“And I find it kinda funny, I find it kinda sad,
The dreams in which I’m dying are the best I’ve ever had.”
--Gary Jules.
Those words are the saddest part of the Donnie Darko in the last scene where he died, as the song of Mad World played along. The best dreams, I believe, if I could have a chance to sense my dying in the future. Not really in the future, maybe soon enough I do not know, but for sure I am not a fan of suicidal. Certainly, Richard Kelly had brilliant writing that could drove an absurd, surreal, or maybe even insane story (as normal people would say) into something philosophical, deep, and of course, questioning the conformity of a society.
The plot was not really that twisting as some mystery movies have, but the daring lines about parallel universal, God existence, mental health, society, and dying are quite rare genres to be found. If you remember Nolan’s Interstellar, that full of adventure space and science-based material, or American Beauty’s adultery, then Donnie Darko is more to the drama version with the complexity of a teenager who loved to read a lot, so the teachers have no nerve-wracking to encounter him.
What makes it intriguing is how the movie could deliver such an important message that loneliness, or mental health illness attacks anyone. Literally anyone. The main character’s background is not someone that is a nerd or coming from a broken family, he is just a normal boy who happened to have a problem with his mentality and took medication. Maybe it could be the limitation that missing from the movie, on how Donald, a.k.a. Donnie Darko also had scheduled to meet his psychiatrist. I am not really sure with this particular part, since I do not really dig up or research it further. You can find out that the director actually wrote the book version in 2003, so maybe there is a detailed explanation about it.
Here I quoted the relatable lines for everyone about loneliness:
Dr. Lilian Thurman: Donnie, what did Roberta Sparrow say to you?
Donnie: She said that every living creature on Earth dies alone.
Dr. Lilian Thurman: Do you feel alone right now?
Donnie: Oh, I don't know. I mean, I'd like to believe I'm not, but I just... I've just never seen any proof, so I... I just don't debate it anymore, you know? It's like I could spend my whole life debating it over and over again, weighing the pros and cons. And in the end, I still wouldn't have any proof. So I just... I just don't debate it anymore. It's absurd.
Dr. Lilian Thurman: The search for God is absurd?
Donnie: It is if everyone dies alone.
Dr. Lilian Thurman: Does that scare you?
Donnie: I don’t want to be alone.
If you pay attention closely to the pieces of the script above, you will find the similarity to Sam Smith’s song intro, To Die For. How he cried out loud suffering from a breakdown in his social media platform and many people mocked him as he acted senselessly in the mid of this pandemic. Well, who could make a guarantee that being rich, famous, or surrounded by a good supporting system secures us from that illness?
And how this movie is so damn important for a self-reflection. Questioning about current uncertainty, self-quarantine, what if you get infected that lead to the unfamiliarity. Or dying alone, as we could see it as the real new normality. It’s the time to ask those questions, a preparation to be no fear. Or, as an introduction to getting used to the fear itself.
So, what is your fear? Is it being alone?
Reference:
Donnie Darko. (n.d.). Retrieved May 30, 2020, from https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0246578/mediaviewer/rm1513976832
Quotes from "Donnie Darko". (n.d.). Retrieved May 30, 2020, from https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0246578/quotes/?tab=qt
Singer Sam Smith suffering from breakdown after self isolation due to coronavirus outbreak. (n.d.). Retrieved May 30, 2020, from https://www.gulftoday.ae/en/culture/2020/03/21/singer-sam-smith-suffering-from-breakdown-after-self-isolation-due-to-coronavirus-outbreak
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