Ben Gallup
21L.011- The Film Experience
Paper #2
Donnie Darko and Space as a Psychological Force
Donnie Darko - Richard Kelly’s 2001 independent drama – focuses on the story
of a young man in suburban America plagued by frightful visions of what might possibly
pertain to the very near future. The movie is marbled with strains of tension, anxiety and
confusion – most of these felt through the apparent psychological disorders of the titular
character. Throughout the course of the movie, director Kelly uses space to sharply
define Donnie’s convoluted state of confusion, brooding mystery, and complex
psychological torment.
The physical locations of the movie and the spatial presentations thereof give the
viewer hints as to how these places affect Donnie. The way in which objects are framed,
where they are positioned, and – most importantly – the manner is which Donnie himself
is positioned in relation to these features guides the viewer to a greater understand of how
Donnie is predisposed to the people or places at hand, and how he will eventually act and
react as events unfold. These clues – both subtle and obvious – help enrich the
experience of trying to relate to Donnie, and understand the ordeal he is being dragged
through.
Frequently Donnie is placed in direct opposition to his surroundings – in a
confrontational posture to both people and places. In Donnie’s own home we see this
from the very beginning. He is seated alone on one side of the dinner table, facing his
family, and almost immediately an argument breaks out with this sister across the dinner
table. For most of the movie, the space of the Darko house is broken into two halves –
Donnie, and his family. The camera often resides in the physical region between these
spaces – looking first at Donnie with no other family members in frame, and then turns
180 degrees to look at the rest of the Darko family, clearing separating the two. The
viewer rarely sees the faces of both speakers at the same time in the Darko household –
denying the sense of alliance we usually glean from common conversation. It seems we
are always looking over Donnie’s shoulder at his parents while they speak, giving a sense
of being on Donnie’s ‘side’, and creating opposition and tension between the two parties
– effectively turning every conversation into a tense nigh-argument.
We can tell through the presentation of space that school is an important part of
Donnie’s life – a space in which he is much more comfortable. We are first introduced
to the school through a very long take – slowly traversing what seems like the entire
campus meeting faculty and students as we learn about the school. We see that Donnie is
part of a group, not an opponent as seen in the school uniforms. We can tell that Donnie
is not the only dissident here - as opposed to in his home – as we see other rebellious
students. Donnie is also comfortable enough to express himself freely in class.
Frequently we find ourselves looking from the front of the English class towards the
back, focused on Donnie as he speaks, with the rest of his classmates sitting next to them,
yet feeling as if they are distant background material – this serves to emphasize Donnie’s
isolation in almost all parts of his life.
Carpathian Ridge seems to be one of the few places Donnie finds respite – yet
still here he is isolated. He retreats here with his friends, or with his girlfriend Gretchen,
and he continues to be alone – as he almost invariably ends up arguing, sometime only
flippantly and not seriously, with his company, and we find ourselves again in the
“Donnie versus the world” camera scenario with the camera firmly between the two sides
of the argument, only seeing one side at a time, always isolating Donnie. We are so used
to this two-sided method of isolation that we can take the lack of it as something
significant. Towards the end of the movie we can see Donnie and Gretchen together on
the ridge, conversing calmly and peacefully. When we see this we know Donnie has
reached a certain level of peace within himself, as the space previously created as broken
down, and this breakdown of spatial isolation corresponds directly to the beginnings of
the breakdown of Donnie’s psychological isolation.
We often find Donnie in the office of his psychiatrist Dr Thurman. Here we find
a new side of Donnie – one much more open, and much less confrontational. Again we
find the camera stepping away from confrontational spacing. Indeed, real world
psychiatric settings are designed to reducing the feelings of confrontation and inquisition,
and here we achieve the same feel through the camera, as both Donnie and Dr. Thurman
are in equal planes of focus – in balance as peers. This relaxation helps us realize that in
the very place where Donnie exposes himself most thoroughly, we find possibly the least
of the familiar defiant posturing in any place in the movie.
When Donnie is not in one of these familiar locations, he is lost and bewildered,
like a child. When he first wakes up on the ridge, or as he walks home with Gretchen, or
wakes up in the middle of the golf course – he is vulnerable and scared. When we see
him in these positions, we often see him from far away, dwarfed in comparison to his
surroundings – mirroring what we can assume are his internal feelings of insignificance
and sense of dislocation. We can tell when Donnie is out of his element by simply the
way in which his physical surroundings are displayed – they are looming, expansive and
deep, with a diminutive Donnie in the middle of it all.
The space of the movie also serves to amplify and define the numerous bizarre
paranormal situations that find Donnie. Again, the juxtaposition of Donnie with his
antagonist – in this case a six foot tall bunny rabbit named Frank – clearly and succinctly
tells us how Donnie is allied or opposed in each meeting – giving us a sense of how
Donnie’s relationship with Frank develops.
In Donnie’s first encounter with Frank, on the front lawn of the Darko residence,
the rabbit is distant, speaking to Donnie prophetically from afar. It is as if the Frank is a
stranger – one who knows that approaching Donnie will only force him away. Donnie
maintains this distance as well, showing his conscious apprehensiveness despite his
quasiconcious sleepwalking state. Through the camera, we see from Donnie’s
perspective – with Frank the central focus, yet somewhat distant. We can tell that this
distance is not from the result of casual spacing, but from the intentional reluctance of
Donnie, yet again forcing Donnie into a certain physical and psychological stance.
The second encounter with Frank is much more personal with Donnie and Frank
face to face through the bathroom mirror. This is much more aggressive, with the two in
each others faces, confrontational, combative and argumentative. The spacing of the
scene is crowded, with Donnie or Frank leaning into the frame, forcing their presence
upon the viewer and dominating the scene. The camera yet again lies in the spaces
between the two, facing each one in turn and revealing the nature of the exchange as one
of combat and opposition.
Much later in the movie, Frank visits Donnie in a movie theatre. Donnie is seated
in an empty movie theatre with Gretchen, and while Gretchen is passed out, Frank
appears in the seat next to her, on the opposite side of Donnie. There is something
amiable about this, something almost friendly and confidential about the close setting of
the two characters. Frank again keeps his distance, taking the seat next to Gretchen
instead of the seat next to Donnie, effectively creating a neutral space in the center of the
screen over the sleeping girl. Donnie and Frank are in closer quarters here – much closer
than on the lawn, yet slightly more distant than in the mirror. This change in space helps
us follow the change in the relationship – from skepticism, to open hostility, to final
acceptance.
The visual space in Donnie Darko is a crucial element of the mood of the film.
Donnie is a very complex character – he is not the kind of person to offer personal
information freely. Without the spatial hints and cues to his disposition, he would be
hard to read, and the movie would suffer for lack of character development. In relying so
heavily on space to create, mold, and define Donnie Darko, Richard Kelly has created a
character that is mysterious and profoundly psychologically deep with the use of few
words.