The girls, they got three and a half stars, and they get to come back for the quarter finals. It was amazing. Anyway, umm… we’re going to take the red-eye back tonight, and we ought to arrive…
Samantha Darko: Mom… the plane’s about to leave.
Rose Darko: Okay, okay. We’ll take the red-eye back tonight. We should arrive around 8:30 in the morning. Umm… I hope everything’s… I hope everything’s all right. I love you. Bye.
(Music: The Church – Under the Milky way)
<Gretchen and Donnie descend the stairs. The clock strikes midnight>
<Donnie and Gretchen kiss in the hall. Gretchen leaves Donnie – presumably for the toilet – Donnie seems to start to lose his grip on reality, and then a time spear emerges from his chest. He follows it to the fridge. On the fridge is a message saying “Frank was here went to get beer”. He sees other time spears from people at the party. One comes in from the outside and Donnie drops to his knees, his head within the time spear. His vision seems to travel along it into a wormhole>
Karen Pomeroy (as voiceover): … the cellar door…
<He wakes up, and is kneeling in front of Gretchen>
Donnie Darko: Come with me.
<Donnie grabs Gretchen by the hand and leads her out of the back door. His two friends follow as well>
Gretchen Ross: Where are we going? Donnie.
Donnie Darko: Look, we gotta go.
Gretchen Ross: Where?
Donnie Darko: You ever see Grandma Death?
Gretchen Ross: Why, is this about the book?
Donnie Darko: No, it’s Frank.
Ronald Fisher: Donnie.
Donnie Darko: Time is running out! We gotta go.
<Donnie, Gretchen, Ronald, and Sean cycle to Roberta Sparrow’s house>
Donnie Darko: <whispered> Roberta Sparrow. Grandma Death.
<Donnie puts up his hood>
Sean Smith: Donnie, nobody’s here. Let’s just forget about it.
Donnie Darko: Huh, cellar door.
Gretchen Ross: What?
<Donnie and Gretchen open the cellar door and enter the cellar. Gretchen plays a note on an old piano, and startles Donnie. Suddenly Seth Devlin and his friend appear, wearing stockings on their heads, each grabbing Donnie and Gretchen around the throat. They are carrying knives>
Gretchen Ross: <screamed> Oh my God! Donnie! Donnie!
<Seth and his friend drag Donnie and Gretchen out of the cellar>
Gretchen Ross: <screamed> Donnie!
<Seth throws Donnie to the ground and sits on him>
Seth Devlin: Why the fuck are you here?!
Sean Smith: Hey!
Ronald Fisher: Oh my God
<Ricky throws Gretchen to the ground. He turns to face Ronald and Sean, and takes the stocking off his head>
Ricky: You’re dead!
Sean Smith: Shit!
Ronald Fisher: Leave him alone!
Ricky: Don’t fucking move! Don’t fucking move!
<Donnie pulls Seth’s mask off>
Donnie Darko: Fuck!
Ricky: There’s a car.
Gretchen Ross: <coughing>
Ricky: Get the hell out of here now! Seth, there’s a car coming. Let’s go!
Seth Devlin: <whispered> I have a bigger knife now.
Ricky: Come on let’s go! He called the cops!
Gretchen Ross: <coughing>
Seth Devlin: Did you call the fucking cops?!
Donnie Darko: Deus ex machina.
Seth Devlin: What did you just say? What the fuck did you just say?
Donnie Darko: Our saviour.
<Roberta Sparrow is standing in the driveway. The approaching car swerves to avoid her>
Gretchen Ross: Donnie!
<The car drives over Gretchen, and swerves to a halt. Seth gets up off Donnie and runs away. The car engine is trying to be restarted. Donnie runs over and crouches by Gretchen>
Donnie Darko: Gretchen…?
<A man dressed as a clown gets out the car>
Donnie Darko: Gretchen…? Gretchen. Wake up Gretchen.
<Someone else exits the car>
Clown man: Frank…
Donnie Darko: Wake up.
Clown man: What did you do?
Donnie Darko: Gretchen, wake up. Wake up. Wake up… Gretchen… Gretchen…
Clown man: What the fuck did you do, man?... You killed her, Frank!
Frank: Is she dead?
<Donnie stands up>
Frank: What were you guys doing in the middle of the road?! What are you thinking?!
<Donnie cocks and raises the pistol. He shoots Frank in the eye>
Donnie Darko: Go home!... Go home and tell your parents everything will be okay… Go!
<The clown man runs off. Roberta Sparrow slowly ambles back towards her house>
<Donnie is carrying Gretchen along the road>
<Elizabeth is asleep in a chair. Donnie walks up to her and kisses her head. She stirs slightly. Donnie takes the car keys from the hall>
<Donnie walks to the car, then clutches his stomach and looks up. A tornado type cloud formation is forming over his house. He gets in the car and drives off at speed. Seconds later police cars arrive, sirens blaring>
<Donnie is driving through the forest>
MD Frank (as voiceover): 28 days… <voice dies away>
<Donnie is sitting down looking towards his house and the cloud formation>
Donnie Darko: Six hours… 42 minutes… 12 seconds.
MD Frank: I’m going home.
Donnie Darko: <chuckles>
<The camera pans across the passengers, stopping at Samantha and Rose Darko who are both asleep>
Donnie Darko (as voiceover): So in order to travel back in time, you have to have a big spaceship or something that can travel faster than the speed of light?
Dr. Monnitoff (as voiceover): Theoretically.
Donnie Darko (as voiceover): And be able to find one of these wormholes?
Dr. Monnitoff (as voiceover): The basic principles of time travel are there. You’ve got your vessel and your portal, and your vessel could be just about anything, most likely a spacecraft… Metal craft of any kind.
<Rose wakes up. There is a loud bang as the cabin depressurises, which shocks Samantha awake>
<An engine is seen falling through the clouds>
<Donnie gets back in the car and looks at Gretchen’s body, and smiles>
Gretchen Ross (as voiceover): What if you could go back in time and take all those hours of pain and darkness and replace them with something better?
<The jet engine is seen travelling along the wormhole. Time is seen to wind back, with events from the movie in rewind>
Donnie Darko (as voiceover): Dear Roberta Sparrow, I’ve reached you in your book, and there’s so many things I need to ask you. Sometimes I’m afraid of what you might tell me. Sometimes I’m afraid that you’ll tell me that this is not a work of fiction. I can only hope that the answers will come to me in my sleep. I hope that when the world comes to an end I can breathe a sigh of relief, because there will be so much to look forward to.
<Donnie is sitting up in bed laughing hysterically>
<TV is on but there is no signal.>
<Father is still asleep in chair.>
<Rumble of car engine, and Elizabeth Darko enters, closes the front door, leans back against it, sighs, then laughs to herself.>
<Donnie lies down and smiles and looks content. He rolls over onto his other side>
<Elizabeth is breathing heavily. You can hear the car horn beeping repeatedly>
<The jet engine falls through the room>
<Father is woken by crash. Impact knocks all the books on the floor from the bookshelves.>
<Mother is woken by crash.>
<Elizabeth sinks to her knees in fright.>
<Father gets out of his chair. Car alarms can be heard blaring.>
<Elizabeth can be heard breathing in fear.>
<Dr. Thurman wakes up abruptly and sits upright, deep in thought>
(Music: Mad World – Michael Andrews/Gary Jules (orig. Tears for Fears))
<Karen is asleep in bed, Kenneth is awake and touches her shoulder then rolls onto his back looking concerned>
<Jim is sat upright in bed, sobbing quietly>
<Kitty is sat on the side of her bed, she touches her mouth and is deep in thought>
<Cherita is lying on her side in bed, she is smiling>
<Frank is sitting on the floor, the drawings of his rabbit mask are around him. He touches his eye. The pewter rabbit mask is beside him>
<Police and other agents surround the house. A stretcher covered in a sheet is wheeled out of the house. Elizabeth is crying, make-up running down her face. Eddie is holding Samantha, they are both crying. Rose is leaning against a tree, smoking. A truck pulls away carrying the engine. Gretchen approaches on a bike.>
Gretchen Ross: Hey… what’s going on.
Boy: A horrible accident… a neighbour got killed.
Gretchen Ross: What happened?
Boy: Got smooshed by a jet engine.
Gretchen Ross: What was his name?
Boy: Donnie. Donnie Darko… I feel bad for his family.
Gretchen Ross: Yeah.
<Gretchen stares at Rose>
Boy: Did you know him?
Gretchen Ross: … no.
<Gretchen waves at Rose. She waves back. The boy waves at Rose also>