‘Donnie Darko’: Trailer Analysis

‘Donnie Darko’ is a psychological thriller fantasy about a troubled teenager who is plagued by visions of a large bunny rabbit that manipulates him to commit a series of crimes, after narrowly escaping a bizarre accident.

A long shot of the protagonist, Donnie is used however, the camera has been positioned in such a way that the shot appears to be sideways; this suggests confusion or a disconnection from reality. A series of shots are sped up which introduces the idea of the loss of time. The character of Karen Pomeroy’s voice is used to narrate the story; “It was as though this plan had been with him all his life”. This suggests that the protagonist’s life has been leading up to a significant event introducing the psychological thriller aspect of the film.

A close up shot of a statue of a dog with an axe in its head is followed by an aerial shot which allows the audience to read the words “they made me do it” written on the floor in black paint; this also suggests the theme of a psychological thriller and creates an enigma by raising the question of “who made him do it?”

A short clip of a conversation between Donnie and Gretchen hints to the audience that Donnie has “emotional problems”. The next shot is of Donnie taking tablets out of the bathroom cabinet with the voice over of Jim Cunningham, he says “I’m going to tell you a little story today, about a young man whose life was completely destroyed by these instruments of fear”. This suggests Donnie suffers from some sort of mental illness which is brought about by fear; this

again reinforces the psychological thriller genre and creates a sense of foreboding suggesting that he may have to face these fears.

A medium shot of Donnie looking at his own reflection suggests perhaps a split personality because he looks extremely hostile towards himself, it could also suggest the theme of madness or self loathing. The fantasy aspect of the film is revealed when Donnie reaches out and touches something, causing a ripple effect. This suggests there is some kind of ‘invisible barrier’ that only he can see. The theme of madness is also conveyed through the narration from Donnie’s Psychiatrist when she explains that he suffers from “daylight hallucinations”.

The fantasy aspect of the film is continued when the audience is introduced to ‘Frank’, Donnie’s supposedly imaginary friend. It is revealed that Frank is standing on the other side of the invisible barrier which indicates that perhaps the barrier is a wall which stands between reality and fantasy.

The sound of chimes and violins can be heard however, the trailer uses silence in order to create a more tense and eerie atmosphere. As the action builds the use of white noise and loud drum beats synchronise with the trailer and then come to

an abrupt stop when the screen goes black so that Frank’s voice can be heard. Frank’s voice paired with the dead silence suggests time has run out for the protagonist.