Fear, Love, and Sacrifice:
Film Review of Donnie Darko

By
Ruby Redmond

Professor Heck
English 1010-122
9 September 2013

Outline
Thesis statement: Donnie Darko (2001) is an excellent must-see film because of the conflict between Donnie Darko (Jake Gyllenhall) and Frank the Bunny (James Duval) and the underlying theme of sacrifice.
I. Conflict A. Donnie Darko B. Frank the Bunny
II. Theme A. Sacrifice to save loved ones B. Sacrifice to change others

Fear, Love, and Sacrifice:
Film Review of Donnie Darko
Weird, attention-grabbing, different, and back to the future explains Donnie Darko perfectly. It is all about sacrifice and caring for loved ones more than you care for yourself. The characters are definably cut out, and their attitudes are astonishing. I guarantee this movie will draw you in more than any other movie you have ever seen. Donnie Darko (2001) is an excellent must see film because of the conflict between Donnie Darko (Jake Gyllenhall) and Frank the Bunny (James Duval) and the underlying theme of sacrifice. In Donnie Darko there is this weird, but agreeable, conflict between Donnie Darko and a bunny only he can see in his head, Frank the Bunny. Since Frank tells Donnie to commit crimes some viewers may not agree with these “crimes” because, they may think that any crime is bad, even if they are good. However, these “crimes” help Donnie and others as well. In one incidence he burns down a house of a man who speaks on letting go of your problems and helping little kids. After Donnie burns down his house, while the police and fire-fighters are cleaning up the mess, they come upon a room that is kid porn. Because Frank told him to burn down that house, he saved millions of little other children from the man who could have hurt them. Frank at the beginning of the movie tells Donnie, "28 days, 6 hours, 42 minutes, 12 seconds... that is when the world will end.”. Donnie is scrambling around trying to figure out exactly what it means, with Frank giving him clues along the way. Donnie is scared of Frank and is scared of being alone when “the world ends”. Everyone believes Donnie is going psycho, but, in reality, he holds all the answers. The theme in this amazing movie is also one of the bright points of it. The theme is all about sacrifice. Donnie finds that he can see “worm holes” into the future. He does not get why he is seeing these things at first though. Half way through the movie Donnie falls in love with a girl. What he doesn’t know is that Frank the Bunny actually killed the girl, accidently, in the past. While Donnie sees Frank as the Bunny in his head, one of Frank’s right eyes was missing. Donnie asks what happened to his eye, but Frank does not tell him. At the end of the movie, while time is running out for the “end of the world”, come to find out Donnie is the one who made Frank’s eye go missing. It was on Halloween night, and the girl Donnie was in love with had gotten knocked down, then ran over and killed by Frank. Because Frank killed her, Donnie shot him in his right eye and killed him. Donnie comes to realize then what had happened and what he was meant to do. At the very end, he waits for the “worm hole”, and jumps back into the past. At the beginning of the movie an airplane engine fell on his house, right into his room, but the very first time he was not there in his room for it to kill him. This time, going back to the past, he stays in his bedroom and lets it kill him. He does this to sacrifice the hurt he was causing his family, because they all thought he was going psycho, to save the girl he loved from ever dying, to save Frank from ever dying, and also to change others views. At the very end, after he dies, you see all the people that he committed crimes against crying, knowing that something had happened to forever change their lives. Donnie sacrificed his life to save others’ lives. 833/600-800 | So there you have it; fear, love, and sacrifice. Donnie fears what is going to happen and fears Frank the Bunny, because he cannot fathom why he is there and what he wants. The incredible theme of sacrifice in this thrilling, weird movie is all for the love of others. Donnie, at the end, figures out a way to help his loved ones and change the thoughts of people all around him. Now, go home, turn on your computer, Netflix, or whatever you use to watch movies and I can assure you that this movie will make you think differently and is not a waste of your time.
Work Cited
Donnie Dark. Screenplay by Richard Kelly. Dir. Richard Kelly. Flower Films, 2001. Film.