A Scanner Darkly (2006) - User Reviews

I was intrigued by this movie even before I watched it. The web site itself is a piece of art (http://wip.warnerbros.com/ascannerdarkly/site.html).

The entire movie uses digitised real-action to create a cartoon-like quality based on actual characters; this can be a little distracting at times but protrays this surreal, psychedelic story of drug addiction, paranoia and governmental control in a unique way.

All the characters perform strongly, but the stand out character is played by Robert Downey Jr, who's drug-fueled paranoid ramblings can only be based on real experience ;)

As ever, Keanu Reeves plays an understated, almost comatose character who is as confused as the audience with what's really happening. There are moments of Naked Lunch style hallucination, bizarrely coupled with hilarious banter and freakish terror.

A Scanner Darkly comes deep from within Philip K Dick's personal experience, spiralling into narcotic oblivion and attempting to pull the characters and audience with him on the journey. Little attention is given to providing answers, or explaining some of the main tenets of the film itself - the meaning of the title is not clear, though in the book this might perhaps be more obvious.

It's unlike any other one movie so it's hard to make comparisons. The atmosphere and graphic intensity mirror Sin with Bruce Willis, the faceless authority of the controlling forces are like those in the Matrix (or Animatrix), the bizarrely inventive cartoonery is almost Anime-like.

This will be a cult classic, despite - or perhaps because of - how it will alienate and confuse the mainstream.

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