20 Movie Reveals Nobody Noticed
19. Frank's First Appearance - Donnie Darko
Donnie Darko has been endlessly dissected and obsessed over by fans for the last near-quarter century (!), but here's something neat you probably never spotted in the opening three minutes of the movie.
During the initial montage sequence set to Echo and the Bunnymen's "The Killing Moon," Donnie (Jake Gyllenhaal) cycles through the streets and is briefly passed by a red car.
To be specific, it's a red Pontiac Trans Am - the very same car that's revealed to be driven by Frank (James Duval) much later in the movie.
More to the point, this is the very distinctive vehicle Frank hits Gretchen (Jena Malone) with, killing her - a fact eerily foreshadowed in this opening scene.
As Frank drives past Donnie, the following lyrics from The Killing Moon can be heard: "I know it must be killing time." The lyrics could also reference the fact that Donnie subsequently shoots Frank dead.
Richard Kelly's dense sci-fi thriller is absolutely packed to the gills with easily missed details, but few are more interesting than knowing that Donnie and Frank first crossed paths earlier than expected.