Warped A Scanner Darkly Blows The Mind

     Richard Linklater is known for some pretty different films. He is the mastermind behind such features as Slacker and Before Sunset. With A Scanner Darkly, he reaches new heights in the unusual, though. The movie, which is animated using a technique called rotoscoping and involves animating over the live-actors, is unlike anything you have ever seen and for that reason alone it is worth seeing.

     But there are a plethora of other reasons why you should see A Scanner Darkly, too. Perhaps the biggest is the witty dialogue. I’ll admit that the story had me generally lost and I had great difficulty in following the basic structure of the plot but A Scanner Darkly is the prime example of a movie where, if necessary, that doesn’t really matter. The dialogue alone is more than enough to keep the average moviegoer entertained.

     That said, A Scanner Darkly would be a good motion picture even without the fancy animation process. However, it is a better one because of it. People that complain that animated flicks are just long “cartoons” won’t have much of an argument here due to the subject matter and highly complex tale. It is just a very wild movie with very frank observations about life. It is easy to see yourself as the characters of A Scanner Darkly.

     The plot of A Scanner Darkly takes place in the very near future. A drug called Substance D has taken the population by storm and addiction runs rampant. The government has developed a scramble suit that hide agents’ identities as they keep tabs on addicts and try to get as far up the food chain as possible. One of the agents is Bob Arctor, played by Keanu Reeves. As a result of his own addition, Bob does not comprehend that he has been assigned to keep tabs on himself.

     Outside of the force, Bob spends time with his friends played by Robert Downey Jr., Woody Harrelson and Rory Cochrane. A woman named Donna, played by Winona Ryder, is the object of his affection but her addiction prevents her from inviting any intimacy from Bob. The characters go about their lives until the already intricate web gets severely tangled due to suspicion, paranoia and deceit.

     Anyone can understand the genuine emotion emitted from A Scanner Darkly although the storyline may be comparatively vague. The movie, which is based on the novel written by Philip K. Dick, delivers its commentary on drugs and addiction with a heavy hand (Linklater even adds a special note at the end before the end credits roll) but this is not much of a problem. It is best just to take it as it is along with the rest of the unique qualities.

     Some audiences may be bothered by the odd animation, difficult story and trivial dialogue but A Scanner Darkly is the type of movie in which these elements are the core. The animation helps it stand out from the crowd and become a cult hit, the difficult story requires brain power to be used by the moviegoer and individual conclusions to be made and the dialogue lends itself to many repeat viewings and allows for new discoveries each time.