The Last Temptation of Donnie Darko

Parsley, 03/17/03

I wasn’t originally going to write anything about Donnie Darko. In fact, I may be morally obligated not to. Mere minutes after Zedd and I watched the movie, he turned to me and said he was thinking of writing something for CNF and I agreed, which in some cultures constitutes an agreement to not write something of my own. And really, the last thing I need is another reason to sit in front of the computer for an hour. But after reading Zedd’s comments and talking to him a little, I came to realize that my understanding of the movie differed from his in some significant respects and the questions that concerned me weren’t being answered. Also at stake here is that this movie is really, really cool and provides a lot of things to think about.

Here is what I hope is a fair summary of the movie as understood by Zedd (anyone who sees it is going to have to make sense of it on their own and as we’ll see there are many possible organizations). Needless to say, this will spoil the movie if you haven’t seen it.

  1. Frank, the long haired Asian guy who happens to be wearing a rabbit suit, goes physically back through time. His goal in the past is to torment Donnie ("let’s fuck with the psycho").
  2. "Donnie kills himself to save the world." If the engine hadn’t landed on him, the world would have ended 28-some days later (Halloween). "Donnie finds a way to be in [his] room."
  3. At the end of the movie, Donnie somehow goes back in time to the morning the engine appears. It would not be out of the question for another Donnie to come back from the golf course a few minutes after the last scene of the movie.

I would disagree with all of these interpretations.

  1. I do not believe that the entity that appears to Donnie on the golf course, in the therapist’s office, and in the bathroom is literally Frank the long-haired Asian guy. Remember that only Donnie can see him! If he traveled back in time Back to the Future-style, the therapist, Donnie’s sister, and others would be able to see him. Frank the rabbit is some mysterious force or being taking the form of Frank in his Halloween costume for reasons unknown (but see below). More importantly, Frank’s goal is not to torment and lie to Donnie. Here is what I think is Zedd’s and my main point of difference: when Frank says the world will end, he means either a.) the world will end for Donnie, when he dies, or b.) this version of the world will end. In this case, Frank is telling the truth. Also remember the strange things Frank is able to do - think especially of that business at the movie theater. The human Frank would not have that ability and would not be able to speak with any authority on the things he does. (Q: Why do you wear that stupid rabbit suit? A: Because I can’t take it off. But then he does, so who knows.)
  2. Donnie didn’t have to find a way to be in his room. He was in his room because he wasn’t sleepwalking, simple as that. The reality that makes up the first part of the movie is the anomaly; the last scene is the "real" world. The world would not have ended anyway, see #1 above.
  3. I don’t think Donnie goes back in time; I think the world gets reset somehow. Don’t ask me.

I’m surprised Zedd didn’t mention what seems to me like the key to the movie: Gretchen’s comments that she would like to go back to her past and "rewrite" all her bad memories with good ones. If there’s any sense to be made of Donnie Darko this is where it will come from, and on that note I’d like to list what I see as the big unanswered questions right now. Zedd and anyone else are encouraged to respond.

  • The big one: Which of these is the case?
    1. Donnie gets an extra month, which he fills with good memories, before he dies. He closes school for a day, stands up for himself (mouths off to Patrick Swayze’s character), says something nice to the fat girl, acts on his moral feelings (burns down Swayze’s house), and as Zedd so thoughtfully noted, he gets laid.
    2. Donnie’s last month is unpleasant, and replacing it with death constitutes a better memory. His girlfriend dies (as does his mother, maybe), his favorite teacher gets fired, he is depressed or insane or something, and his world is a bizarre place with no real sense of justice.
    If you can answer this question, I think everything else will fall into place.
  • Why does Noah Wyle’s character have a copy of the Philosophy of Time Travel book? I don’t imagine many were printed. When he says he could lose his job if he keeps talking to Donnie, is it because he isn’t allowed to talk about God (the normal explanation) or because he is about to spout some bizarre theory he subscribes to but "real" scientists don’t?
  • What is the significance of Roberta Sparrow? Did she, in fact, send Frank back in time after Donnie and co. fled the scene? And what did Donnie think would happen when he went to the cellar door? (I want this question answered very badly.)
  • What’s with those clear snakey things? Do they lead you to what you want (in that case, why did Donnie want the gun so early?) or is it like in Slaughterhouse Five, where one race of aliens sees people looking like caterpillars because they have four dimensional vision?
  • The double feature of Evil Dead and The Last Temptation of Christ is too odd not to be important, and the parallel between Donnie’s story and the latter movie is too significant to overlook. What was the last temptation of Donnie Darko? Was it to avoid his death and meet Gretchen? If so, why is this doomed to failure?

The CNF Donnie Darko Symposium:
Part One: What’s a Fuckass?