Director Richard Kelly’s masterpiece that is Donnie darko ventures into the mind-boggling yet perplexing side of science fiction, as his film depicts a teenage boy’s struggle with schizophrenia. Set in the late 1980s, the film follows 16-year-old Donald “Donnie” Darko (Jake Gyllenhaal) and his unique relationship with a particular hallucination that comes in the form of a 6-foot-tall rabbit that is known like Franco. After these hallucinations take him away from what could have been a fatal accident, Donnie becomes obsessed with Frank’s orders and develops an unhealthy obsession with executing Frank’s demands. However, Donnie’s descent into madness is only part of the fascinating plot. The presence of these hallucinations is synonymous with the impending collapse of reality, a notion that Frank warned Donnie about during their first encounter. Although Donnie meets regularly with his psychiatrist, Dr. Thurman, the combination of trying to understand the theoretical psychics of time travel and dealing with the paranoia associated with schizophrenia is incredibly overwhelming for the teenager and ultimately ends in his symbolic death and metaphorical. Although this cult classic touches on mental health issues vaguely, Kelly and Gyllenhaal used this character incredibly well to emanate the severe hardships of a psychotic disorder.

Throughout the film, Donnie displays a variety of schizophrenic tendencies, as well as extreme paranoia, an incredibly common attribute of most schizophrenics (Halgin, R. & Whitbourne, S., 2014). This irrational belief that Donnie guesses is present throughout the entire film; as his terrible but imaginative need to save the reality he knows and follow Frank’s orders turns into a hideous, controlling delusion. Although there is no explicit scene that fully demonstrates this trait, it is arguably the most powerful yet overlooked backdrop in the film. Donnie’s motivation to carry out various actions is only terror and despair, which shows his extreme paranoia. As opposed to the more hidden elements of Donnie’s psychologically disturbed mind, his vivid hallucinations and delusions are possibly the clearest and most obvious symptom. The plot revolves around her unhealthy relationship with Frank, a figment of her own imagination for a time. The rabbit’s increased dependence manifests itself in Donnie’s conscious stream of thought and causes him to lose sight of rationality altogether. Contributing to this separation is your perpetual illusion that the world is coming to an end and that only time travel will align the various universes. Dr. Thurman attributes this notion to the hypothesis that “Donnie’s aggressive behavior appears to stem from his greater detachment from reality, his inability to cope with the forces of the world that he perceives as threatening” (Kelly, 2003). Dr. Thurman’s assessment is indisputable due to the relationship dynamics she and Donnie share. Donnie’s lack of interest in family or friends portrays a negative symptom of schizophrenia, yet his attachment to the psychiatrist possibly increases the validity of his statement. A fifth, albeit almost imperceptible, characteristic that Donnie gains is experiencing inappropriate feelings or emotions in a given situation. The most detectable case of this fact is during a hypnotic therapy session with Dr. Thurman. She begins questioning Donnie about family logistics and he continually provides answers related to having sex with various classmates. Donnie also has a similar episode, as he persistently questions a guest speaker at school and eventually calls the man the antichrist, a potential sign of occupational dysfunction. Although comical in the film, these two cases represent another negative symptom of his condition and cannot go unnoticed.

Although Donnie Darko’s plot and character is purely a work of fiction, you can still assess how accurately he exhibits the symptoms of schizophrenia and look for possible discrepancies. The aforementioned qualities align very consistently with actual cases of this disorder; however, evaluating Donnie in the context of the film is quite difficult. The sci-fi aspects that creep into the story clearly influence Donnie’s thoughts and actions in a way that a paranoid schizophrenic, or anyone else, would have to deal with. The notion of time travel and multiple realities clouds an accurate judgment simply because of the additional circumstances it presents. However, seeing the cases that occur in everyday settings that are not related to theoretical physics, Donnie embodies a functional schizophrenic. Her various symptoms meet the criteria outlined by DSM-5 to constitute an accurate diagnosis and it can be assumed that these features have been occurring for a period of more than a month due to her established relationship with a counselor and frequent mention of medications (American Psychiatric Association, 2013).

Donnie Darko, although it is Richard Kelly’s first complete film, is known for his inability to conclude with a concrete solution or understanding. The multi-faceted nature of the film is incredibly captivating and well received by a variety of populations. In an interview with Kelly, he briefly described his fascination with Donnie’s mental illness and how “Donnie Darko” was inspired by a classmate who was sadly addicted to cocaine. He spoke about the close relationship of Dr. Thurman and Donnie and how this aspect of the film served to continually provide the primary form of Donnie’s treatment: “[Dr. Thurman] He doesn’t think Donnie is crazy. She has been trying to get to the root of his problems through psychology, not medication, so that he will lay things out under the assumption that the medication is making him better when in reality he is naturally getting better without drugs “(Kelly, 2003). The film itself depicts the struggles of adolescence with a deeper twist that will leave audiences forever guessing what Kelly’s piece really represents.

Cited works

American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders: DSM-5. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association.

Barrymore, DB (producer) and Kelly, JR (director). 2002. Donnie Darko [Motion picture on DVD], (2002). United States: 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment.

Halgin, R. and Whitbourne, S. (2014). Spectrum of schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders. In Abnormal Psychology: Clinical Perspectives on Psychological Disorders (7th ed.). Boston, Massachusetts: McGraw-Hill.

Kelly, R. and Gyllenhaal, J. (2003). Donnie Darko’s book. London, Queen Square: Faber and Faber.