A Scanner Darkly

Rating: R13 - Contains Drug Use & Offensive Language.
Duration: 100 mins.
Genre: Animated, Sci-fi, Thriller.
Actors: Winona Ryder, Keanu Reeves, Woody Harrelson, Robert Downey, Rory Cochrane.
Director: Richard Linklater.
Release Date: Available Now.

Synopsis
Working as an undercover cop in a world where almost everyone is addicted to Substance D - which produces split personalities in its users - Fred Arctor (Reeves) sets up an elaborate sting to nab a notorious drug runner named Bob. But little does Fred know that "Bob" is… his alter ego.

The Reality
Richard Linklater might not be a familiar name for most people, but for anyone who recognises the genius of Before Sunset, Before Sunrise and TAPE, and the artistic merits of Waking Life, the name Linklater means only one thing; it’s going to be an interesting, thoughtfully and passionately made movie.

The choice to use Philip K. Dick’s book of the same name as the source for a movie is natural, his books always make for good cinema, the decision to go back and reinvent a better form of rotoscoping than was used for Waking Life is a little more interesting.

By going the rotoscoping road, it’s almost as if Linklater is saying ‘stuff you Hollywood’ as it’s not only going against the grain for the genre, but it’s also sentencing the movie to a niche audience and therefore less profit.

But for any Linklater fan, indeed for any movie going with an open mind and an eye for the creative, it’s pure genious.

Then of course there’s the subject matter.

Paranoia, greed and addiction are the main themes of this movie, and the trippy quality that rotoscoping adds to an animated movie help to increase the feeling that the viewer is held captive by the same drug infected world where the story takes place.

Substance D is the problem, at least on the surface. Everyone is addicted to it, and it’s major side effect – it gives the user a split personality – sets up the unique storyline. Fred Arctor is an undercover cop, determined to bring down a notorious drug runner known as Bob. The only problem is that unbeknownst to Fred, Bob is actually his alter ego. As I said, everyone is addicted to Substance D.

If that’s not enough of a twisted plot, then get ready for the greed and corruption, that bring about some major plot twists that I’m not about to mention here.

Suffice to say that A Scanner Darkly is a highly original anti-drug thriller. It’s not going to set the world on fire and help solve the problem. It will however make you think, keep you entertained for the whole 100 minute run time, and give you an appreciation for the non-Hollywood school of film making.

Food for thought
Which is worse, the cure or the disease?

Special Features:
• Commentary by screenwriter/director Richard Linklater, Keanu Reeves, Isa Dick Hackett (daughter of Phillip K. Dick), producer Tommy Pallotta and Phillip K. Dick historian Jonathan Lethem
• One Summer in Austin: The Story of Filming A Scanner Darkly
• The Weight of the Line: Animation Tales
• Theatrical Trailer

I watched enough of the commentary to know that A Scanner Darkly is staying on my shelf for a revisiting in the near future to watch gain with the commentary – it’s almost an essential with a movie such as this. The behind the scenes documentary looking at the process of making the movie, is also a must look.

All in all a tidy single disc package.