Donnie Darko - A Film Overview
Similar Movies
Like Donnie Darko? There's plenty of similar movies on this page. Time travel is one of the most diverse subjects in terms of science fiction. Time travel can be found in a number of movies that are complete opposites such as Star Trek and The Time Traveler's Wife. Each movie has it's own perspective on time travel. Where in one movie, a person may be able to change the past, in another, a person won't be able to change it because it already happened and is set. Below are just a few of my personal recommendations, this list doesn't contain every single science fiction film dealing with time-travel.
12 Monkeys
12 Monkeys, starring Bruce Willis, Brad Pitt, and Madeleine Stowe, is a science fiction film about how a virus in the year 1996 that kills nearly 99% of the world's population. In the year 2035, people live underground where it is safe. Over time, the virus has mutated and scientists are unable to work with the mutated form. James Cole (Bruce Willis), a convict, is sent back in time to learn more about the virus and its origins so scientists can study it. James can't change the past, since it is already set, he can only observe and learn from it which is why scientists want to learn about the virus, rather than try and stop the release of it. Mistakenly, James is sent back in time 6 years earlier to 1990 where he is arrested and put into a mental institution where he meets a psychiatrist, Dr. Katheryn Railly (Madeleine Stowe), and Jeffrey Goines (Brad Pitt), a loony inmate of the same mental institution. When James is sent to the right time in 1996, he kidnaps Katheryn and continues his journey to learn more about the group that released the deadly virus known as the 12 Monkeys, led by the mentally unstable Jeffrey Goines. Katheryn eventually convinces James that he is mentally unstable and that his life in 2035 doesn't exist. James is unable to differentiate between what is real and what is not, but still understands that peoples lives are in danger and continues on. Now a wanted person in 1996, James must evade both being spotted and his own beliefs while trying to locate the origin of the deadly virus.
Primer
Primer, directed by Shane Carruth, is a film about 4 guys who design a machine that can do more than it was originally intended for. Using this technology, Abe (David Sullivan) and Aaron (Shane Carruth) see the endless possibilities of obtaining anything they want. They construct two larger machines, use them to travel back in time about a day, and purchase stock in a company they already know is going to do well within a day. Abe and Aaron plan out what they are going to do perfectly by isolating themselves so they don't run into their other instances and they don't change their paths. When one makes the mistake of keeping his cell phone on him, history is changed and multiple instances of both of them coexist.
Primer is a low budget film made by a small group of friends. Despite this being the first film Shane has ever directed, and taking on this project barely knowing how to even make a film, it won the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance in 2004. Due to the low budget and lack of CGI (computer-generated imagery), the plot may be hard to follow at points. Overall, this is a very thought-provoking film. If you enjoyed thinking more about what the plot of Donnie Darko was rather than the action during the movie, you may enjoy Primer. Primer can be watched on youtube here.
Primer is a low budget film made by a small group of friends. Despite this being the first film Shane has ever directed, and taking on this project barely knowing how to even make a film, it won the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance in 2004. Due to the low budget and lack of CGI (computer-generated imagery), the plot may be hard to follow at points. Overall, this is a very thought-provoking film. If you enjoyed thinking more about what the plot of Donnie Darko was rather than the action during the movie, you may enjoy Primer. Primer can be watched on youtube here.
Memento
Memento, starring Guy Pearce, Carrie-Anne Moss, and Joe Pantoliano, is not a movie about time travel, rather, the movie revolves around time. The last thing that Leonard (Guy Pearce), a man with short-term memory loss, remembers is his wife dying. He is an ex-insurance investigator and has set out to find the man that killed his wife. He uses pictures, notes, and tattoos to help him remember the clues he has gotten. A unique twist on this film is that it plays backwards, with him catching the man at the beginning of the film. We are shown nearly all of the clues at the beginning of the film and as the film plays backwards, we are shown how he got the clues.
Although it is not a movie about time travel, Memento still throws a nice twist on the flow of time itself. The entire movie plays backwards through the life of protagonist Leonard. We are left wondering what the motivations were at the beginning of time, end of the movie, that would result in the actions at the end of the story, or the beginning of the movie. If you thought that Donnie Darko was good, but wished there was more action to it, then Memento is a sure movie to check out.
Although it is not a movie about time travel, Memento still throws a nice twist on the flow of time itself. The entire movie plays backwards through the life of protagonist Leonard. We are left wondering what the motivations were at the beginning of time, end of the movie, that would result in the actions at the end of the story, or the beginning of the movie. If you thought that Donnie Darko was good, but wished there was more action to it, then Memento is a sure movie to check out.
