A Scanner Darkly Review

"A Scanner Darkly" reviews

Movie

A Scanner Darkly

Author

anonymous

Date reviewed

2009-11-24 22:40:11

Rating

2.5/5

Provider

CinemaSource

Review

A Scanner Darkly is capable of inducing euphoria if viewers focus on one element of splendor--the acting, concept, dialogue or animation--per viewing. (It might take as many viewings to firmly grasp the plot, as well.) But trying to take it all in at once can lead to sensory overload and, even worse, boredom.

Story

Imagine the sci-fi spirit of Blade Runner crossed with the drug-induced musings of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and set to trippy animation. Now consider that this animation plays like a book by Philip K. Dick (who also penned Blade Runner's novel), and you're likely spinning with imagery; welcome to A Scanner Darkly. Set in Anaheim, California, seven years into the future, an undercover narc named Bob Arctor (Keanu Reeves) is assigned to spy on his druggie friends (Robert Downey Jr., Woody Harrelson, Winona Ryder and Rory Cochrane). They're all hooked on Substance D, the latest suburban drug, and its side effects--including possible manifestation of separate identities--can be downright nasty. Unfortunately, Bob, the "scanner," is hooked too, and he leads the ultimate double life, unbeknownst to him: By day, he partakes in "D" consumption; by night, he watches the surveillance tapes as a cop--not realizing he may, in turn, be spying on himself.

Acting

Scanner marks a welcome return of sorts for all five actors to their more decadent (cinematic) days. Downey and Harrelson are up to their old Natural Born Killers tricks, even though their characters share nothing other than insanity with those in Oliver Stone's movie. Downey, perennially the most underrated actor, steals every scene he's in with his character James' mile-a-minute psychobabble. Not far off is Reeves, who somehow grasps Bob's drug-induced psychosis almost too well and is much more comfy (and likable) playing the central character in a film that's not carrying an entire production company. We haven't seen Ryder in a major release since '02's Mr. Deeds, and although her part isn't as meaty as the boys', she gives a compelling performance. And Cochrane, whose breakout role was the dopey burnout in Scanner director Richard Linklater's Dazed and Confused, is an often funny casualty of the paranoia associated with Substance D.

Direction

Linklater's last release was Bad News Bears, and his next is October's Fast Food Nation. Clearly, and to his credit, no director offers us as much variety, with so many of his films clicking on all cylinders; to his discredit, however, parts of his latest film don't click. The biggest flaw is the animation, which, while truly amazing to behold, detaches us. What began as a winning experiment--on his 2001 philosoph-ilm Waking Life--can no longer be dismissed as such, but rather a gimmick behind which Scanner hides. Sure, it's apt for Dick's futuristic dystopia, but this film didn't need any added complexity to bog our brains down. In addition, Linklater's Scanner outcasts fail where his others have been immortalized: They don't endear us--yes, that truth is faithful to the source material, but films can't get away with such disconnect. Ultimately, all we feel towards the characters is fascination over their animated likenesses. But Linklater is praiseworthy for even tackling such a novel, and the adaptation will find a fervent cult following.

Bottom Line

Hollywood.com rated this film 2 1/2 stars.

Movie

A Scanner Darkly

Author

anonymous

Date reviewed

2006-08-17 00:00:00

Provider

MyMovies

Review

Based on one of science fiction legend Philip K. Dick's novels, "A Scanner Darkly" sure looks good, but it doesn't half get a bit confusing. Set seven years from now in a US swamped by a new narcotic known as Substance D, Keanu Reeves stars as Bob Arctor, a deep undercover cop who is investigating the LA drug scene and, rather oddly, his own housemates, Barris (Robert Downey Jr.) and Luckman (Woody Harrelson) as well as his drug dealing girlfriend, Donna (Winona Ryder). In the office he wears a scramble-suit, a constantly changing mix of clothes, faces and identities which mean none of his workmates know who he is - and after a while it seems that Bob, whose own mind is gradually losing its own battle to Substance D, isn't sure himself.

Filmed using the innovative rotoscoping animation technique director Richard Linklater first employed in "Waking Life", this film certainly catches the eye and manages to encapsulate the 'trippy' tone of Dick's novel perfectly. However this is certainly a case of style over substance as things soon get very, very confusing. There is a certain amount of pay off at the end, but in the hour or so leading up to it you may well find yourself scratching your head, as Bob's investigation takes some unexpected twists and turns. That said, there are some good performances here; Reeves is decent as Bob as he slowly descends into drug-addled paranoia, but the show is stolen by Downey Jr. as his conspiracy theorist pal.

Dick's fans are likely to love "A Scanner Darkly" but for everyone else, it may prove rather hard going.

Movie

A Scanner Darkly

Author

anonymous

Date reviewed

2006-08-11 15:00:31

Provider

Review

Philip K Dick's A Scanner Darkly novel has been a long time in the adapting. A celebrated piece of cult fiction since it first appeared in '77, its confusing narrative and schizophrenic characterisation has rendered it almost unfilmable.

The plot features Keanu Reeves as Agent Fred, an undercover narc who's gone so deep under cover he's investigating his own alter ego, Bob Arctor, a drug addict living with a couple of dopers (played, in a knowing piece of casting, by Woody Harrelson and Robert Downey Jr, two stars with their own, if differing, histories of chemical indulgence) and occasionally sleeping with his dealer (Wynona Ryder, in another fact-fiction overlap).

Linklater (who made his name with Slackers) shoots Reeves in a hologram suit, obscuring his identity whenever he's Agent Fred by covering him in a coat of computer paint so that even his best friend Fleck (Rory Cochrane) doesn't recognise him, though he may simply be preoccupied with the bugs he imagines to be invading his skin.

A Scanner Darkly is about the surveillance society (which may explain its appearance now, in the days of President Bush and the Patriot Act), what happens when the government's attempts to stifle crime lead them into even greater sins. Luckman (Harrelson) and Barris (Downey Jr) excel as the hopeless, but remarkably articulate, junkies, but the film never quite squares the circle of filming a premise that works much better on paper. The animation looks stunning, but it's another wall between the audience and the film's characters. With much of the narrative unfolding in a manner that leaves the viewer baffled and emotionally uninvolved, A Scanner Darkly is a hard movie to follow. It does, however, shine light on some of the murkier areas of contemporary life, producing a film which may live longer in the mind than in the affections.