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Directed by: Richard Linklater Starring: Keanu Reeves, Winona Ryder, Robert Downey Jr., Woody Harrelson IMDb posted:"A Scanner Darkly" is set in suburban Orange County, California in the future. It imagines a paranoid world in which it seems two of every 10 Americans has been hired by the government to spy on the other 8 -- in the name of national security and drug enforcement. When one reluctant government recruit (Reeves) is ordered to start spying on his friends, he is launched on a journey into the absurd, where outsourced government contractors largely define the social construct, where identities and loyalties are impossible to decode, and where not even his girlfriend can be trusted. The film highlights the inconsistencies and ironic consequences of the war on drugs. I was lucky enough to snag a sneak preview of this the other night. For the unaware, this film is based on science-fiction legend Phillip K. Dick's novel of the same title. I haven't read the book, but the people I talked to afterwards who had basically said the same thing: "It's not what I had in mind, but it worked really well", so, for those who have read it, interpret that however you want. This film is amazing. It's basically a commentary on how drugs (or from a larger perspective, addictions in general) will dominate our society, and also how the government will control our lives by the technology which ironically is supposed to improve our quality of life. Even though it has a macabre tone and conveys an extremely pessimistic message, it also functioned as a very dark comedy. Speaking of comedy, the high points of the film for me were Keanu Reeves' druggie friends, played by Robert Downey Jr., Woody Harrelson, and Rory Cochrane. Whether one of them is trippin balls or spouting some inane conspiracy theory, they're responsible for the best parts of the movie. The animation was impressive. It'll be interesting to see if it merits a nod for "Best Animated Film" at next years Oscars. Anyways, this interesting style (apparently called Interpolated Rotoscoping) did a great job of portraying this quasi-futuristic world, but with the versimilitude of modern day problems and issues. As for the cons, Keanu Reeves is as drab and boring as usual. He doesn't ruin the movie by any means, but he certainly hasn't shown any improvement in terms of acting skills. I don't really understand how he keeps getting so much work but hey, c'est la vie. The plot also gets a little convoluted at times. This is due mainly to the fact that you'll often find yourself mesmerized by the film and lose track of what's going on, so try to pay attention. Overall, A Scanner Darkly is a brilliant, deep, intelligent film. While that's due mainly to Dick's genius, the film (or so I've heard) did justice to his frighteningly accurate depictions of the future. RATING: 5 PROS: Stunning animation style, great supporting cast, overall a fantastic film CONS: Keanu Reeves as usual ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: http://imdb.com/title/tt0405296/
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Feb 28, 2006 10:05
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| # ? Apr 24, 2024 09:42 |
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I was very excited to get an opportunity to see this film as part of the Melbourne International Film Festival. Aesthetically the movie is perfect, the animation style is flawlessly executed and constantly impresses throughout. It also matches the subject matter perfectly - everything is a little off and a little too fluid, and given that it's a "drug movie" that could not be more appropriate. The movie follows the book very closely and I was rapt that it did this, I loved the book but there were one or two things that I didn't get, and seeing the movie I now understand them better. I'm one of those 'ingrates' who doesn't really get what's wrong with Keanu's acting. Sure, it's a pretty limited range, but provided it's the right range for the part, who the hell cares. He was great in this I thought, and there was really only one line that I thought was poorly delivered. The thing I've always liked about Dick's work is that he gets a mood, a feeling, a vibe. Sometimes his actual plot isn't anything brilliant, but he always manages to make you feel exactly what he wants. When I read VALIS, for instance, I got the whole awe, wonder, disorientation and doubt. When I read A Scanner Darkly, I got the paranoia and the despair. This is perfectly translated into the movie. There were one or two pacing or editing things that I didn't like but honestly, I was mesmerised for 95% of this film. 5. TCC: Dude, you gotta play miniature golf.
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Jul 31, 2006 09:45
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I was a huge fan of the book and nervous when I heard about this movie, as I was definatley not a fan of Waking Life. However I thought for the most part it was great. The best thing about the movie I'd have to say was Robert Downey Jr., and it must have been a difficult role for him in a way given his personal problems. I think the movie ended up being a lot funnier than the book - the book had it's humour but overall I felt was more bleak - but by the final 45 minutes or so the sense of being "encolsed upon" is captured really well, and I definitely quite affected by the end. I'm not a huge fan of the animation style in general but I do think it was appropriate in many scenes, and the scramble suits looked great. The soundtrack which seemed to be a mix of Radiohead remixes and solo Thom Yorke stuff worked quite well with the movie. 4/5
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Aug 4, 2006 20:51
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This was a very enjoyable movie. Downey and Harrelson were outstanding, and hilarious in many scenes. The animation added to the film, I think. Go see it! 4.5/5
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Aug 5, 2006 22:19
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Keanu Reeves, Winona Ryder, and Woody Harrelson are pretty bad actors. Now I really tried very hard to give this film a chance.I am a big fan of some of Richard Linklater's work and was very impressed with Waking Life. We all know that this film was based on Philip K. Dick's novel and stuck very close to the story line. For that I give props to Linklater. However the book was very personal to Dick as he too was battling major drug problems. The book is not exactly about the government and drugs in the future as much as it is about drugs today. It's a very serious book about a very serious issue. Linklater constantly destroys the mood of the film with comedy. This is where Woody Harrelson comes in. Woody Harrelson is the comic relief in this film. Does anyone else see something wrong with that last sentence. Comic relief in a very serious movie about drugs? Think of Requiem for a Dream with Woody Harrelson thrown in. Doesn't exactly work that well does it. So that pretty much killed most of the movie for me in and of itself. But if you move past the bad acting and comic relief you can expect quite a dissapointing screenplay with very disconnected scenes that just didn't flow together all that well. Now for the good stuff. Robert Downey Jr was spot on. Throughout A Scanner Darkly he stays true to the role and gives it everything he's got. The rotoscoping definitely aided in disorienting the viewer to better give them a taste of the drug world. While most of the film sucked it had it's moments with a pretty good ending as well. 2.5\5
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Aug 7, 2006 04:45
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I loved this movie. Definitely a visual treat, I can't imagine this film working in live action. I think the animation style was done even better than Waking Life, because this film obviously had a higher budget. Keanu Reeves may have been himself, but this was actually one of his better performances and I truly felt sorry for his character by the end of the movie. I was actually amazed that Robert Downey Jr. could be so articulate considering all the drugs he's done. The dialouge between Bob Arctor's friends was interesting and funny to listen to. This definitely requires a second viewing, as some of the plot points didn't make sense to me. So did Arctor have kids or not? Did Freck actually kill himself? Was Arctor lying when he said he couldn't see the flowers and the very end of the movie? And why did Downey's character almost let Woody Harrleson die? I'll give it a 4.5/5 because it seems like some loose ends weren't tied up, but I plan to read the book now.
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Jan 25, 2007 16:56
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I couldn't seem to follow what was going on in the movie at all. I can see what they were going for, by giving a view of the drug torn world and addiction, but it was just missing something that could have really made or in this case not made the movie. I give it a 2.0, just because it had some pretty comical scenes in at times, but just drug out too long between them.
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Jan 25, 2007 17:45
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| # ? Apr 24, 2024 09:42 |
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I ended up speaking with Graham Reynolds after he and the rest of the Golden Arm Trio (the group that did the soundtrack for the film) realized nobody was showing up for their concert in Athens, Georgia. When nobody shows up for a band that's playing to full houses in concert halls in major cities, you know someone's not doing their job in PR. Graham told me that Warner Independent Films didn't want to put A Scanner Darkly in many theaters, and was then surprised when it only brought in about half of the production cost during the theater run. I'm hoping they at least broke even after the DVD (I know I shelled out at least eight bucks for my ticket, and another twenty for the DVD). There were some lukewarm reviews, and A Scanner Darkly was described as a sort of hit or miss movie. Rotoscoping only works for some films, but with A Scanner Darkly, it doesn't just work, it's entirely integrated into the movie. I initially saw this because I'm a fan of rotoscoping, but I found the plot to be nearly as good as the artwork, and it seemed to be a perfect match. Hell, it made up for Keanu Reeves's acting. Maybe it's not a film for a universal audience, but those who enjoyed A Scanner Darkly are likely to keep it toward the top of their list of favorite films. It might not end up being your cup of tea, but if for no other reason than its uniqueness, A Scanner Darkly is definitely worth a watch. 5/5 because it's a little too ambiguous in tying up loose ends on the first watch to get a 5.5
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Feb 7, 2007 02:27
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