Hollywood Reviews and Movie Trivia

"A Scanner Darkly", with its cast of veteran actors, presents a dark, haunting view in the future on the "War on Drugs", and scores a B...

First, the production technique used for "A Scanner Darkly", although is has the look of high-end animation, it didn't start out as animation. The process is called "Roto Scoping". Actors are filmed as usual with sets, props, etc. In the normal process, any CGI (computer generated images) are added to look as normal as possible to live action.

In Roto Scoping, the live action filmed is digitized, and then CGI enhancements are added that would be way too costly and/or time consuming to shoot in live action. What you have in the end is an animated film with very natural movements because it started out as live action.

Now, the story... "A Scanner Darkly," is based on the1977 Philip K. Dick novel. Director Richard Linklater presents a haunting view of a paranoid society in the near future. Its seven years from now in Orange County, Calif. America is losing the war on drugs, with 20 percent of the population addicted to "Substance D". A network of spy cameras and phone taps are everywhere. No one appears to know the source of the drug. Bob Arctor (Keanu Reeves) is an undercover cop who develops a split personality after taking "Substance D". The pills cause the left and right hemispheres of his brain to compete for dominance, each side processing information differently.

Bob, like most of the characters in the film, has a dual identity. He poses as a small-time dealer so he can get closer to the bigger suppliers. His main supplier is Donna (Winona Ryder), a woman too far gone on cocaine to realize that Bob has feelings for her. All police detectives wear "scramble suits". These special suits constantly shift their outward appearance for anonymous concealment. Bob's code name at work is "Fred" and his supervisor is simply known as "Hank". When "Hank" assigns "Fred" to follow Bob Arctor, he's actually being asked to spy on himself. As the story progresses, we learn there is more to "Fred's" superiors and their overall plan than he knows...

Robert Downey Jr. and Woody Harrelson, excel as Bob Arctor's junkie roommates, Jim and Ernie. Downey's character is high-strung, looking for the angle that will put him on top, while Ernie is the opposite, only interested in cruising through life. Winona Ryder as Donna, paints a picture of a character with dual issues for the surprise in the end. Keanu Reeves as Arctor/Fred aptly moves back and forth between the two sides of his character's personality. And the movie seems to make the statement that the heaviest users are also the most honest people, which is more anti-establishment like the counter culture of the 60's. "A Scanner Darkly" leaves one wondering just how far the powers-that-be will go in their "war on drugs" battle, which seems more ideological than practical...

Grade: B