Donnie Darko, Richard Kelly’s 2001 drama/fantasy movie, is grounded in realism. The story revolves around Donnie, an American suburban middlesex resident. Donnie is awakened by a demon rabbit who tells him to stop sleeping during 1988’s Presidential Elections. The director uses mise in scene and cinematography throughout the movie to draw viewers to Donnie. Donnie Darko’s film reveals both character and atmosphere through sound editing. Through the connecting of scenes and shots, the director draws the audience into his world.
The film’s first half offers a stunning example of the film’s themes and motifs. These scenes are about the contrast between Donnie, protagonist, and Frank (antagonist). The scenes are juxtaposed, which emphasizes a parallel. Both scenes create an atmosphere of panic and creepiness, which in turn complement one another to make a show of struggling to shake it off. Frank urges Donnie, in the second scene, to get up. The voice is ominous and haunting. Donnie can only hear Frank’s voice, but this is subjective. Donnie sleepwalks from his bedroom to follow Frank’s voice. The music used in the background creates tension, making it both frightening and dull. Frank appears as a demon-looking rabbit-sized figure to the audience when he first meets him. His role as “manipulated dead” is for Donnie to help him correct the chronology by returning the jet engine back to its original universe. Frank is honest and wants to help Donnie, but he tells Donnie to do wrong so he can save the universe. Donnie is forced to arson Jim Cunningham’s house during Donnie’s sister’s performance in his school talent show. The camera uses the fade technique to transition between Donnie’s and Frank’s characters. This camera prefigures Donnie will be close to Frank, making it seem like Frank is part of Donnie’s soul. The supernatural motif and theme continue, and the audience believes in the demonic rabbit-being’s inhumanities. Donnie and Frank depict Donnie’s mental instability. Donnie has schizophrenic tendencies and is on medication. Frank is a metaphor that reflects Donnie’s eccentricity. Donnie smiles at Frank when he tells him when it will end. Frank is sleepingwalking, but Donnie’s reaction to the news that the world would end is genuine and unusual.
After Donnie’s interaction with Frank, Donnie’s plane crashes into Frank’s room. Donnie was shaken and scarred by the incident. The way the incident is presented makes it seem like the worst has happened. This scene is filmed in slow motion to emphasize the horror and destruction caused by the plane engine. Donnie’s father runs to see if his family has been safe. It seems like time is slowing down because the unimaginable could have occurred. Donnie hears exactly the same sound from the movie’s opening scene. This tells us that the events are not ordered. It is a sign of time travel. Frank is not just a fiction, but a real person. Donnie is now able to trust Frank, even though he looks terrifyingly evil in his rabbit suit and unsettling introduction. Donnie’s sister’s deep breathing and camera work that fades out might be symbolic of death. The chaos that surrounds the Darko family home is what the audience hears the most. The darkness ends after chaos passes, and the film’s ending is marked by death.
People take life for granted the mind they have. They forget how unique each person is. Donnie is described as being extremely intelligent and paranoid schizophrenia. This disorder involves having perplexing thoughts and emotions and a different way of seeing the world. Donnie can see Frank, and he also sees the wormholes in the sky. Donnie claims to be able to see the paths of others. After a party he and he’s sister put on, Donnie started to see transparent lines that traced peoples’ movements through time. He thought it was time travel. Donnie is only aggressive when Frank manipulates him to commit crimes. For example, Donnie set fire to Jim Cunningham’s house and then showed the audience his dislike for Cunningham and his philosophy on the meaning and values of life. Frank also ordered Donnie to vandalize the school by bursting a waterpipe, which causes it to flood. Donnie also spray painted the “They made us do it” sign around the school statue. It is called a detachment, dissociation or a triumph of the subconscious over the conscious when someone’s reality is not being reflected in their thoughts.
These scenes were selected to show how they relate and are parallel. These scenes are related because they create a feeling of unease in the minds of the audience. These scenes work together in a way that is so compelling that audience members can’t stop looking at the screen. Frank’s manipulations of Donnie, such as vandalism or arson, are beyond Donnie’s control. The movie is about time and time travel. Donnie Darko’s film also features themes about coming-of-age. Each human being experiences pubescence and love.
