A Scanner Darkly Movie
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Storyline
TAGLINES
What Does A Scanner See?
Everything Is Not Going To Be OK
The L.A. of a not-too-distant future suffers a surge of drug abuse involving a new ultra-addictive and eventually brain-damaging substance simply named "D". Bob Arctor is an undercover narc leading a double life, dutifully reporting to his superiors while effectively having abandoned whatever normal existence he had for a "D" user/dealer career. But this schizophrenic situation and the drug-induced memory and concentration lapses put Bob under mounting stress.
| Rory Cochrane | Charles Freck |
| Robert Downey Jr. | James Barris |
| Mitch Baker | Brown Bear Lodge Host |
| Keanu Reeves | Bob Arctor |
| Sean Allen | Additional Fred Scramble Suit Voice |
| Cliff Haby | Voice from Headquarters |
| Steven Chester Prince | Cop |
| Winona Ryder | Donna Hawthorne |
| Natasha Valdez | Waitress |
| Mark Turner | Additional Hank Scramble Suit Voice |
| Woody Harrelson | Ernie Luckman |
| Chamblee Ferguson | Medical Deputy #2 |
| Angela Rawna | Medical Deputy #1 |
| Eliza Stevens | Arctor's Daughter #1 |
| Sarah Menchaca | Arctor's Daughter #2 |
| Richard Linklater |
7.30 out of 10 (14408 votes)
Visitor Reviews
Desolation, Inc.
posted on 27 Aug 2009A Scanner Darkly is a masterpeice of storytelling and I'm sure Phillip K. Dick would be very proud of this movie. The animation and the rotoscoping technique maybe a gimmick, but it works. The scramble suits, what can you say? They are in a pyschedelic class by themselves.
This is the best acting performance of Keanu Reeves career and his supporting cast is equal to the task. Kudos to all of them, especially Winona Ryder.
Lastly, thank you Richard Linkletter, it is only right that the filmmaker that gave us Slacker and Dazed and Confused would create this tribute to those who have fallen before.
looks like a cool idea but does not deliver
posted on 20 Aug 2009Using a script based on a story of a science-fiction classic, and melding it in an animation film where drawn characters replicate the faces of known actors who then borrow their voices - well, this looks like a cool idea and should have resulted in my kind of movie. Unfortunately 'A Scanner Darkly' never takes off, and the reason is that the original story is diluted into a long series of dialogs who may have somehow made it to the viewer if the real actors acted but their two dimensional counter-parts are not capable of making the same impression and sustaining the film. The directors intentionally avoided too sophisticated effects, and rather restrained themselves to the classical comics book look, this is stylish but not too appealing. The best part of the film is the ending, with the last 15 minutes of the story giving a good quality twist and a different perspective, but this comes too late and if I survived the rest it was with a great effort of patience. Disappointing.
A Scanner Darkly was a wonderful romp into the twisted life of a feasible future.
posted on 12 Aug 2009Simply amazing, spectacular style and a wonderful job by the actors. The movie was funny and thought provoking, and the message was top notch. Reeves does a very nice job in this movie, portraying his character VERY well. Never before have I experienced this suedo-anime style, which was remarkably refreshing. In a day and age where stagnation creeps into every project Hollywood has on the table, A Scanner Darkly was like a breath of fresh air. Also, it's good to me that they show drugs as they really are: not some instant fix button that makes you rich without consequence, not some getaway that lets you escape without anything bad ever happening, and not as some 'ultimate evil' not even as the true villain. No, like the movie suggests, it is WE that fanned the flames on the drug market, the sellers, buyers, users, none are innocent victims, and we all have to pay the price. Sorry if I stood on my soap box for too long. Go see a Scanner Darkly.
A new Heart of Darkness from the suburbs of America
posted on 12 Aug 2009Every once and a while a movie will come along which can expand our understanding of reality -- A Scanner Darkly is just such a movie. From the very beginning, the multitude of themes explored by this excellent film are on display. What is real? What constitutes the human identity? To what extent is our identity cohesive, or to what extent is it broken and deteriorated to the point of absurdity, paradox, and nothingness?On its surface, A Scanner Darkly, the latest Hollywood adaptation of a novel by Philip K Dick, is a movie about a house full of lovable, laughable drug addicts, living in LA in the near future. One of them, Bob Arctor (Keanu Reeves) is involved not only in living the drug-soaked life of mediocrity with his friends, but in fact works for the police department, and spies on them, both in person and through a series of hidden TVs placed in their midst. Problem is, Arctor has become addicted to the favored drug of his clique, (Substance D.) As a result, his reporting, and even his mental well-being, become extremely questionable. There many political overtones to the script and to Arctor's predicament. For example, the movie seems to ask: what would it be like to live in a surveillance society? How does the drug-induced paranoia of the protagonists mirror the paranoia of a government obsessed with the activities of these harmless ne'er-do-wells? And does big business foster a climate of dependency that it uses to extend its influence over an addicted population?But the most interesting themes to me which A Scanner Darkly examines are philosophical and psychological. In their extreme, they are displayed in the highly unstable personality of Freck (Rory Cochrane,) Arctor's friend whose descent into Substance D-fueled pathology has markedly outdone the others. Freck's grasp on reality is tenuous. His unceasing hallucinations and desperate physical reactions to Substance D render him unable to function at any level. The fact that Freck's moral compass, even in his diminished state, is perhaps stronger than his more sober acquaintances, adds pathos to the portrait of this lost and frail man.Nevertheless, it is Arctor's decline which is most fascinating, most observed, and ultimately most harrowing. His awareness that his mind is failing becomes like a tragic flaw of the classical variety. All around him he sees and hears signs that his faculties are deserting him, and yet, nothing he does can break his fall. In particular, his effectiveness as a undercover officer, and his relationship with his girlfriend Donna (Winona Ryder,) become casualties to the impact of his brain damage. Several wrenching scenes between Donna and Arctor demonstrate how their affection for one another co-exists with an odd isolation which is almost beyond words.Increasingly, the viewer begins to feel Arctor's descent, as the narrative becomes skewed as a parallel to his confusion, and our understanding of his reality evaporates along with his disappearing consciousness. A series of voice-overs, including one in which Arctor concludes that he is "cursed, and cursed again," are particularly effective in evoking his internal devastation.By the end of the film, very little is certain, except that Keanu Reeves has given a haunting performance as an Everyman who has been pulled under the surface, that Philip K Dick, to have inspired such a story, must have had a close-up view of the landscape of the broken human psyche, and that Richard Linklater has provided us with an intense glimpse into the dark heart of cinema.
No, it's not about George Bush.
posted on 11 Aug 2009In this age of half-baked political "insights" -- which compare the current administration to everything from Nazi Germany to George Orwell -- one can already see another one coming. Even here, some are suggesting that A Scanner Darkly warns of us the dangers of the War on Terror gone out of control ... that it's a cautionary tale about Republican-style invasions of privacy.
It doesn't. And it isn't.
What it is about, however, is how well-meaning, intelligent people looking to play a little (and maybe die a little) often choose dangerous chemicals for recreation. In fact, this movie does a great job of showing how and why people play with such fire. Each person in the film is just trying to cope, trying to bring a little a peace and fun into a world where they don't quite fit. And drugs, including the ominous Substance D (more about this drug below), ease the pain, help you sleep, and bring some real numbed diversion -- while also screwing up your life by destroying relationships, human feelings, your sex drive, and your sanity. It shows the fun, and fog, going hand in hand, with lives teetering in a world of delusion, paranoia, and finally death. Just before the credits roll, you're treated to a list of people that have destroyed their health and lives in this all-too-human affair -- including the story's author himself, Philip K. Dick.
Plotwise, the story is about a society ravaged by a new drug, Substance D, which has turned a very large percentage of the population into addicts. The main character, played by Keanu Reeves, is a police investigator deep in the middle of it -- both literally and figuratively. And along the way, he's not only developed a raging addiction to Substance D, but has begun to suffer its signature effects, including the bizarre perceptual problems that occur when one half of the brain is split from the other. But we see fairly early on that doctors and others on the police force are aware of his drug use, and, indeed, seem to be keeping tabs on it. He doesn't get arrested when caught in a drug buy (through high-tech surveillance), doesn't get turned in when a blood test reveals he's a user. Something is afoot. And then he's assigned to surveil himself, and doesn't even seem to know who he's watching.
I'm not going to give away the ending, but not because it's especially interesting or satisfying ... only because it supposed to come as a surprise. The problem is that the movie is so unnecessarily obtuse and difficult (far moreso than the book) that the surprise becomes more of an, "Oh. So I guess that's why this, that, and the other thing happened. Why didn't you just tell me (or at least give me more sophisticated clues to follow)?"
Which about sums up why this movie, in the end, was dissatisfying. It feels long, repetitive, and intentionally murky -- as if the director's idea was to entertain by disorientation and a fairly accurate characterization of the look and feel of bright, drug-addled creative types. I suppose those are interesting goals, but not for a two-hour movie that does, in fact, have a plot and a worthy message. The animation technique is interesting and suits the subject matter, but it, alone can't and shouldn't, carry the film. All around, the acting is pretty solid, and it was nice to see Winona Ryder again. Notably, the casting of Robert Downey, Jr. was inspired, and his performance right on the mark.
In a summer where so many movies are soulless, boring money machines, at least A Scanner Darkly aspires for greater things. Like it or not, I think we should reward that.
Visually stunning, but didn't quite meet the hype
posted on 09 Aug 2009This movie seemed to set out to be the next Crash, the next Sin City, to not only visually appease you, but leave you paralyzed in a complex message about yourself, about the way you think, the way you live. This movie does make you think, has a brilliant script, excellent backdrop, and appealing characters, but leaves you trying to pick out the pieces in the end. A great movie, at least worth a rent, but it seems to be a love it or hate it film.
I thought that the performances were very good, especially due to the 5-star script, but the movie's pace could have been faster, and delt with more enthusiasm. The plot revolves around this drug called Substance D. This drug is highly addictive, "either you are on it, or you haven't tried it yet" and causes the user to hallucenate... seeing bugs and insects in your hair and on your skin, and people become partial bugs. In this not to distant future, the government is trying to track down Substance D users to try to find the people higher up on the ladder, distributing the drug.
The story is very compelling, but the pace leaves you not quite dazzled. The movie was directed with too much emphasis on the impressing the viewer with visuals and complex dialogue, that the viewer is overwhelmed. The movie was trying to become bigger than it is, and although it's good, it is not Oscar-worthy. The visuals were impressive, with outlined characters, in an almost full cartoon appearance.
DVD: A little disappointing. The audio was it's best point. The transfer was a little muddy, and the extras were very limited; but it is really about the movie, which I give 3.5 stars.
Keannu is certainly the one.
posted on 02 Aug 2009After the credits, my friend, as I expected he might, agreed with my suggestion that Scanners was the worst movie he'd ever seen. I was happier about it, only disappointed in the animation. Not the technique itself, which is sometimes exquisite (Donna's hair) and sometimes pretty nominal; but I was unhappy about the effect on my affect. As if the buzz of the insistent Rotoscope had smothered the little shivers of discovery I hope for in the reframing of a familiar environment. The animated strange had preempted the human strange, and left me uninvolved. I had wanted to love this movie.Keannu's good, tho, isn't he? Nothing too wrong with Tom Cruise in Minority Report, but Keannu smokes that performance. I could see him doing a lot of Dick. Didn't mind Arnie in Total Recall, but Keannu can do that too. Actors should own roles, some actors anyway, and he's maybe the one. Could he do Deckard? Not in the romantic world of Ridley Scott (wonderful movie), but get Carpenter to re-make it, or Katherine Bigelow.Game Players is what I want to see, with Keannu, (and maybe the Dixie Chicks on Natz Katz).It's the most linear narrative Dick wrote. (I confess to some exhaustion at the boredom and confusion Dick often insists that we share in some of the books.) And get somebody with Science Fiction cred to direct. Maybe Vincenzo Natali who made Cube—he's currently shooting J.G. Ballard's High Rise.
based on a story by Phillip K.
posted on 02 Aug 2009I suppose you have to be able to "just say 'no'" to all the over-bloated hi-tech sci-fi films of the past 30 years to really appreciate this film. It was clearly decided beforehand that the film would present the gritty, decaying post-industrial world in which the story was written, rather than the oh-so-flashy metal-and-neon future sci-fi film fans seem to love. But that plays as a plus for me, because, now well into the 21st Century, the future looks more depressingly like the present than ever before, except more crowded and with a lot fewer natural resources, and a lot less wealth, to go around.This is decidedly a '70s throwback, all the way around, but as such it is clever, funny, moving in an oddly nostalgic way, and ultimately very depressing - yep, that was the '70s, all right.Another major positive of this film is its evident love and admiration for the writing of Phillip K. Dick. (Really, if all you've seen is Blade Runner, Minority Report, Paycheck and Total Recall - basically, you haven't yet seen a filming of any story by Dick; this is really the first.) I've rarely seen a film based on a work of fiction so devoted to its original material. The clever animation effects show a real struggle to reproduce the poetry of Dick's exposition, while the dialog presents his lines with a quiet but equally poetic dramatic effect.Not an easy movie to sit through, full of disturbed characters and disturbing situations, but ultimately satisfying, and probably the only movie of which it can be truly said "based on a story by Phillip K. Dick".
Could have been great but only just better than the average
posted on 31 Jul 2009Great director, great cast, great screenplay, great book, poor movie. The story-line is pretty complex as with all of PKD's works. In brief, its about an undercover cop trying to find the source of Substance D, a highly addictive and destructive drug. There are plot twists within plot twists which really work in the book and almost work in the movie. The down-side is the whole movie is shot as if it was put through the Artwork filter in Photoshop. Unfortunately, in complete contrast to Sin City, it just doesn't work. In Sin City the actors were real and the background was stylized so there was still the human touch and that made it special. Remove that and you are left with lots of pretty pictures. If The Scanner Darkly was shot normally it would have been a fantastic movie. If you are a PKD fan then it probably won't matter that much to you anyway.
Canaries In The Coalmine
posted on 28 Jul 2009Linklater delivers a faithful adaptation of Dick's novel, and that, along with the extraordinary group effort of all involved in bringing this most relevant story to our video-collective consciousness, results in a rare, science-fiction-esque-existential-dilemma with underscored warnings and cultural caveats far more urgent and dire today than even the corrosive social climate which fueled Philip K Dick to write the story. Little wonder how its central themes are largely misunderstood within a society long brainwashed through an external, centralized corporate/state power, and its far reaching, ever indoctrinating, media propaganda apparatus.
The disc itself has the usual features consumers have come to associate with the medium, including an audio commentary with input from Dick's two daughters. While A Scanner Darkly serves as a grim observation on America's quasi-semi-ocracy/oligarchic/totalitarianism, it is first and foremost a tale of existential search, of trying to understand god and cosmos, a tale of betrayal, of unrequited love. A devestating personalized look at how a controlled from the top-down society's views are coerced and manipulated individually and collectively, and how this impacts millions of innocent individuals who are systematically scapegoated for ideological gain and corporate profit.
Other essential social critics, such as Marcuse, Chomsky, Hunter Thompson, and the late comedian, Bill Hicks, often cited what is at the heart of this PKD story; the tribulations of the alienated individual who does not succumb to the mass conditioning of the day, and, even if they've committed no wrong - and in fact, often strive to impart a deeply moral message - are roundly attacked for nothing more than being a sentient individual attempting to find their way.
This movie is a must not see
posted on 27 Jul 2009I would first off like to say that I enjoy the acting of Robert Downey, Jr. but even he could not save this worthless movie. It seemed to be a poor attempt at an anti-drug movie, but it turns out to be a boring mess. The acting in the movie seems to be wooden and the attempt at comedy seems to me to be forced. The so called acting by Woody Harrelson was just plain bad. I honestly cannot see how anyone can enjoy this movie. The best part about it is that it was a short movie at around an hour and a half. Maybe I would enjoy this movie better if I had read the book but I doubt it because I will not watch this movie again ever, no exceptions!
An odd and surprisingly depressing film.
posted on 23 Jul 2009Stars: Keanu Reeves, Robert Downey Jr., Wynona Ryder, Woody Harrelson and Rory Cochrane.I really didn't know what to expect from this movie, and I have to say, it was just all too stupid. In the film, it seems as though every bit of diologue said just disappears. It's hard to understand the actors quite a lot in this and there is so much meaningless conversation about really dumb things. The movie looks really good with animation over live action, but it's the substance (not the substance abuse) that is lacking. "Scanner" has many twists and turns, and by the end, I was becoming depressed. The plot of this film (at first glance) is 7 years in the future, our lives are being monitored always. There is a drug menace called Drug D, that either you take it and get hooked, or you've never tried it. This movie follows 5 users of the drug, one of which is an undercover cop (Keanu Reeves). I think the film was trying to say how bad the police are, and how drugs ruin lives, but it really wasn't a pleasant experience watching this bizarre and often times confusing film. As for the acting, I thought it was all very good, and often purposely over the top. I didn't like Woody Harrelson's character, but I sort of found the others amusing. Rory Cochrane was really good and kind of funny as the extreme addict seeing bugs everywhere and always twitching. I think that Scanner's main problem was it felt disjointed and it didn't really explain itself until the end, so for the whole film you just want to know what is going on. This film will without a doubt reach a cult status, but never any more.My rating: ** out of ****. 97 mins. Rated R for Language, Nonstop drug abuse, Some Nudity and A Violent Scene.
Serious play: brilliant result
posted on 21 Jul 2009This most faithful rendition on film of a Philip K. Dick story (of eight so far) is both Richard Linklater's homage to Dick and Dick's homage to himself, his wife, and his friends who were brought down by drugs. Sporting a fine cast whose members themselves have excellent drug credentials, "A Scanner Darkly" moves from the sheer wonder or tsk-tsking of tales like Jonas Åkerlund's "Spun" or Arnovsky's "Requiem for a Dream" toward the supply-demand-punishment nexus relentlessly limned by William S. Burroughs.Burroughs' sexually outrageous phantasmagorias have seemed unfilmable, though Cronenberg gave "Naked Lunch" a good try; but his ideas are clear: the future moves toward totalitarianism, and drugs are an excellent way of controlling masses of people. If they're addicted, they're your slaves; you've got their minds, and you've got their money. If you've got them hooked on something illegal, you've got a nation of outlaws, and hence a police state. But as Burroughs said, it's covert -- though America's huge prison population is increasingly visible. The world becomes one big sting operation. In "A Scanner Darkly," the rulers conceal and rip up identities at will and in the end nobody's safe, but everybody's too wacked-out to care. Except we care, and the movie is trippy, funny -- but also sad.Linklater ingeniously uses rotoscoping (found also in the director's "Waking Life" and a segment of Von Trier's "Five Obstructions"), a complicated computer imaging technique that gives filmed people an overlay of shaky hand-drawn animation -- or, in this case, a crazy web of drug-induced (or governmentally imposed) illusion hovering on the surface of everybody's appearance.Darkly is set seven years in the future, but the images are rich brightly drab Seventies Orange County grunge. Dick's story is as much rueful reflection as sci-fi. It's also comedy, as drug stories often are are, the manic nuttiness embodied in Rory Cochrane as Freck, who imagines himself covered with bugs (rotoscoped all over him); Robert Downey, Jr. (who surely knows whereof he speaks) as the motor-mouthed, jumpy, manipulative Barris; and goofy loose canon Luckman (Woody Harrelson), who might get violent or who pass out any minute, you don't know which. These represent Dick's immediate circle of trusted friends. Or they were trusted. Now addiction to big red pills of an amphetamine-like super drug called Substance D (evidently produced by the same encompassing structure of exploiters that hunts down its sellers and users, whom it infiltrates) has turned them manic and paranoid. The system is eating its tail: the War on Drugs is part of the drug business. "The junk merchant doesn't sell his product to the consumer," Bill Burroughs said, "he sells the consumer to the product." The matrix feeds equally well in all directions. People are bugs stuck in the honey-pot.Exploiter and victim at the center is "Matrix" alumnus Keanu Reeves as Bob Arctor -- friend, doper, and covert agent for the company -- whom however the company is seeking to destroy. He hangs out with his friends and then goes to work and watches scanner images of himself with them. No wonder he knows less and less who he is. Even the corporation he works for doesn't know, though it increasingly suspects, which one of the household he's watching on the scanner he is. Agents of the corporate system that binds the nexus together, such as Arctor, "Fred" to the company, wear a shape-shifting "scramble suit" coating when meeting with their bosses that hides their identity from everyone by making them assume dozens of fractional identities every minute, changing outfit, face, and sex with the flickerings of the rotoscope images. But the flickerings on the people all the time show their heightened but fragmented perception and the splitting of their identities. They're pretending to be who they don't know they are. Luckman tells about a famous imposter who decided the best scam would be to pretend to be a famous imposter. The world of "Scanner Darkly" is like your mind on drugs such as marijuana: you struggle to grasp an idea and when you've almost got it, you forget what it was you were struggling to grasp. The movie captures that -- more than once.Its look is trippy, and though less spectacular than some, this is one of the greatest drug movies, not only because of the intense visuals but because the Dick of this story and Linklater himself are both master delineators of drug thought and drug talk. As in "Spun," linear logic or tidy structure are inappropriate. The movie is episodic and just ends. Highlights are Barris'/Downey's conversation and the friends' argumentative analysis of situations when a bike is found or a car breaks down on the highway. Dick and Linklater capture the hilarity of drugged friends comically bonding at cross purposes with each other, their bicker/banter. But, not atypically for far-along druggies, there's no sex: Donna (Winona Ryder) can't bear for her boyfriend Arctor to touch her. "Fred" (Arctor) is periodically hauled in for testing. They know he's addicted to the stuff he's supposed to be investigating and can see the two hemispheres of his brain aren't working properly any more. It may be Arctor signifies a man at war with his inner Addict. Some reviewers complained about press screening walkouts or inability to follow, but the San Francisco third day audience was warmly appreciative. Dangling abrupt ending? Perhaps, but the key to the treasure is the treasure: getting there is half the fun. Linklater fans, of whom I'm one, must not miss this movie, and it's not just idle play. Nor is it coincidental this came out at Cannes with his other film, "Fast Food Nation." Both are calls to arms that speak to twenty-first-century America. The food industry, the war on drugs, the war on terror are all means of exploitation and repression. Dick's nonsensical word play and Linklater's current film-making are dead serious, and world class American art.
For the first time ever: Philip K. Dick done right
posted on 19 Jul 2009Opening disclaimer: I do not ordinarily like science fiction novels. Too often, they are written by people who are very good at describing technical details of laser death rifles, warp engines, alien mind probes, etc., but who are woefully incompetent at storytelling. There are only four sci-fi writers that I care for: Jules Verne, Ray Bradbury, Kurt Vonnegut, and Philip K Dick. Of those four authors, only Bradbury's stories have made successful transitions from page to screen without substantial changes. Until now.Although Dick's work has been adapted for the screen before ("Blade Runner", "Total Recall", "Minority Report"), "A Scanner Darkly" is the first to preserve the plot, all the major characters, and the ending exactly as Dick had originally written them.Bob Arctor (Keanu Reeves) is an undercover cop who is trying to find the ultimate source of a drug called Substance D by converting his house into a drug den and making friends with comical junkies Freck (Rory Cochrane), Barris (Robert Downey, Jr) and Luckman (Woody Harrelson) as well as dealer Donna (Winona Rider). Arctor is in such deep cover that his own co-workers don't know his true identity, and only know him as "Special Agent Fred". When he's at the office, he wears a scramble suit that alters his voice and gives him a constantly shifting appearance. Unfortunately, in order to maintain his cover, Arctor has to take Substance D, which is so addictive that if you try it just once, you're hooked. Substance D also has fairly serious side effects including--but not limited to--hallucinations, paranoid fantasies and brain damage.Richard Linklater apparently must have realized that the story could not be filmed conventionally and stay true to Dick's vision. So he used his own special brand of animation (previously used in "Waking Life"), which involves filming the actors on digital video and "painting over" the images with computer graphics to create a two-dimensional cartoon that moves at 24 frames per second. This not only lets Linklater show the hallucinations and scramble suits without going over budget or using sub-par special effects, but it gives the entire film a dream-like quality, since the images we are seeing are both live-action and animated at the same time. And--in the only substantial departure from the novel--there is an ironic revelation about Donna that I won't reveal here, but would make Dick hang his head and say "Why didn't I think of that?" Plus, as an Austinite, it was a hoot to see police do to Alex Jones what I've always wanted to do to him every time I have seen him on cable access or hear him on the radio.The movie is not flawless, however. My main complaint is that Keanu Reeves is given the lead, and he is simply not good enough actor to pull it off.But overall, this is a well-done film that stays true to Philip K. Dick's funny, tragic, ironic, paranoid, convoluted vision. Let's hope it ultimately finds the same kind of success as his other, less faithful adaptations. 8 out of 10.
Cartoon film for adults.
posted on 10 Jul 2009Contains scenes of male and female nudity, foul language, drug use, sexual situations. Rated "R".
You may have seen some commercials like this.
Like the film, Waking Life (2001), "A Scanner Darkly" is a motion picture that has been filmed normally like a movie, however afterwards everything in the frame is traced including the actor and computer-colored like a cartoon. It is not for children, but for adults.
Bob Archer (Keanu Reeves) who is able to wear a suit that creates different human images over him when he is in public, must go undercover and be friends with James (Robert Downey Jr), Freck (Rory Cochrane) and Ernie (Woody Harrelson) to investigate their drug use.
Bob is also under medical examination for Substance D, however he only takes it at stress level at minimal and has sworn off cigarettes. Working for the New Path is apart of his job, but it wasn't part of his job to become addicted to Substance D. He has been careful about that and he wants out.
Winona Ryder is also in the cast.
DVD includes Audio Commentary, 2 featurettes, theatrical trailer.
A differnt look
posted on 10 Jul 2009This movie is not just about drug abuse or police serveilence....it's about who you want to be ....who are you in the morning?...who are you at work?...who are you with your spouse?...who are you with your children?...who are you with the neighbors?...who are you with your cat....or dog?...who are you when the police come nokkin'!!!!?....I ain't nobody officer....
Phillip K. Dick's novel has to be read to be appreciated......Adolfo
Addicts and Dealers Vs. Treatment Clinics and Enforcers...all on drugs!
posted on 09 Jul 2009Truly a gift from Dick and Linklater.This film presses the boundaries of movie viewing by creating a uber-realistic, but always "fictional" computer generated landscape and cartoonish looking actors over top of the live action film. When the actors on screen are being portrayed you can't see their faces, not like you can if it was purely live action.All the actors seem to be aware of this, not truly being seen, and acted with their whole bodies. Very well done indeed! Further distortion of the actors faces and bodies would look much like shape-shifting blobs communicating using human dialect.This style gives my imagination the creative freedom I need to make it as realistic as I want. Dare I say this style of primitive CGI graphics over live action film is _more_ realistic to me now then high end video cameras? Take what happens to folks when they know they are being watched/recorded/on camera, and turn it upside down, you will be edited almost unrecognizably.Thank you for the gift Dick and Linklater! Be sure to pick up your mind altering viewing experience at any respectable movie theater, sit back and enjoy A Scanner Darkly for the
A new take on an old favorite
posted on 07 Jul 2009A Scanner Darkly is a movie that puts a new twist on the Undercover NARC in too deep genre and drops an acid laced hallucinogenic trip on it for you. What we have is Keanu Reeves playing Bob Arctor, a burnt out Narc who has been undercover so long that he no longer knows who he is or what side he's on. The enemy is the new drug on the block Substance-D and he's trying to fight the good fight. Been there done that right? Not exactly...in this new society based 7 years from today, in order to keep himself from being discovered, even his superiors no longer know who he is nor what side he is on. To aid in this Bob as well as his superiors must wear suits that change their identities rapidly keeping them unknown, this is a visual that must be seen to be believed.As time goes on Bob falls farther and farther out of character and further and further into despair trying to find out who he is and what side he's on. Co-Starring as his crew of misfit house mates are Robert Downey Jr. and Woody Harrelson, as a burn out on the newest fad Substance-D is Rory Cochrane and as his girl who is so burnt out that she avoids physical contact, is Winona Ryder.Now I don't normally care for movies with the undercover agent losing his identity and deciding where his loyalties lie (Infernal Affairs, Deep Cover, In too Deep...) but the cool "cartoon-like" visual provided enough spark to my interest and actually kept me glued to my seat in the theater. I also have to give props for excellent dialogue, and good chemistry between the actors. By the way Robert Downer Jr. does an excellent job as zoned out druggie (hmmmmmmm....) and his performance alone is spectacular. Not to mention that Woody Harrelson as well as Rory Cochrane lend excellent support to this vehicle.So I say this, give it a look if you're into independent, visual stunners (CARTOONS), with an adult twist to them.
Junkie Junk
posted on 30 Aug 2009Richard Linklater's transfer of Phillip Dick's amphetamine-induced confusion. Like Linklater's "Waking Life," this bears an uncomfortable resemblance to the stoned ramblings of freshmen staying up all night smoking dope. No surprise that it goes nowhere. Just as in "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang," crazed droogie Robert Downey Jr. can again be counted on for a diarrhea of words. Keanu Reeves, professional space head, is the perfect vehicle for emptiness.In sum: the meaninglessness of people with no object in life other than taking drugs. If they die young, who cares? That Hollywood has nothing better to do than spend countless thousands of dollars and hours in laboriously recreating reality in highly technical, computer animation only reiterates the emptiness, like an echo in a cave.