Donnie Darko, all the interpretations of the film

Twenty years after its release in Italy, Donnie Darko managed to achieve first place in the Italian box office, with 115 thousand euros and 278 thousand in total on the third day of programming. The famous cult film by Richard Kelly, then making his debut, from the beginning had raised many questions about the problematic high school boy tormented by strange visions and about Frank, the anthropomorphic rabbit who lives in the protagonist’s subconscious, which remained unanswered.

The debate has reopened now that, for the first time, Donnie Darko came to the cinema, from 3 to 5 June, in restored version 4k Director’s Cut, distributed by Notorious Pictures. The restoration of the film has given lovers of the genre an opportunity to once again immerse themselves in its enigmatic dimension.

Donnie Darkowhich includes Jake Gyllenhaal, Jena Malone, Mary McDonnell, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Drew Barrymore, Patrick Swayze and Noah Wyle in the cast, mixes elements of psychological thriller, science fiction and teenage drama, to transport the audience to the end of the 80s, through the Donnie’s stories.

The high school student, who miraculously escaped a mysterious accident (the engine of an airplane collapses on his house), meets Frank the rabbit, who introduces him to the concept of time travel and predicts that the world will end in 28 days, 6 hours, 42 minutes and 12 seconds. As Frank takes more and more control of his life, Donnie begins to have feelings for Gretchen, becomes interested in space-time studies and becomes increasingly violent, losing contact with reality. The boy falls into a spiral of convictions and beliefs with disastrous consequences. The narrative becomes increasingly surreal, blurring the lines between a tangible reality and the dream state. Donnie’s actions and interactions with various characters also raise questions about whether events are predetermined or consequences of his choices.

But what does this story mean?

According to one of the theories, what we see in the film is not real. All the events we witness are just images created from the mind of Donnie Darko, and which therefore do not materialize in reality and have no impact on the other characters. This interpretation is supported by the fact that the film is told entirely from Donnie’s point of view, a boy suffering from schizophreniawhich could make him an unreliable narrator.

Another explanation is that everything that happens in the film is a dream of Donnie’s: him waking up in his bed and start laughing might suggest that it was just a nightmare.

According to another theory, Donnie died early on, when the plane’s engine crashed onto the house. The film becomes a vision of what the boy’s life could have been, if he had been saved. An alternate reality or a post-mortem vision. According to this interpretation, Donnie may have tried to avoid death through time travel.

Another theory posits that Donnie Darko is trapped in a time loop, a never-ending cycle in which the same things always happen (like in the film I’m starting over). This time loop, which began with the plane engine crash, would last 28 days each time.

The debate has often called into question too the tangent universe, a universe parallel to our primary universeto which it is connected through a wormhole, a temporal shortcut that allows you to travel through time. This tangent universe is highly unstable and will collapse, forming a black hole that could destroy even the primary universe. Donnie lives in this tangent universe for 28 days, led by Frank, and in the meantime must take specific actions to restore the original condition and prevent the destruction of human existence.

According to another interpretation, the rabbit Frank would be a demon who wants to show the boy how sad and wretched the lives of the people he loves would be if he were still alive and not already dead in the accident.

There is also a rather bizarre theory, according to which the film Donnie Darko it would be the prequel to Matrix: Donnie would be the predecessor of the Chosen One, before the arrival of Neo, and Frank a human who entered the Matrix.

Although there are many clues as to what the film means – or could mean – its underlying ambiguity still admits of multiple explanations. And perhaps this is what preserves its charm.