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Directed By
Richard Linklater
Written By:
Richard Linklater
Cast:
Keanu Reeves, Winona Ryder, Robert Downey Jr., Woody Harrelson, Alex Jones, Rory Cochran, Mitch Baker, Sean Allen, Cliff Haby, Steven Chester Prince, Natasha Valdez, Mark Turner, Chamblee Ferguson, Angela Rawna, Eliza Stevens, Sarah Menchaca
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A Scanner Darkly (2006)
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Movie Review by Tony 
July 6th, 2006
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Screened: Tuesday, June 27th, 2006 2:30pm Lake Street Press Screening room, 70 E. Lake, 16th Floor.
If you had ever wanted to know what it's like to be on drugs without actually taking drugs, A SCANNER DARKLY will take you on that journey. But this film does not glamorize the life style. You see through their eyes the confusion, pain, paranoia and all that comes with it. This is shown through rotoscoping, much like his 2001 animated fare WALKING LIFE. What is rotoscoping you might ask? It is where the film is shot in live-action, and then traced over by animation artists. They do this frame by frame and is a painstakingly long and grueling process. But the final product is a surreal, animated, and realistic look.
The good part about rotoscoping is that it is not just used for a gimmick. It's not distracting or used to show off. It's the road map to look inside a world where everything is blurred, and you can't trust your own thoughts. What is real and what is fantasy is never really made clear. But with most drug cases, nothing is clear. You feel their plight through this device.
The film is based upon Phillip Dick's story, and it follows it extremely closely. Which will please his hardcore fans. Dick's work has inspired quite a bit of Hollywood fare. From MINORITY REPORT TO TOTAL RECALL to PAYCHECK. Dick's work turned into films is usually hit or miss. A SCANNER DARKLY might be the most ambitious Dick story turned into a major motion picture.
The story revolves around Fred/Bob Arctor (Keanu Reeves), who plays an undercover cop looking to bust some drug dealers. He also has a scramble suit. Which allows no one to see him as he goes through 1000 different faces and people at once. He can be a man, woman, child, young, old, all in a matter of seconds. This is a unique toy that is a lot of fun to watch visually as they go through the faces with relative ease.
Soon enough he finds himself falling into the trap of the exact drug he was supposed to be trying to bust. A drug called substance D, better known as death, it's a hallucinogen. This substance problem starts to become a bigger problem when Robert Downey Jr. gives evidence to Arctor's colleagues that indites him as the lord of the these drugs.
A SCANNER DARKLY has little to no action, so for those looking for a sc-fi action film, you are looking in the wrong place. The film is about the fundamental nature of these characters. Such as Freck (Rory Cochrane) who in the opening of the film imagines he is surrounded by bugs. He's in a constant state of fear and day dreams of bad events. Robert Downey Jr. gives the films best performance as a quirky, charming, and fast talking drug user. Downey brings down the house in every scene he does with his illitic , eccentric, and colorful word choices.
Woody Harrelson and Winona Ryder round out this talented cast with interesting and dialog driven, drug induced performances.
I don't know if A SCANNER DARKLY will find a mainstream audience due it's unique story telling, bizarre dark comedy, and lack of action. But I'm sure it will find a cult audience and rightfully so. The scenes with everyone sitting down, on drugs, discussing philosophies, and trying to make sense of their life and their thoughts are just about perfect.
Is A SCANNER DARKLY confusing? Yes. But we are in good hands. I always say the audience has a umbilical cord with the film they are viewing. The minute they are confused, they zone out and lose interest and that cord is cut. But with A SCANNER DARKLY we find ourselves trying to make sense of the confusion, much in the same sense of the characters. You are unusually thoughtful and examining everything you had seen.
I left A SCANNER DARKLY confused, baffled, dazed, and disoriented.
Job well done I say.
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 | Rodney
Jul 8, 2006 10:57 PM
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| see also fear and loathing in las vegas. It defines the "drug film" genre. |
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