My personal interpretation of Donnie Darko is not related to the philosophy of time travel or any of the other type of science-fiction schemes that are usually associated with the film.
Donnie is a young man who thinks constantly about girls and experiments frequently with sexual compulsions. About that matter, his parents (especially his mother, Rose) are naïve at best. Her mother is afraid and prefers Donnie attend therapy rather than confront him about his sexual growth. She pays another woman (Dr. Thurman) instead. The therapist is friendly and Donnie reveals to her some of his fantasies. It's possible that Donnie is feeling some incestuous impulses towards his sister, since he hasn't had real experience with girls.
If we flash back to the beginning of the movie, we descend upon the Carpathian Ridge, a crescent-shaped cliff that extrudes from the dense Virginia evergreens above a deep rock canyon, where a cliff marks the end of a dirt road that winds down from above. There Donnie got used to sleeping at the edge of the cliff. The close-up shows us a bike collapsed next to him, Donnie shivering, curled up in the fetal position, maybe a sign of weakness and a clue to Donnie's search for a meaning.
In the director's cut, Elizabeth asks him about Gretchen while carving a pumpkin and is curious at the Halloween party when Donnie goes upstairs with Gretchen. This may suggest Elizabeth possesses some type of control over Donnie's sexuality in the same way the mother of the family does. Donnie endures all this family control only in his subconscious, but he isn't capable of admitting it. In the first dinner scene he gets rebellious, throwing disdainful comments to his sisters and insulting his mother afterwards. His search for sexual realization is giddy, leading him to a textbook conflicted teenager scenario which creates an alternate world - in his mind - where Donnie becomes an accidental saviour while fighting against a giant bunny monster whom he calls Frank.
The bunny is the real Elizabeth's boyfriend, becoming Donnie's competitor and sexual rival. However, the external form is devoid of human attachments, only a grotesque suit, masking Donnie's guilt. All his virtual TV fantasies and fights against matriarchal repression are reflected by the artificial evil bunny, who causes him constant dreadful visions. Frank is, by this logic, a mirror of Donnie's psyche. This also would explain his rushed demeanor when he asks Gretchen to go out with him, because his desire is owerwhelmingly intense.
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Article comments
1 - j
bad
2 - j
I really disagree with what you said. I am not sure you understood the movie.
3 - kendra
It's just an "alternative" vision, different of the classical time-travel theory or "schizophrenia/depression" theory.
4 - Shalebridge
"Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar."
5 - Kendra
And other times that cigar isn't just a cigar.
Anyway, we are talking about "Donnie Darko", not the most formulaic film precisely, where all cigars are simple cigars.
And his director Richard Kelly said it's open to interpretation, so this is my interpretation.
6 - james
way off. nice try though. try actually *watching* the movie. Incestuous? that makes you look pretty *strange* to me. Real strange! Youv'e insulted this great piece of art and should be ashamed!
7 - Kendra
I'm only ashamed of simple-mindedness like yours, dear James. I haven't said it was incest in the story, just the possibility of a teenager feeling confused towards his sexual awakening. And I've tried watching "Donnie Darko", a thousand times, actually, and I've dedicated a good part of my free-time to think and research about it.
It's one of my all-time favourite films and every person who reads my site can confirm it.
8 - Paddybass
I must say... This is a fantastic view of this movie... I had gotten so sick and tired of hearing the same old theories rehashed again and again,a nd as such I had kind of grown tired of the movie itself because it felt like it had kind of been explained. But I really like your idea of Sexual repression, Kendra. This is a top notch interpretation and don't let anyone tell you otherwise. All the best,
P.Bass
9 - Kendra
thanks a lot, Paddy, glad you liked my 'theory'!
10 - GuyOnInternet
A fresh look is always nice and you have done a good job of making your argument (assuming you have watched the movie as much as you claim and are familiar with the current "theories" out there. I would like to see a more in depth article, but its really not needed for those that have "studied" the film).
That said, I respectfully disagree with your ideas. I'm a bit more of a traditionalist and tend to stick to the schizophrenic theories myself (although, its possible, the two are not mutually exclusive)
11 - Kendra
thanks, GuyOnInternet, you assume correctly, "Donnie Darko" is one of those movies I've watched too many times (so many I cannot count anymore). I like to introduce it to people I know, and of course the squizophrenia theory and my observations are compatible.
12 - Paul
My film teacher knows the director. As much as I hate to say it, this is exactly what the director had to say. That's why he cast Jake and Maggie Gyllenhaal.
13 - Kendra
thanks a lot for letting me know about your film teacher story, Paul!
14 - Charles Manning
Its about time I came across an intelligent interpretation of this film. Your a cool chick. I think your take on the overarching sexual theme is entirely correct with the exception of some subtleties. However I think that much of Donnie's confusion stems from his lack of knowledge about sex and his excessively idealistic hopes that he places on them. We can't say that he only gets meaning from sex, he is a virgin as I understand it. We can say however that his lack of satisfaction with life and his general discontent lead him to feel that sex is the only thing that can make him happy.
15 - Charles Manning
I think that the name "Frank" is probably an allusion to the Frank in "blue velvet."
16 - Kendra
thanks, Charles, you're welcome! And yes, it's very possible Frank also contains another extra allusion to Frank Booth in Blue Velvet (a scary character who symbolized sexual repression in Lynch's film)
17 - Charles Manning
Frank (Blue Velvet) was a competitor to the affections of Isabella Rosselini's character just as Frank (Donnie Darko) was a competitor to the affections of Donnie's sister. Frank was also a projection of Jeffrey's own sexuality just as Frank is a projection of Donnie's sexuality.
Donnie and Jeffrey both feel that their affection - Donnie toward his sister, and Jeffrey toward the mother figure is threatened by the frighteningly sexualized image of Frank. (which has a dual meaning of both honesty and a phallic connotation)
So Frank is a symbol of those forces in the world that threaten to alienate him from those sources of affection.