A Scanner Darkly DVD Review

"A Scanner Darkly" reviews

DVD

A Scanner Darkly

Author

anonymous

Date reviewed

2007-01-20 16:00:34

Provider

DVD Review

A Scanner Darkly is a reverential treatment of Phillip K Dick's book which was based on Dick's own drug-addled experiences of living in Marin County.

It prompting director Richard Linklater to adopt the animation techniques featured in Linklater's Waking Life to portray the hazy themes of the author's novel.

In this respect, certainly, the film is a success; everyone looks as if they're made out of jelly, emphasising the psychedelic nature of Dick's universe. And while the time elements have shifted slightly (the book was written in 1977 and set in 1994, while the film takes place in the near future), the plot is the same.

Keanu Reeves is Bob Arctor, who is hooked on superdrug Substance D and lives in a suburban house with a bunch of losers, chief among them Barris (Robert Downey Jr) and Luckman (Woody Harrelson). Arctor, it transpires, is also Agent Fred, an undercover drugs officer who is spying on himself - all of which is unknown to his superiors because the identities of drugs cops are disguised with 'scramble suits'.

In A Scanner Darkly's word people have two pastimes: being a drug addict and spying on drug addicts, with some doing both. And while that may not sound like the most engaging of topics, Linklater's film opens up after a slow start to become a dark, occasionally disturbing study of drug-induced paranoia.

DVD also includes audio commentary from writer/director Richard Linklater, The Story Of Filming A Scanner Darkly and The Weight Of The Line : Animation Tales documentary.