A Scanner Darkly (2006)

Cast : Keanu Reeves

Winona Ryder

Robert Downey Jr.

Director : Richard Linklater

Genre : Animation / Drama / Sci-Fi

Rating : 6.5/10

Yes I know, promos were excellent, so much so that I was dying to watch this one. But now, I am not too sure of what actually happened. I watched it without ever taking my eyes off the screen. In some ways, I loved it. It was probably everything I expected it to be. Plotline was excellent, acting top class, first rate screenplay and it wasn’t even boringly long (100 minutes I guess). But, don’t know, something just wasn’t right.

It’s based in L.A., sometime in future. Society is somewhat off anything remotely unhealthy (drugs, alcohol, smoking, whatever!). Only a handful of people indulge in these “pleasures”. Story in a way revolves around the effects of the latest drug, substance-D. It shows you how a cop on an undercover assignment, has to lead a double life. One, to watch the surveillance feed of a group of junkies and two, to stick around with the same bunch of people as their friend. Now, it’s not too long before he’s hooked onto substance-D himself and starts to have symptoms that range from dyslexia to schizophrenia. Despite his getting seriously screwed up in the head, his “mother-organization” keeps pushing him to continue his work. And that’s how “the D” slowly grows on him, so much so that he ultimately loses his own identity (dig this, while watching the surveillance video, he can’t even identify himself).

Really, have to admit, it’s a good story and it was handled very well too. Story couldn’t have been bad, it comes from the master of Sci-Fi genre Philip K. Dick after all (remember? Paycheck, Minority Report, Next, Total Recall, Blade Runner, it can’t get better than this). But somehow it doesn’t click. I mean, c’mon, we’re talking screwed minds here, and people (at least those like me) really love this kind of junkie-shit. If such a story doesn’t satisfy you, you know there is something really wrong with it. I can’t pinpoint the exact flaw but there is something. Watch it and find it for yourself, I can only promise that you won’t regret it.

Cast comprises of good actors, plus they had their jobs perfectly cut out for them so it turned out to be just fine. Keanu Reeves as Bob Arctor (the screwed cop) ran away with all the accolades, he was the center of the whole plot after all. Robert Downey Jr. did a good job of the “scientist” with weird ideas, and Rory Cochrane as the junkie-on-the-verge-of-going-nuts is worth a mention. Winona Ryder did an OK OK comeback job.

If nothing else, watch this movie for the best animation work I have seen in a long long time. Really, they did a fairly neat job, it looks quite snazzy (see the picture above). Whole idea of shooting the movie with real actors first and then sketching over the frames is seriously cool. Infact its animation scheme is the reason for which I watched it in the first place. It’s not the best you have seen, but definitely worth a watch…