A Scanner Darkly
By Steven Perdue, Blockbuster.co.uk
Keanu Reeves, Woody Harrelson and Winona Ryder star in this fantastic sci-fi thriller from the director of School of Rock.
Movie adaptations of Phillip K. Dick stories have had a somewhat chequered history. From the serious, future-noir of
Blade Runner or
Minority Report to the exploitative fun of
Total Recall and
Screamers; Hollywood has consistently stripped Dick’s novels of their central Macguffin whilst leaving behind their intensity and intelligence, essentially boiling down the stories to their pulpy core.
Richard Linklater has broken new ground with his adaptation of A Scanner Darkly having managed to not only maintain Dick’s passion for paranoia and low society but also to find a suitable cinematic representation for his skewed universe. The process of Rotoscope animation (a system by which animation is layered over the top of live action footage) makes the film into a living, breathing comic book. The picture moves and swirls even in the most sedate of scenes. The effect is beautiful, surreal and not a little disorientating and for a film about the idea of representation and masked identities it compliments the subject matter perfectly.
Set in the near future
Keanu Reeves plays undercover narcotics agent Bob Arctor. Having infiltrated a ring of hapless ‘Substance D’ addicts Arctor is living the life of a low-level drug dealer. Matters are complicated when the Arctor’s superiors assign him the task of investigating his own undercover identity.
Keanu Reeves is again called upon to play a man doubting the nature of his own existence. It is a role that, since his turn as Neo in
The Matrix trilogy, it seems impossible to separate him from. Again he handles it well, bringing that world weary, grown-up slacker attitude to Arctor. It is a subtle performance but it feels too reminiscent of Reeves’ other roles to be anything more than solid.
Winona Ryder is, like Reeves’, good rather than spectacular, with the final few twists of the plot being the only thing to elevate her above the level of mere ‘love interest’. It is
Robert Downey Jr,
Woody Harrelson and
Minority Report Rory Cochrane who really steal the show. As the down and out friends of Arctor they could so easily have been just comic relief. Whilst they are very funny, the true joy of their performances comes from our knowledge of their off-screen antics. There is an extra layer of fun be had in watching Downey Jr descend into a drug fuelled rant about the theft of a mountain bike or to witness Woody Harrelson creep into Substance D fuelled paranoia in the back of a car when you know that they are drawing upon very real, and possibly quite raw, experiences.
Cochrane manages to completely embody the effects of drug psychosis. His tightly wound portrayal of Frick, whether he is scratching out the imaginary bugs in his skin or quietly freaking out in a restaurant, is not just consistently entertaining but freighted with a deep sense pathos.
At its essence A Scanner Darkly is more than just a sci-fi film, its striking looks and stoner chic may gain it a cult reputation but it deserves more than that. As a film that deals with the nature of identity, paranoia and addiction it is naturally confusing at times and, whilst watching you may find yourself having several ‘what the hell?’ moments, like a good narcotic, its effects stay with you long after that initial, startling hit. Add this to your list now!
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