The director\'s cut was released on DVD last week. I watched it for the 2nd time, and it was sadder than the first. I would have to say this IS one of the best films I have ever seen. I did a lot of in depth studying, and have a pretty good understanding of the film, but a lot of it has to do with some technical terms found only in the Director\'s Cut, this is the best explanation IMO:
Donnie Darko really begins when a jet-engine crashes in his room on October 2. At the same time, Elizabeth is walking in the door-- she\'s been out with a guy named Frank (deleted scenes reveal she\'s dating him). Keep that in mind. So, from the moment the jet-engine lands in his room to the moment at the end when he\'s laughing in bed, the movie is set in the Tangent Universe. During the crash, Donnie\'s not in his room-- he was out on a golfcourse being told the world would end in 28 days by a scary rabbit named, guess who, Frank. Frank makes Donnie flood the school, giving the lucky students a break from classes. That day, Donnie walks Gretchen Ross home from school and by the end of the conversation, he\'s convinced her to "go with him." He says to her he\'s happy the school was flooded. Why? Because if it wasn\'t they wouldn\'t have had that conversation.
A few days later, Donnie sees Frank again and asks if Donnie believes in time travel. Donnie talks to Professor Monnitoff (played by Noah Wyle) about time travel. He gives Donnie a copy of The Philosophy of Time Travel written by Roberta Sparrow, aka Grandma Death, the old woman who goes back and forth to her mailbox everyday, who Donnie\'s father almost hit with the car earlier on. In therapy, Donnie reveals that Roberta told him "every living creature dies alone," which obviously freaks Donnie out.
Later Donnie follows a worm hole (which shows each person\'s future path) up to his parents room where he finds a gun. Jim Cunningham, a creepy self-help guru, visits Donnie\'s school. Donnie calls him the Antichrist. While walking home, Donnie finds Jim\'s wallet. That night, Donnie goes to the movies with Gretchen, where Frank shows up and tells Donnie to burn down Cunningham\'s house. We also learn Frank is just a teenager, with a horribly mangled eye. Donnie burns down the house, then returns to the theater. At the same time, Sparkle Motion performs at school (which Donnie can\'t attend because he\'s banned from after school activities for insulting Mrs. Farmer-- the book up the butt thing). Sparkle Motion is invited to LA for Star Search. A kiddie porn ring is found in the ruins of Cunningham\'s house and is arrested. Mrs. Farmer can\'t take the girls to LA because she wants to be at Cunningham\'s arraignment, asking Donnie\'s mom to go instead. She unwillingly agrees, leaving an empty house for Donnie and his sister to have a Halloween party.
The night of the party, a teary-eyed Gretchen shows up saying she\'s scared for her mother because she disappeared, which leads to them making love. Later, Donnie goes to the fridge where a note was left saying that Frank left to get beer. Donnie drops to his knees, and looks into wormhole that has come toward him (which is Gretchen\'s). He sees a water tunnel in the clouds. Donnie demands they go see Roberta Sparrow because time is almost up. Donnie and Gretchen go into the cellar door of Roberta\'s house (the words Ms. Pomeroy tells Donnie a famous linguist once said were the most beautiful) and are attacked by two thugs. One throws Gretchen onto the ground, the other holds a knife to Donnie\'s neck. They see headlights, and both thugs take off for the hills. Roberta is in the middle of the road reading Donnie\'s letter, and the car swerves, killing Gretchen. The driver gets out-- it\'s Frank. This time it\'s not a hallucination, but the actual Frank. Donnie shoots him in the eye.
With Gretchen\'s body at his side, Donnie watches a storm begin. Donnie then remembers what Gretchen said about taking back all the bad things and replacing them with something good. At the same time, Donnie\'s mom and sis are on a plane back home from LA; we see the jet-engine falling. Time begins to move backward, and we basically see the movie in reverse. Donnie is back in his bed on October 2, and is laughing. He lays down, breathing a sigh of relief. Once again we see Elizabeth walk in the front door. This time, Frank honks his horn. I think he does this as a wake-up warning for Donnie because he knows the jet-engine is coming. That obviously doesn\'t work as Donnie is killed (gruesomely impaled).
So why is Donnie laughing? Because he doesn\'t feel alone anymore even though he knows he\'s about die. Where\'s the jet-engine (in the end) come from? It\'s from the plane his mom and sis were on in the Tangent Universe on October 30, which according to Richard Kelly, Donnie uses his telekenesis to rip it off the plane himself. No one gets hurt once the Primary Universe has returned, but the appearance of the jet-engine will remain a mystery to everyone (except Donnie). Donnie sacrifices himself for the love of Gretchen and his family, having closure with those around him. So why does everyone look freaked out during the montage at the end? The people in the Primary Universe dream about the life they had in the Tangent Universe. Was Donnie nuts? I don\'t think so. In a deleted scene, Dr. Thurman reveals his pills were just placebos AKA nothing pills.
What an awesome movie. Why don\'t you go watch it.
