Confronting Predeterminism in Donnie Darko. Donnie Darko, directed by Richard Kelly, takes a plunge into many philosophical concepts and how to confront them. The true meaning of this movie is very up to debate, but after watching this movie numerous times previously, I have a decent idea of what it is about. I think the main theme and meaning of the movie is confronting things out of our control. The movie does this by introducing predeterminism and the fate of Donnie Darko. This predeterminism is illustrated through its cinematic time, camera work, mise-en-scene, and lighting. Richard Kelly handles cinematic time by going about the movie in a linear and chronological fashion. There are multiple establishing title cards that distinguish the point of time scenes take place in. These …show more content…
The existence of these “spears” shows that all of Donnie’s actions are predetermined. Reflecting upon this predeterminism, Donnie has to face the reality of having no free will. Furthermore, Donnie wears a skeleton costume at the ending of the film, referencing his death to come. Ultimately, although Donnie’s fate has been determined since the beginning of the film, Donnie Darko seems to take the stance that one’s experience and understanding of life is where meaning and comfort is found, regardless of its outcome. During Donnie Darko’s interactions with Frank, the lighting is often low-key and dark. This indicates Donnie Darko’s internal conflict and the seemingly inevitable end of his life. The lighting also paints Frank as a mysterious and somewhat intimidating figure, similar to how Donnie seems to interpret Frank, not someone to be afraid of, but to view with intrigue. Another example of lighting is in one of the final scenes with Donnie in it. Donnie laughs hysterically in his bed while a lamp illuminates one side of his face. This hard light emphasizes the shadow on the right side of his
Donnie Darko is teen boy who comes from a good suburban family, he has with a history of violence, and anger issues. He differs from his family immensely and seems to be a bit of a rebel. In the movie Donnie Darko (2001) the writer and director of the story is Richard Kelly. He adds dark humor, time travel, and a six-foot-tall rabbit, who speaks to Donnie Darko (Jake Gyllenhaal) through haunting visions. The film isn’t classified by one specific genre as it shows a likeness to a variety of themes
Subverting the Conventional: Combining Genre in Kelly's Donnie Darko While planning an evening at the cinema, individuals do not discuss the specific guidelines of genre while deciding the film of choice. A reason for seeing a Western is never because the genre has evolved from primarily racist films involving cowboys and Indians to movies that vindicate Indians and work toward demythologizing the old West. Similarly, broad generalizations of genre are constantly used to categorize film. Courtship-Romance
the film Donnie Darko is to constantly ask one important question, “What if?” From the beginning, the audience wonders, “what will happen if Donnie doesn’t take his meds?” (Or maybe, from the very beginning, “what if a car drove over poor Donnie sleeping the middle of the road?”). At the inciting incident, we wonder “what if Frank hadn’t called Donnie out of bed?” (Would we even have a movie?) As Act II begins, the audience must ask, “what if the school hadn’t closed down?” (Would Donnie and Gretchen
César C. González P. Film Analysis – ENG 2300 Prof. Leila Estes November 8, 2015 Paper Proposal and Annotated Bibliography In Richard Kelly’s science fiction psychological thriller drama Donnie Darko (2001), the title character (Jake Gyllenhaal), a teenager with paranoid schizophrenia, must follow a figure in a rabbit costume named “Frank” (James Duval) in order to save the world before it is destroyed by a disturbance in the time continuum of the Primary Universe. The disturbance creates an unstable
In the movie Donnie Darko a jet engine from the future crashes into Donnie's bedroom and starts a parallel world which will end in twenty eight days. Donnie's sister, Elizabeth, gets dropped off by her boyfriend, Frank, seconds before the jet engine lands in Donnie's room. Donnie was not hurt in this freak accident because he was called outside during his sleep by a giant rabbit named Frank. (And as the movie continues Donnie gets farther and farther away from his house every time he sleep walks
Donnie Darko: A Review What comes to mind when you think of a modern adolescent coming of age movie? Is it alienation, rebellion, probably first love? In Donnie Darko (2001), writer/director Richard Kelly employs all of these familiar themes; then he adds humor, witty satire, time travel, apocalyptic prophecy, and a bi-pedal, six foot tall nightmare of a rabbit, who instructs the young and confused Donnie Darko (Jake Gyllenhaal) through haunting visions and an eerie voice that runs through Donnie‘s
Donnie Darko and 2001: A Space Odyssey has central meanings that focus on science and religion. Richard Kelly's, Donnie Darko, introduces the protagonist as a teenage boy who is given the chance to live for twenty-eight more days after the mysterious jet engine crash that was intended to kill him. Donnie is plagued by visions of a giant sized evil-looking rabbit named Frank. Frank orders Donnie to commit acts of violence, warns of the impending end of the world, and is his guide throughout the movie
one of my scenes for my own piece. The other inspiration i want to use is dual story lines, where we act out two Story lines to the audience without telling them when we are in one storyline or the other. I got the idea for this from the film Donnie Darko, where everything you see is not what is happening but what is in someone's head. These inspirations hopefully will help me to achieve my aims firstly by connecting with the audience directly through the participation it brings them right into
-Theatre as Philosophy- The evolution of theatre is a long and complex story. What once began as a ritual to the ancient gods has since developed into an elaborate examination of mankind. Theatre originated in Ancient Greece as a celebration to the god Dionysius, where amateur actors would dance and sing in order to imitate him. Consequently, as the Greek Empire developed, so did theatre. By the end of the Greek Empire, scripts were being written, theatres were being built, and professional actors
days…six hours…forty-two minutes…twelve seconds, that is when the world will end. The movie Donnie Darko, Frank tells Donnie that the world will end in just a short time. Throughout the movie, different literary devices are experimented to give the movie a deeper meaning. This provides the audience with a hidden message that gathers the viewer’s attention while keeping them entertained. Donnie Darko is a movie that has imagery, symbolism, and foreshadowing and by merging these devices creates
odd-looking demonic human with an insect mask that seems to be warning of death and doom, Donnie struggled to accept the fate given to him by refusing to die. Yet in the end, Donnie’s is forced – by circumstances – to decipher the true meaning of life. The death of his girlfriend Karen evoked his love for other people. Love became the major connection and proof of the existence among human beings. As Donnie gradually learned and accepted the meaning of love, he began to realize the existence of other
numbers of films produced and directed in the past decade that could be labeled as weird or bizarre, however, one of the most head-scratching and unusual films to hit the big screen in the past decade was Donnie Darko (2001), directed by Richard Kelly. The film depicts a troubled adolescent named Donnie (Jake Gyllenhaal), who after surviving a near death experience, finds himself at the center of numerous acts of violence and vandalism in his community, possibly due to his growing insanity. Arguably,
“Butterfly Effect” because of the similarity to the film we saw in class called “Donnie Darko”. Both films investigate the issue of destiny thoroughly. Both film had a male character that has memories, dreams or black outs which make them at first confused. But later on, they realized the power they have in order to change their destiny. The main difference between those two films is their endings. While Donnie Darko has a bad ending, Butterfly effect ends more optimistic. We can say the end of the
and darkness and replace them with something better?...” -Gretchen Ross (Donnie Darko) Donnie Darko was the first feature film from writer and director Richard Kelly, the psychological thriller was originally a box office flop, but over time it has developed an esoteric charm and a massive cult following. The original release of the film also happens to be a personal favourite of mine. Our story centres around Donnie Darko a troubled teen previously diagnosed with schizophrenia and a history of
Donnie Darko is a film that follows a troubled teenager through twenty-eight days. Throughout this time he is followed by visions of a large bunny rabbit that manipulates him to commit a series of crimes. During this journey he finds out the true reasons of life and the power of altering time and destiny. Throughout the film many social psychology topics are demonstrated, for example, aggression, self esteem, and internal attribution. Aggression is an immense factor in the film. Various scenes