I watched Donnie Darko 4 times before I caught the airplane engine clue

For years I thought the whole movie was just about a troubled kid and his imaginary rabbit friend. Then on my 4th viewing around 2 AM last winter, I finally noticed the newspaper clipping shows the engine fell from the sky 28 days before the crash. That single detail flipped the entire time loop concept upside down for me. Has anyone else missed something obvious in a movie for years?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_jason23d ago

Not to be that guy but... are we sure that newspaper clipping means what people think it means? Watched it a few times myself and always figured it was just a weird prop that didn't line up right. Movies do that all the time, just sloppy editing or a flub the director left in. The director himself has said the movie is intentionally confusing and doesn't have one clear answer. Maybe it's just a movie about a kid with schizophrenia and the time loop stuff is fans overthinking it.

sammurray22d ago

My buddy Mark watched The Sixth Sense like eight times before he realized the guy in the toupee was dead the whole time. He called me at 3 AM one night all excited about it, said he finally noticed the wedding ring on his hand disappeared in certain shots. I didn't have the heart to tell him that was the main twist everyone talked about for years. He still defends that M. Night Shyamalan hid it too well and it wasn't obvious. Some people just see movies different I guess.