Donnie Darko

Bibliographic Information: Ryder, A., Fields, A. (Producers) & Kelly, R. (Director). Donnie darko: The director’s cut [DVD]. United States: 20^th Century Fox.

Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Jena Malone, Drew Barrymore

Plot Summary: Donnie Darko is a troubled teenager from a dysfunctional family. He wakes up lying in the middle of a curvy hillside road one morning, with his bike strewn in the dirt. This is the first of many “sleepwalking” episodes for him. Donnie’s withdrawal and depression are a stark contrast to his sister, who participates in active political discussions at dinner and plans on attending Harvard, having kids at 30, and marrying a rich man. Donnie starts seeing a therapist, especially due to the fact that he is having hallucinations of a rabbit named Frank, who tells him that the world will end in less than a month.

            A jet engine falls through the roof of Donnie’s bedroom one night while he is sleep walking, and a whole slew of curious things start happening: someone floods and vandalizes his private school, someone burns down the home of a famous motivational speaker (who turns out to be a child pornographer), and there is nothing to be said about where the mysterious jet engine came from.

         Meanwhile, Donnie has more and more difficulty relating to his teachers and peers, often exploding in class, and even getting expelled for months. He meets a new girl, Gretchen, and due to her own dark history, they bond and fall in love. But Donnie’s visions get crazier, and he starts to see “spears” or slinky-like bubbles drifting out infront of people and himself. He understand that he is seeing the future, and starts to research the topic of time travel and worm holes. It turns out that a local author, an elderly woman by the name of Roberta Sparrow, writes a book on time travel that describes exactly what Donnie is experiencing. One day, when Donnie’s dad almost runs Roberta over, she whispers into Donnie’s ear: every living creature on Earth dies alone.

            Struggling with the meaning behind his visions and the date that Frank has given him, Donnie slowly starts to understand his fate, and how he can change it. During the final hours till the “end of the world” a Halloween party leads to Gretchen being run over by a driver. It is only then that Donnie realizes what he must do to reverse time and save her.

Critical Evaluation: This is a film full of psychological twists, scientific musings, and philosophical questions about existence, identity, and self-destruction. The movie has even inspired a cult following of fans who have analyzed all of the subtle messages. One of the major themes of the movie is the relationship between destruction and creation. Donnie’s sleepwalked induced criminal escapades may have been inspired by his English class when they are reading Graham Green’s The Destructors, a story about a group of kids who destroy an old man’s house by flooding it. When the PTA discovers the connection to the book and their recent vandalism of the school, the book is banned and eventually the English teacher is fired. During class, when Donnie’s teacher asks him what he thinks about the story, he says, “Destruction is a form of creation.” This philosophy is actualized when Donnie burns the home of Cunningham, revealing the public figure’s dark secrets, and ultimately bringing some good into the world, by destroying his evil. And this theme is ultimately the reason Donnie sacrifices himself so that Gretchen may get another chance at life.

            A lot of other issues are touched upon in the film, including bullying, social isolation, love, sex, and challenging authority. From an outsiders perspective, Donnie seems like a sociopathic arsonist set on a path of destruction, but since the story is told through his eyes, we get a glimpse of the psychological burden he carries on a day-to-day basis, and empathize with his desire for truth.

Reader’s Annotation: A jet engine crashes through the roof of Donnie Darko’s room at the same time he wakes up on a golf course. Mysterious events ensue, and Donnie is faced with changing his fate.

Director Information: Wikipedia states, “James Richard Kelly (born March 28, 1975) is an American film director and writer, best known for writing and directing the cult classic Donnie Darko in 2001.

Kelly was born James Richard Kelly in Newport News, Virginia, the son of Lane Kelly and Ennis Kelly.[citation needed] He grew up in Midlothian, Virginiawhere he attended Midlothian High School and graduated in 1993.[citation needed] When he was a child, his father worked for NASA on the Mars Viking Lander program. He won a scholarship to the University of Southern California to study at the USC School of Cinema-Television where he was a member of the Phi Delta Theta fraternity. He made two short films at USC, The Goodbye Place and Visceral Matter, before graduating in 1997.

Although Richard Kelly's films differ considerably in setting and characters (Donnie Darko is about a suburban teenager, Southland Tales is an L.A. epic, and The Box is about a married couple in Richmond, Virginia), they share similar themes of time travel, existentialism, and spirituality.”

Genre: Science Fiction, Drama

Subjects: psychiatry, emotional problems, family, relationships

Curriculum Ties: N/A

Booktalking Ideas: How does Donnie use time travel to change his fate and the fate of others?

What does the rabbit, Frank, symbolize?

Reading Level/Interest Age: 16+

Challenge Issues/Defense: Due to violence, criminal activity, profanity, and sexual themes, this movie may be challenged. If so, refer to:

1.     The San Francisco Public Library Collection Development Policy, Selection Criteria, and Teen Collection documents.

2.     The California Department of Education District Selection Policies.

3.     A hard copy of the ALA’s Library Bill of Rights.

4.     Mixed reviews and list of awards won and nominated for.

5.     If necessary, The San Francisco Public Library’s Request for Reconsideration of Library Materials Form.

Reasons for Selection: This movie introduces some very complex philosophical questions in a format that teens will be very drawn to. The dark imagery, mystery, and superb soundtrack will appeal to teens, as they did with me. This movie came out right before I graduated high school, and it was the first movie that blew my mind and made me want to watch it over and over in order to analyze and understand it. You could even say it triggered my interest in more avante-gard cinema. Most importantly, it touches on familiar themes to teens: fitting in, seeking acceptance and love, and dealing with unpredictable emotions. It was the winner of many awards.