"If a Tangent Universe occurs it will be highly unstable, sustaining itself for no longer than several weeks. The nature of this tangent universe was actually explained in text from Roberta Sparrow's The Philosophy of Time Travel, which was made available on the movie's tie-in website at the time: Donnie’s role is to sacrifice himself to bring an object (the jet propeller engine) from the tangent universe back home to where it belongs (i.e into Donnie’s own, original non-tangent reality). Donnie Darko doesn’t explain why the tangent universe comes into existence it's one of many things in the movie that are deliberately left a mystery.
Like many blockbusters, Donnie Darko’s use of self-reflexive time travel and the theory of alternate universes can be hard to understand. Simply put, the tangent universe that Frank the rabbit warns our eponymous hero about is a separate, alternate reality that comes into existence at the start of the film’s action. As his family’s plane starts to crash, Donnie travels back in time to the start point of the movie, going back to bed and allowing himself to be hit by the falling jet engine. Soon after, the rabbit’s prophecy for Donnie comes true as Donnie sees an apocalyptic rip in the sky. Gretchen is hit by a car that Frank, the rabbit-masked man, is driving.Ī distraught Donnie shoots Frank in the face, and it’s during this moment that Donnie gives Frank the wound he displayed to Donnie earlier in the film. Donnie tries to find the reclusive author of a book about time travel he got from a science teacher, but instead, he ends up being attacked by bullies. Meanwhile, his Harvard-bound older sister celebrates her university acceptance with a party. Donnie’s mother and younger sister head to LA with his sister’s dance troupe. Chronologically, and stated as simply as possible: Donnie burns down hypocritical motivational speaker Jim Cunningham’s house after Frank tells him to, leading to Cunningham’s arrest when child pornography is found inside. What Happens At The End of Donnie Darkoįirst and foremost, let’s get the events of Donnie Darko’s enigmatic ending in order. Here we'll break down exactly what happens - from the rogue plane engine to the guy in the bunny mask. This creates a foggy, nostalgic atmosphere which makes the trippy ending all the more confusing for first-time viewers.
The film uses a lot of eighties pop culture detritus, such as soundtrack music and TV references, to evoke the cultural moment of Kelly’s own youth. Related: The Umbrella Academy: Time Travel Rules Explainedĭonnie Darko is also a very surreal and strange movie, and this is epitomized by its ending.
But whether it’s the complicated tangent universe, the creepy six-foot-tall rabbit Frank, or how exactly Donnie wins out in the end, everything in the film’s ending can be explained. The movie’s ending combines difficult to explain alternate universes with time travel and some truly surreal symbolism. The lack of a tie-in explainer doesn’t mean Donnie Darko is easy to decipher, though. Kelly’s critically maligned 2006 follow-up Southland Tales needed an entire companion graphic novel to make sense, so it's obvious that he isn’t afraid of a complicated ending. The film is simultaneously an early vehicle for future superstar Jake Gyllenhaal, the directorial debut of mercurial genius Richard Kelly, and a hybrid of teen drama, science fiction, small-town mystery and fantasy. Released in 2001, Donnie Darko was a lot of different things to different viewers.
The cult hit Donnie Darko is an infamously difficult film to follow, but its confusing ending can be explained by unknotting the movie’s complex timeline.