every living creature dies alone.
but, did donnie darko need to die?
after our research, we decided that Donnie had to die in order to return to the Primary Universe -- therefore keeping the Tangent Universe from collapsing upon itself and becoming a black hole, which would completely destroy the Primary Universe through the wormhole created by the Artifact.
this story, or some version of it, seems to be reinforced by many discussions on all of the websites out there.
although this is from the FAQ:
Q. Did Donnie need to die?
It isn't entirely clear. Richard Kelly states a couple of things in the DVD commentary (with Jake Gyllenhal) that Frank was honking the horn warning Donnie to get up and:
1. he didn't listen.
2. or didn't hear.
but there is also a fellow who posts on gnovies
by the name of "steve mathardi," who claims to be the assistant choreographer from the movie. he says that the real story is much simpler, and that all of the sci-fi stuff was added at the last minute... which is why it doesn't really appear in the film, but in the dvd, and on the website. not that it makes the sci-fi story any less interesting... as someone by the name of "Cinnamon Girl" points out: "Art does not exist merely as it is created, it also exists as it is experienced."
although steve doesn't say exactly what the truth was in the original script, he does hint that "austin stusalitus" was closest to figuring it out. austin, and someone named "someday it will all make sense" reinforces the same opinion i had originally: basically, that it was all a bardo vision that donnie had in the split second before he died. and he is smiling because he has found 'God's Channel,' 'thelema,' 'dharma,' or whatever you want to call it.
--
there is a director's cut planned for the dvd...
and here's a copy of Graham Greene's " The Destructors"