Deliberate mistake: In the shot near the end of the film where Donnie grabs the keys for the station wagon, you can see a Blockbuster Video member card in a cup. That card design wasn't used until the mid to late 1990's. This movie is set in 1988. Deliberate as it's a product placement, but still wrong. (01:37:10)
Donnie Darko (2001)
1 deliberate mistake - chronological order
Directed by: Richard Kelly
Starring: Drew Barrymore, Jake Gyllenhaal, Patrick Swayze, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Mary McDonnell, Daveigh Chase, James Duval, Holmes Osborne
Continuity mistake: When Cherita makes her mark on the lifeline blackboard, there are some smudges on the broad chalk line. In the next shot, the line is perfect again. (00:41:30)
Donnie: Life isn't that simple. I mean who cares if Ling Ling returns the wallet and keeps the money? It has nothing to do with either fear or love.
Kitty Farmer: Fear and love are the deepest of human emotions.
Donnie: Okay. But you're not listening to me. There are other things that need to be taken into account here. Like the whole spectrum of human emotion. You can't just lump everything into these two categories and then just deny everything else!
Trivia: When Donnie is about to enter the car with Gretchen near the end of the film, he clutches at his stomach as if in pain, and we see Frank touch his eye after Donnie dies. Both these moments foreshadow pain: a deleted scene of Donnie's death shows a pole impaling his stomach right where he clutched it. And Donnie shoots Frank in the eye.
Question: In the part of the movie when the science teacher and Drew Barrymore are sitting in the staff room, what does their conversation mean? Science teacher says, "Donnie Darko." and Drew Barrymore says, "I know." What significant plot does this have?
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Answer: According to the audio commentary, "they're being manipulated and they are aware that something is going on with this kid and are laughing about it." Director's commentary is very interesting.
Nikki