Donnie's voice; his fate

[PyramidHead]

Let's assume, as Richard Kelly does in the first DVD commentary, that Donnie is being communicated to by messengers from God. Some are able to talk to him personally, like Frank, while others are "workers," manipulating the other characters. Notice that throughout the film, Frank's voice is modulated in a distinctive way, suggesting that he is speaking across time (the one scene where this is not the case is in the movie theater, which I'm still trying to figure out).

Now, to the point: it's interesting that Donnie's own voice is filtered and effected as we hear him reading the letter to Roberta at the end, and also as he's sitting up in bed laughing. I'm offering one possible interpretation that he has transcended space-time and become one of God's messengers, for the next time a Tangent Universe is created. This would seem to fit well with his statement "there will be so much to look forward to" after the world ends, which previously didn't make too much sense to me. What he's looking forward to is working at God's behest to manipulate the denizens of another TU, and save the universe whenever it needs saving. I don't know if it was intended originally, but it gives the movie a little more of a positive ending, don't you think?

[TempleLegs]

Let's assume u dont have a life FUCK YOU

[gretchen]

wow! lol what the hell was that about?

[shakesbeer]

Yeah seriously he/she/it needs to settle down.

Thats pretty interesting pyramidhead.

[ProvidencePortal]

PyramidHead said:

he has transcended space-time and become one of God's messengers, for the next time a Tangent Universe is created.

Pyramid, you've offered us some great perspectives so far. Welcome to the boards. (Note also that I caught myself before I made an embarrassing abbreviation of your name: P-Head ... which of course echoes the abbreviation some use for my handle, PP. Scat jokes all around! I'll stick with "Pyramid" and hope others will stick with "Prov.")

Yours is a natural extension of several meta-narratives (stories that launch from the original narrative, have touchpoints in it, but take on a life of their own outside the information offered by the author) that have been developed around the movie by folks on the board. One is that the movie is a story about enlightenment (strongly suggested by Kelly's commentary), wherein Donnie undertakes a divine quest that leads to enlightenment to "God's plan" through sacrifice. Another narrative that's been constructed almost wholly outside the movie is the idea that Roberta Sparrow is a former Living Receiver who failed the final test, which is to choose death, and so was relegated to service to the cycle while still alive ... an existence that is alienated, haunted and repetitive.

I'd add the details of your post to the steps in that ongoing story. Great suggestion to explain what is a tough-to-interpret final scene.