Donnie Darko: 15 Best Quotes

Some films aren’t instant classics, yet over time they gain newfound appreciation and cult followings that make them forever iconic. This is certainly the case with Donnie Darko, a film that became much more popular and beloved in the years following its lackluster release. Almost two decades after its release, fans continue to obsess over and debate the smallest details and deeper meaning of the film.

The film features moments that can be, powerful, thought-provoking, unsettling, or even hilarious. The many memorable quotes from the film serve as the best way to immortalize its best moments.

Updated on June 29th, 2021 by Matthew Rudoy: In the year that the movie turns 20, Donnie Darko continues to be celebrated and analyzed by new and old fans alike. The movie has no shortage of compelling quotes, from seemingly simple lines that take on greater significance than the audience first realized, to lines that are intriguing even beyond the context of the film.

Some of these quotes are in both the theatrical version and director’s cut while some are only said in one version of the film. Regardless, each quote offers unique insight into what makes Donnie Darko a beloved cult classic and why the film continues to resonate with audiences. 

15 “Donnie Darko? What the hell kind of name is that? It’s like some sort of superhero or something.”

Donnie Darko is not like a traditional superhero movie, yet it does contain certain elements of a superhero story. There is the surface level similarity of the protagonist’s name having alliteration like Peter Parker or Bruce Banner.

More significantly, Donnie Darko becomes the story of a teenager who saves his universe and the people he loves. Most of the characters think Donnie is weird at best and highly disturbed at worst, but none of them understand Donnie’s greater purpose, and even he doesn’t understand it until the end of the movie. Director Richard Kelly has even shared in an interview with Fandom how the movie spoke to the wish-fulfillment of superhero stories.

14 “You can’t lump things into two categories. Things aren’t that simple.”

Donnie Darko is a movie that celebrates the full spectrum of human emotion in all its beauty and pain. The movie tackles this head-on with Donnie becoming frustrated when his gym teacher forces him and his peers to engage in an exercise where they explain whether a scenario they are given is the product of fear or love.

Donnie is right to scoff at this idea as life cannot be boiled down to everything being rooted in fear or love. There is always more emotion in play and always more to the story. This is true of Patrick Swayze’s character Jim Cunningham who is harboring a dark and disturbing secret about himself, despite being a seemingly charming and virtuous motivational speaker who touts the idea of conquering fear through love.

13 “Aren’t we forgetting about the miracle of storytelling? The deus ex machina, the god machine? That’s what saved the rabbits.”

After reading Watership Down and watching an animated film adaptation of it in his English class, Donnie scoffs at the idea that he should care about the rabbits in the story.

Drew Barrymore’s English teacher character, Karen Pomeroy, reminds Donnie of the miracle of storytelling. Her line is an important reminder about the power of storytelling and how the best fictional stories are meant to relate to and teach their audience, regardless of how the story might first appear. Her line about deus ex machina also foreshadows the importance of a deus ex machina later on in Donnie’s journey.

12 “I promise that one day everything is going to be better for you.”

Before being well-known for her performance in Orange Is The New Black or playing a Westview resident in WandaVision, Jolene Purdy played Cherita Chen in Donnie Darko. Cherita is bullied throughout the film and despite having limited screen time, Purdy helps the audience sympathize deeply with her character.

At one point in the movie, Donnie promises that everything will be better for her one day. This kind of line would feel hollow in most movies but it actually ends up being quite significant. Not only does the line show Donnie being more compassionate and sensitive than his peers, but he lives up to his promise as he ultimately saves Cherita and everyone else.

11 “I don’t think that you have a clue what it’s like to communicate with these kids. We are losing them to apathy…to this prescribed nonsense. They are slipping away.”

Many of the adults in Donnie Darko struggle to connect with the children and young adults in the story. This is true of the hypocritical Jim Cunningham, the gym teacher Kitty Farmer, and Principal Cole, but also of characters like Donnie’s well-meaning parents who want to help but just don’t know how to reach him.

Karen Pomeroy is one of the only adults who are able to effectively communicate and connect with Donnie or any of the other young adults in the story. Despite the gift that she has, Karen is fired from her job for political reasons, which is a commentary on the absurdity of bureaucracy and how the world of education often does a disservice to the children they are supposed to be serving.

10 “28 Days, 6 Hours, 42 Minutes, 12 Seconds. That Is When The World Will End.”

Frank’s declaration of an apocalyptic countdown raises the stakes for the entire film. It creates a sense of existential dread and mystery as the story moves closer and closer to this doomsday, with the audience not understanding what it means until the end of the film.

So much of the movie feels ambiguous, but audiences know that everything will eventually connect back to Frank’s haunting line and the beginning of the countdown that continues throughout the story.

9 “Destruction Is A Form Of Creation. . .”

“Destruction is a form of creation. So the fact they burn the money is ironic. They just want to see what happens when they tear the world apart. They want to change things.”

Donnie shares these thoughts during his English class discussion of Graham Greene’s short story “The Destructors.” His remarks foreshadow some of his actions and capture one of the film’s themes.

When Donnie floods the school, it leads to his first meaningful interaction with Gretchen as they walk home and get to know each other, which sparks their budding teenage romance. When Donnie burns down Jim Cunningham’s home, he exposes Cunningham’s child pornography ring, which leads to the arrest of the pedophilic motivational speaker. When the plane engine falls on Donnie, it resets the universe to the way it was supposed to be. In all these instances, destruction occurs, but it always creates something better and leads to positive change.

8 “Every Living Creature On This Earth Dies Alone.”

Roberta Sparrow’s chilling words are thought-provoking in their own right, but they also feed into Donnie’s deepest fears and the culmination of his character arc. If Donnie accepts Roberta Sparrow’s words, he cannot see a point in life or religion if all it leads to is a sad and lonely death.

By the end of the film, it appears that Donnie embraces this existential truth, though. He is technically alone when the plane engine crushes him to death in his bedroom, yet he laughs joyfully. He knows he’s about to be freed from his pain and that his death will make things right for all of his loved ones.

7 “What If You Could Go Back In Time And Take All Those Hours Of Pain And Darkness And Replace Them With Something Better?”

Gretchen poses this question as she and Donnie discuss ideas for their Science class project. Their project focuses on glasses designed for infants. These glasses will allow the infant to see positive and calming images like a beautiful sunset instead of experiencing darkness or pain.

This line takes on new meaning by the end of the story as Donnie does go back in time and when he does, the hours of pain and darkness that transpire during the film are undone and replaced with the possibility of a better future.

6 “Did You Stop And Think That Maybe Infants Need Darkness?”

When Donnie and Gretchen present their Science project, their teacher presents a critical question. He asks them to consider if infants need darkness in order to develop. This suggests that replacing darkness with an image of a calming sunset might actually be doing the infant a disservice.

This question is not only applicable to Donnie and Gretchen’s project but is also an important question for everyone. It raises the idea that darkness and pain are needed because, without the struggle of enduring and overcoming these things, people will never learn to develop and adapt in the face of challenge and adversity.

5 “Why Are You Wearing That Stupid Man Suit?”

This is Frank’s response when Donnie asks, “Why are you wearing that stupid bunny suit?” Frank’s response shows that people are never what they seem to be. Frank just looks like a creepy bunny, but his true purpose is far more complex than that.

This line also reaffirms that Donnie is far more than what he seems. He is not an ordinary person and hasn’t yet met his full potential.

4 “Cellar Door . . .”

“This famous linguist once said, of all the phrases in the English language, of all the endless combinations of words in all of history, that ‘cellar door’ is the most beautiful.”

Karen Pomeroy shares this with Donnie as she leaves her classroom for the last time. The phrase “cellar door” sounds beautiful, regardless of its meaning. This practically captures the essence of Donnie Darko. Audiences may not understand the meaning behind everything in the film, but that doesn’t make it any less beautiful of a story to behold.

Of course, “cellar door” also goes on to play an important role in the plot as the appearance of an actual cellar door leads Donnie to make a fateful choice.

3 “Sometimes I Doubt Your Commitment To Sparkle Motion.”

Donnie Darko deals with some heavy and thought-provoking content, but it’s also filled with some truly hilarious and absurd moments. Beth Grant’s character Kitty Farmer is at the center of much of the film’s absurd humor.

The most quoted example of this is when Kitty questions Rose Darko’s commitment to their daughters’ dance team named Sparkle Motion. Kitty’s hypocrisy is lost on no one as she prioritizes defending a child predator over coaching Sparkle Motion and then gaslights Rose for not being a good mother.

2 “How Does It Feel To Have A Wacko For A Son?” “It Feels Wonderful.”

Donnie’s parents are a refreshing and underrated part of the film. They recognize that they don’t fully understand Donnie and that they never will.

By showing that they love Donnie and accept him, they do the most important and powerful thing that they can possibly do. In this particular moment, Rose Darko shows her son love and support. Parents and children inevitably disagree and fail to understand each other, but the most important thing is that they show they love each other.

1 “I Hope That When The World Comes To An End, I Can Breathe A Sigh Of Relief, Because There Will Be So Much To Look Forward To.”

Donnie is tormented for much of the film, but the end of his world offers a chance for salvation. As he embraces his fate and makes things right again, he is able to find the acceptance and inner peace that he struggles to achieve throughout the entire story.

It is the end of his life, but it also means a new beginning for all of his loved ones so, in a sense, it does offer some relief to Donnie to know that they will have so much more to look forward to after this particular ending.

About The Author

Matthew Rudoy
(278 Articles Published)

Matthew Rudoy is a freelance writer who loves to write about his favorite movies and TV shows. In addition to Screen Rant, he also currently contributes to Dork Side of the Force. He has previously self-published two fantasy/sci-fi novels titled CORRUPTION and DESTRUCTION. While his favorite movies and TV shows tend to also fall in the fantasy and sci-fi genres, he enjoys and is open to anything that provides an engaging story, strong character development, and in-depth world-building. Matthew is grateful for the opportunity to write for Screen Rant and looks forward to continue contributing to the site.

More From Matthew Rudoy