Donnie Darko as Christ-Figure 

In the Christian community Donnie Darko is viewed as a redemption tale conveying the sacrifice of Jesus Christ for man kind. Indeed, scholars typically relate Donnie to Christ in regards to his decision to fulfill the prophecies prescribed by Frank the Rabbit and ultimately end his life to save the world. Craig Detweiler states the film is one of the most "faith-affirming films of all time", 11 and that Donnie embraces death so others may live. Similarly,  Lloyd Baugh discusses the concept of the Christ-figure at length in his collective work Imagining the Divine: Jesus and Christ-Figures in Film. He examines how "From the very beginning the art of the Christian community created and developed visual metaphors to represet Jesus the Christ... From early development of cinema, film-makers have told stories in which the central figures are foils of Jesus and in which the plot is parallel to the story of the life, death, ad sometimes, the Resurrection of Jesus". 12 Moreover, he examines the film The Last Temptation of Christ -- the double feature film Donnie takes Gretchen to on their first date. He maintains that Scorsese's film is controversial because it is the most unique and darinng portrayal of Jesus Christ; in the film Jesus is "non-biblical.... beset by doubts and fears about his identity and mission, constantly, oppressively tempted by the devil". 13 Indeed, the Jesus in this film mirrors Donnie and his quest; however, Donnie succumbs to the devil's temptation and does not vanquish evil such as the Jesus portrayed in The Last Temptation of Christ. His ultimate sacrifice remains ambiguous, and one might ask if Donnie, in actuality, saved anyone; or if his journey was constructed by Frank and the Antichrist.

 

Devin Harner, in his article "Christian Allegory, Buddhism, and Bardo in Richard Kelly’s Donnie Darko." analyzes the idea that Donnie has philosophical and metaphysical struggles throughout his journey and, ultimately, fails his task because he actively denounces God throughout the film.  Not only does he argue that Frank the Rabbit is Satan, but that he introduces temptations such as Gretchen to derail Donnie from righteousness and begin his demise. 14 Harner claims Donnie is in fact a martyr, but is prevented from saving humanity by obeying Frank. He maintains that Gretchen, who Frank ensures Donnie walks home with after convincing Donnie to flood the school, is a "sexualized demon". 15 Furthermore, she represets attachment issues and Donnie's fixation on sex. 16 During a Halloween party Donnie and Gretchen consumate their relationship by presumably having sex for the first time, and, consequently, both characters die shortly after. However, because Donnie's death re-sets time, Gretchen still exists in the absolute universe unharmed. Donnie is a Messianic figure, but because he is tempted by Gretchen his ultimate goal becomes blurred. Evils such as Jim Cunningham still permeate; Gretchen's step-father, who brutally stabs her mother, still exists; Donnie's family are forced to come to terms with the death of their young son, and, evil continues to exist despite Donnie's sacrifice.