Donnie Darko Questions

[David In Indy]

I have several. But I'll ask them one at a time since I'm not really sure anyone will notice this new thread.

Why does the bunny's eye light up after Donnie "stabs" the force field. I'm thinking of the scene in the bathroom. The bunny's eye lights up as if Donnie injured it. Later Frank is seen with a patch over his eye in the movie theater. But I don't understand what this has to do with anything? And why did it light up? Was this to symbolize intense pain? Or perhaps some sort of weakness in Frank now? Donnie injured him and he is weaker as a result? The light is his power leaking out?

I don't understand that!

[Lynne]

I see your thread and will work on formulating an answer tomorrow, David!  I love Donnie Darko and it is rife with symbolism, but it's almost 2 am and I have to be up at 7 for work!  Is this the movie y'all watched on Saturday?!

TTYS,
Lynne
 

[David In Indy]

I see your thread and will work on formulating an answer tomorrow, David!  I love Donnie Darko and it is rife with symbolism, but it's almost 2 am and I have to be up at 7 for work!  Is this the movie y'all watched on Saturday?!

TTYS,
Lynne
 

Take your time sweetie!! It can wait.

I've been watching "Donnie" for years and I watched him again tonight. There's sooooo many things I don't understand. I think I understand some of it, but not ALL of it.

David <------- STUUUUUUUUPID!!!!

I'll have some more questions after you answer this one. I really don't feel ALL that stupid though because most of my friends don't understand this movie at all!

[Front-Ranger]

I am by no means a Donnie Darko expert but I can't resist taking a stab at this enniway (sorry about the bad pun!) Donnie lashed out at the rabbit that was haunting him as a means of rebellion, and also, I think, to see if he could hurt it, thereby proving it was real and not a figment of his overactive imagination (or a hallucination brought on by all the drugs he was taking). And wasn't that Donnie's mother in the movie theater who turn to him and showed him her bloody eye? Revealing to him that the rabbit was actually his inner parent or superego, and he was torturing himself? Lynne, help!!

[David In Indy]

I am by no means a Donnie Darko expert but I can't resist taking a stab at this enniway (sorry about the bad pun!) Donnie lashed out at the rabbit that was haunting him as a means of rebellion, and also, I think, to see if he could hurt it, thereby proving it was real and not a figment of his overactive imagination (or a hallucination brought on by all the drugs he was taking). And wasn't that Donnie's mother in the movie theater who turn to him and showed him her bloody eye? Revealing to him that the rabbit was actually his inner parent or superego, and he was torturing himself? Lynne, help!!

Oh, I didn't realize it was his mother in the theater! I thought it was Frank without his bunny costume on. That puts a whole new spin on things. Or maybe Frank and his mother are really the same person! I'll have to go back and watch that scene again. I still have the DVD loaded in the machine. I'll check it out later tonight. Thanks Lee!

[Mikaela]

No, it isn't his mom in the cinema. It's Frank, Donnie's sisters boyfriend - or the alternate version of him, whom Donnie shoots in the eye towards the end of the movie. Most of the film takes place in a parallell (alternate) universe, where Frank moves about in space and time, and so he sports the gunshot wound and his halloween costume before he's actually killed.

Donnie Darko is one of my favourite films, but even I would not take a stab at explaining half of the strange goings-on! It's fascinating to try to get to grips with it though.

But this article in Salon might perhaps help a bit:

"Everything you were afraid to ask about Donnie Darko". It has a section on Rabbit Frank, among other things.  http://dir.salon.com/story/ent/movies/feature/2004/07/23/darko/index.html

[Kd5000]

I've always been curious as to where the screenwriter/director Richard Kelly got all this stuff...The living dead, the manipulated living, the living receiver.  It's some really deep stuff. How guided are we by God or other forces among many other things. 

One of my favorite scenes has to be when Donnie and his girlfriend are watching The Evil Dead and this operatic music comes on and Frank in the bunny rabbit shows up.  Danny asks him why are you wearing that silly rabbit costume (well maybe not exact wordchoice) and Frank asks "why are you wearing that silly man-suit."

I've read alot on Darko and I don't think I will ever understand it all. It's a very hauting film that stays with you.

[delalluvia]

I have several. But I'll ask them one at a time since I'm not really sure anyone will notice this new thread.

Why does the bunny's eye light up after Donnie "stabs" the force field. I'm thinking of the scene in the bathroom. The bunny's eye lights up as if Donnie injured it. Later Frank is seen with a patch over his eye in the movie theater. But I don't understand what this has to do with anything? And why did it light up? Was this to symbolize intense pain? Or perhaps some sort of weakness in Frank now? Donnie injured him and he is weaker as a result? The light is his power leaking out?

I don't understand that!

I didn't think it was his eye lighting up, I thought it was the field Donnie was stabbing lighting up which just happened to be right over Frank's eye.

There are plenty of websites about this movie.  In the director's cut version, the director explains how this is a religious movie (Jesus, sacrifice, etc) - which is a shame because I didn't take the movie as religious at all.  I prefer my version. 

[David In Indy]

I didn't think it was his eye lighting up, I thought it was the field Donnie was stabbing lighting up which just happened to be right over Frank's eye.

There are plenty of websites about this movie.  In the director's cut version, the director explains how this is a religious movie (Jesus, sacrifice, etc) - which is a shame because I didn't take the movie as religious at all.  I prefer my version. 

If you watch closely Del, you'll notice that when the bunny turns his head the light remains in his eye. I could never figure out what it meant though. It seems every single thing in that movie is symbolic in some way. I love watching it because I notice something new and different each time. It's a bit like Brokeback Mountain in that respect - lots of imagery and symbolism. Well that, and the fact that Jake starred in both of them!

[Front-Ranger]

Oh, I didn't realize it was his mother in the theater! I thought it was Frank without his bunny costume on. That puts a whole new spin on things. Or maybe Frank and his mother are really the same person! I'll have to go back and watch that scene again. I still have the DVD loaded in the machine. I'll check it out later tonight. Thanks Lee!

I watched the director's cut of DD again a couple of nights ago, and I still maintain that when Frank takes off his head in the movie theater, it's his mom with a bloody eye.