Donnie Darko (2001) | MOVIE REACTION | First Time Watching

Comments · 84

• DA

  @DaniBedo408 · 2 years ago

  I saw this movie when it came out, I was maybe 13 and it’s always stuck with me. A perfect film.

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• OL

  @olicorrivo3289 · 1 year ago

  With the sci-fi angle interpretation, you can say that this movie is like Interstellar core message, that love transcends time.

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• SE

  @SedriqMiers · 2 years ago

  I noticed the themes of love and fear is for me what this movie represents.

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• KI

  @KimEllis-kt8ei · 2 years ago

  Glad you guys watched the theatrical version as a first time viewing and Nightcrawler is definitely another really good Jake Gyllenhaal movie to check out.

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• MA

  @MarkL1968 · 1 year ago

  “Oh my god!  That fuckin’….”  “Absolute mindfuck”.  I think those were my reactions to Donnie Darko the first time I ever saw it.  Lots of content to unpack here and it’s near impossible to figure this movie out on the first viewing!  Fantastic movie, fantastic reaction.

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• DA

  @DarthKay093 · 2 years ago

  Fun fact the actress who plays the youngest Darko kid played Samara in the Ring and voiced Lilo in Lilo and Stitch

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• IN

  @indeovertuin · 2 years ago

  Really a great story. Grandma Death tells Donnie his biggest fear: to die alone. He has to overcome that fear: in the end he dies alone. He chooses this to save the ones he loves (and all mankind) and restore the normal timeline/universe. Yes - Donnie Darko really is a super hero!! Every rewatch reveils new details. I still love it.

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• MA

  @MaxStax1 · 13 days ago

  RIP Daveigh Chase who played "Sam" in this movie, she was so cute, Really made me sad when i heard about her passing away. Very nice reaction video, thanks for posting! 👍

• BL

  @BluBuccsTv · 9 months ago

  One of my all time fav movies and sdtk

• SE

  @Seancasale-r1e · 2 years ago

  Original is the best cut. Great 80s music

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• EP

  @epicsam2000 · 2 years ago

  Your reactions when Gretchen was ran over is priceless

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• UL

  @UlricGrim · 1 year ago

  If you were a little confused, have no fear. This explains everything, because yes, this is a confusing (but amazing) film:<br><br>The “primary universe” is where everyone is living a normal life, Donnie and his family, you, I, everyone. Then something unexplained happened—a jet engine crashed into Donnie’s room. Luckily for him, Frank (imaginary bunny friend) called him out of his room so he didn’t die. As a result of him surviving, this created a “tangent universe”. The tangent (alternate) universe is everything that would have occurred if Donnie survived, which he did and that’s all the events that played out in the movie after the jet engine crashed into Donnie’s room. Everything and everyone in the primary universe is duplicated in the tangent universe. The jet engine is what you call an “artifact”, an artifact (according to Sparrow’s book) spontaneously appears without explanation, and that means that the tangent universe is slowly being contorted, corrupted, and will eventually collapse on itself, no problem. Artifacts are not supposed to duplicate (but they can, according to Sparrow), as they come from the tangent universe itself. The problem here is that the jet engine did in fact duplicate—there’s one in both the primary and the tangent universe, so when the tangent universe collapses, it will collapse and form a black hole which will also destroy the primary universe—everything and everybody we know will die, the universe itself will collapse in the black hole. When this random event happens (the artifact duplicating itself), a “living receiver” is selected by the universe, or by the “gods” of the universe to be the individual who will dispel the artifact out of the tangent universe into the primary universe (so everyone and everything doesn’t die). This person was Donnie. According to Sparrow’s book, the individual who comes into contact with said artifact will become the selected living receiver (it was Donnie’s room so he was selected by the universe, although he was not there at the time, it was still his room). The living receiver is then granted powers from the fourth dimension to help with his/her task of dispelling the artifact from the tangent universe. These powers include mind control, telekinesis, psychic abilities, increased strength, and the ability to create time portals using water and metal, and to be able to move through those time portals. This is all according to Sparrow’s book. Everyone around Donnie is able to also help him with this task, these individuals are called the “Manipulated Living” and the “Manipulated Dead”. The manipulated living, for example, would be Donnie’s science teacher that gave him Sparrow’s book to read. This is how Donnie learned and understood everything that he needed to do to save the universe. The manipulated dead, for example, would be Frank that he shot in the eye and killed. Frank wasn’t a villain, he was actually helping and guiding Donnie throughout the movie to get Donnie to where he needed to be. For example, Frank had Donnie bust the water lines and school was cancelled. As a result, he met Gretchen his girlfriend that he loved. Gretchen served an important role, Donnie had to meet her that faithful day when school was cancelled. The reason being is that Gretchen was the “Ensurance Trap” which was mentioned in Sparrow’s book. The ensurance trap lays out the sequence of events to help the living receiver complete their task. Gretchen was ran over and killed (unfortunately) by Frank, then Donnie shoots Frank in the eye killing him, then Frank was able to now serve as the manipulated dead to go back in time to help Donnie. Do you understand? Without Gretchen dying (the love of Donnie’s life) Frank would have never died, so Donnie would have failed in completing his task and the entire universe would collapse and die. Now we are at the end of the movie and Donnie is running out of time. After Gretchen’s death, he realizes that the only thing he can do is take the artifact out of the tangent universe and time travel back to the primary universe with it (the start of the movie). But there’s only one problem, he would have to die as a result. Donnie accepts his death, because not only does it save his family, friends, but it saves his love Gretchen, it ultimately saves the entire universe! As Donnie accepts his death, we see that Donnie’s mom and sister are on a plane coming back from his sister’s dance competition. The plane undergoes a malfunction and the jet engine detaches from the plane (this is the duplicated jet engine, remember one was in the primary universe and one is in the tangent universe, this is that one). At this time the black hole starts forming over his house where the engine fell in the primary universe, the tangent universe is now collapsing and will take with it the primary universe. So, Donnie uses his fourth dimension powers and creates a time portal, and while using telekinesis he is able to guide the jet engine back in time through the portal to the primary universe (Donnie himself also goes through the portal with the jet engine, remember the living receiver can transport themselves through these portals as well). Now we are back at the beginning of the movie and Donnie is in his bed laughing, he has accepted his death and knows it has to be done for the sake of mankind. He succeeded and removed the duplicated artifact from the tangent universe. And of course the jet engine he transported there crashes through the roof into his room killing him. As a result, none of the events in the movie happen, but everyone survives—his family, friends, Gretchen, the universe itself. Gretchen of course doesn’t know who Donnie was because she never met him. Now, according to Sparrow’s book, everyone who played a role in helping the living receiver in the tangent universe will still distantly and faintly remember what happened, however these memories come to them in their dreams. I believe she referred to them as “phantoms”. That’s why Frank gently touched his eye at the end of the movie, he knew that something happened to his eye, that’s why Donnie’s therapist woke up in shock, that’s why the science teacher was tossing and turning in his bed, and that’s why Gretchen fumbles so slightly before saying that she never knew Donnie Darko.<br><br>Thanks for listening!

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