A Scanner Darkly
Directed by Richard Linklater.
Starring: Keanu Reeves, Robert Downey Jr, Winona Ryder, Woody Harrelson, Rory Cochrane.
Based upon the science fiction novel by legendary author Phillip K. Dick.
Seven years in the future, undercover narcotics officers like Bob Arctor live double identities so secret, that even members and bosses in the same department don’t know who each other is. One day Bob’s boss assigns him the role of performing surveillance on himself. Not only does this threaten to expose his identity and his own secret drug addiction, but the addiction itself starts to take its toll on his mind. Bob becomes increasingly paranoid and having to question both his identity and the loyalties existing with those around him.
This film is unique in that it uses ‘interpolated rotor-scoping,’ a method where live film is overlaid with animation, thus appearing much like a graphic novel. The result is brilliant, creating an awesome visual atmosphere, necessary to for the drug-orientated atmosphere of the film’s world. The cast is perfect, with both Woody Harrelson and especially Robert Downey Junior doing superb jobs playing their memorable paranoid addicts, and it’s good to see Winona Ryder again delivering a top notch performance. Sometimes the paranoid banter occurring between the characters seems to go on for a while and seem irrelevant to the plot, but is highly entertaining nonetheless, and very reminiscent of scenes from Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas.
For those who are fans of Phillip K Dick’s books and derived films (Blade Runner, Total Recall, Minority Report, Pay-check) you won’t be disappointed. A Scanner Darkly is a visually awesome film that is hilarious, entertaining, and provides your recommended annual sci-fi mind job. This is a highly memorable film.
9/10
Michael Hill
