Character- character and choice. Donnie Darko presents unbelievable portraits of character- each propelling the present forward until all these forces collide to create tragedy. Tragedy that Donnie chooses to undo through his own suicide (for lack of a better word).
And each one of these characters has a distinct relationship with existentialism that leads to this collision, which I will discuss in this post. I think that each character certainly has their own plight in self-discovery, more so than in the average Hollywood story. We can think of all these paths as all winding up in their own tragedy- which Donnie undoes. He prevents the deaths of four main characters (his mom, sister, Gretchen, and even Frank), but also the firing of the English Teacher, and the arrest of Jim Cunningham. The final video montage of the movie shows each character is given the opportunity to start over, since all of their actions in the film thus-far have been erased by Donnie's suicide, and choose better actions. This is the opportunity of choice to become a new character entirely, a character that Donnie and we as the audience will never come to know. (See this montage after Donnie's suicide: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=327eOJubvbA)
I must start with Frank- he is the most obvious guide and only interacts with Donnie (until time catches up and he is revealed as an average high school student). However, for the majority of the film, Frank is actually the giant bunny that helps Donnie realize his capability of choice- the choice to change the past (the present? the future? time gets jumbled.) In one scene in his bathroom, Donnie questions why/how Frank is able to travel through time with a bubble around him, free from external danger. "I can do anything I want. So can you," Frank responds. (See this scene! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DgRhza1gFC4&feature=related). This reveals Frank is not just the freaky rabbit he appears to be, who forces Donnie to commit atrocities. He is there to help Donnie realize it is all up to him and him alone.
Beyond Frank, there are two characters who provide Donnie with existential advice, using time travel as the background for conversation: The Science Teacher and Roberta Sparrow (Grandma Death). They both help Donnie explore the ideas of time travel, for instance through the translucent worm paths that open that come from our chests, showing our next motions. Donnie interprets these as a manifestation of each person's individual Fate, as it reveals our direct futures. The Science Teacher helps Donnie realize that life is not, however, predetermined because Donnie is able to see his path in front of him, so he is also able to choose to follow it. Therefore, by choosing to follow his so-called fate, it is no longer fate. Donnie says dismally, "If God controls time, then everything is predetermined." Science Teacher responds thoughtfully (existentially), "You're contradicting yourself. If we are able to see our destinies manifested visually, we would be given a CHOICE to betrays those destinies." While the audience might be having doubts along with Donnie, the Science Teacher addresses our dilemma and sets the film back on its existentialist track even when Donnie is able to see his future.
Another mentor in school is actually the Science Teacher's wife: the English Teacher. The English Teacher is somewhat unconventional in her ways, as you can see when she sets up Donnie with his girlfriend. Gretchen is new to town, and new to the English class- the English Teacher asks her to "Sit next to the boy you think is the cutest," which sparks some ruckus, then she says, "Quiet. Let her CHOOSE!" So the English Teacher empowers Gretchen to make a choice- a choice to enter this relationship that becomes of central importance to the coming-of-age aspect of the movie, but also the existentialist question (the two, clearly, are closely related).
This same English Teacher also introduces a short story - The Destructors by Graham Greene- that helps reflect the movie itself. The story depicts the destruction of an old historic mansion at the hands of a young gang of boys, the leader of the pack's "plan had been with him all his life," but it "crystallized with the pain of puberty." Donnie's analysis of the movie, during his comment in class, puts this piece of literature in the context of his Donnie's life (and death): "Destruction is a form of creation... They just wanted to see what happened when they tore the world apart. They wanted to change things." Besides providing Donnie with an apparent inspiration to defile the school (he busts a water pipe like in the story), the short story resonates with Donnie's development throughout the movie. (For more on Graham Greene's short story, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Destructors)
Such a controversial short story, however, is banned from school during a PTA meeting, in which the conservative gym teacher Mrs. Farmer launches a diatribe against subversive, violent literature in the curriculum. Mrs. Farmer helps the English Teacher get fired too. The English Teacher's last words at school are, "We are losing them[ [the students] to apathy, to prescribed nonsense." This conflict begins to set the stage for a battle of existentialist and anti-existentialist forces. (This link shows Mrs. Farmer (left) and the English Teacher (right): http://www.newmarketfilms.com/uploads/images/darko_1b.jpg).
Mrs. Farmer becomes a more blatant enemy to existentialism as she preaches the ego-perfection self-help doctrine of local inspirational figure Jim Cunningham. This self-help philosophy claims that all that matters is the motivation behind action- all motivation falls on a spectrum of fear to love. Donnie will have none of this, and gets into some trouble with Mrs. Farmer over it. Mrs. Farmer fittingly warns his parents: "Pray your son doesn't succumb to the path of fear." (Face-off with Mrs. Farmer. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tFoJ6XNeKOI&feature=related)). Mrs. Farmer may be misguided and ignorant, but Jim Cunningham himself presents the face of evil in Donnie Darko. Donnie, who becomes our go-to existentialist, has his own showdown with Cunningham during his Fear-Love lifeline presentation at school. Donnie walks up to the microphone set up in the audience, as if he is about to ask a question, but instead addresses the other students who have just asked Cunningham for advice. One of the students asked Jim Cunningham how to help her sister lose weight. Donnie steals the stage and defiantly (existentially) responds with: "If your sister wants to lose weight, tell her to get off the couch and stop eating twinkies," he then addresses Cunningham himself, "I think you're the fucking antichrist."
So the film obviously ridicules the concept of self-help doctrines, as Donnie soon reveals Jim Cunningham to be a troubled pervert who runs a child pornography ring out of his home. Thus a man who preaches so much about motivation, fear, and love, has absolutely no moral character himself. He is indeed the antichrist, the existential antichrist. Maybe Donnie is our existentialist Christ. (Great scene! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wE3hXKdTmRs)
Rosie
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