Where To Watch Donnie Darko? Plot, and Cast

Richard Kelly penned the script for Donnie Darko, and he and Flower Films directed and produced the 2001 American science fiction psychological thriller movie. The film features the acting talents of Jake Gyllenhaal, Jena Malone, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Drew Barrymore, Mary McDonnell, Katharine Ross, Patrick Swayze, Noah Wyle, and Stu Stone, and James Duval. Here you will read about where to watch Donnie Darko and other related details.

Donnie Darko, a troubled youngster with mental issues, sleepwalks his way out of a weird accident in this October 1988 thriller. Frank, a mystery man in a rabbit costume, appears to him in his dreams and warns him that the end of the world is imminent, occurring in slightly more than 28 days.

Donnie becomes the victim of Frank’s manipulation and ends up committing multiple crimes. Kelly’s graduation from film school in late 1997 marked the beginning of their development, as she then began penning scripts. He based the plot on an early concept he had, in which a jet engine mysteriously crashes into a house.

Kelly insisted on taking the director’s chair and had a hard time finding financial support from studios until 2000 when Drew Barrymore’s Flower movie decided to produce it for $4.5 million. Production lasted for a total of 28 days throughout the summer of 2000, with most of it taking place in the Golden State. The album featured a cover of Tears for Fears’ “Mad World” by American musicians Gary Jules and Michael Andrews, which spent three weeks atop the UK Singles Chart.

Donnie Darko Plot

Troubled kid Donald “Donnie” Darko sleepwalks outside on October 2, 1988, following the instructions of an unknown voice. When Donnie goes outside, he runs into a man dressed as a terrifying rabbit named “Frank,” who informs him that the end of the world is coming in exactly 28 days, 6 hours, 42 minutes, and 12 seconds.

The next morning, Donnie finds himself on the fairway of a nearby golf course, and when he gets home, he finds that a jet engine has crashed through the ceiling and into his bedroom. The FAA investigators, according to his older sister Elizabeth, are baffled as to where it came from.

Donnie’s parents, Eddie and Rose, take him to see Dr. Thurman, a psychologist after he has further visions of Frank throughout the next few days. Thurman thinks Donnie has lost touch with reality and that his sightings of Frank are “daylight hallucinations,” a sign of paranoid schizophrenia. Frank inquires as to Donnie’s belief in time travel; he, in turn, consults with Dr. Kenneth Monnitoff, Donnie’s science teacher.

After Monnitoff learns that Donnie was interested in philosophy, he presents him with The Philosophy of Time Travel by Roberta Sparrow, a former science instructor at the school who is now a seemingly senile old woman living outside of town. Donnie also begins seeing Gretchen Ross, a young woman whose mother and she had recently relocated to town under assumed names to get away from Gretchen’s abusive stepfather.

Donnie Darko Cast

Jake Gyllenhaal As Donnie Darko

Originally from the United States, Jacob Benjamin Gyllenhaal is now one of the most prominent actors in the world. He was born into the family of filmmaker Stephen Gyllenhaal and scriptwriter Naomi Foner; his older sister is the actress Maggie Gyllenhaal.

Holmes Osborne As Eddie Darko

Holmes Osborne is a well-known American actor who has starred in several films, including Donnie Darko, Southland Tales, and The Box, all directed by Richard Kelly.

Maggie Gyllenhaal As Elizabeth Darko

The eponymous “Maggie” Margalit American actress and director Ruth Gyllenhaal. She is the older sister of actor Jake Gyllenhaal and the daughter of film production Stephen Gyllenhaal and Naomi Achs.

Other Members

Daveigh Chase as Samantha Darko
Mary McDonnell as Rose Darko
James Duval as Frank The Rabbit/Frank Anderson
Arthur Taxier as Dr. Fisher