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A Scanner Darkly
A film full of addicts, and for once we don't mean the actors…
From the visionary author Phillip K.
Dick, (whose portfolio of works-to-film include the sci-fi classics Blade
Runner and Total Recall), comes A Scanner Darkly, a paranoia-filled tale
set in a future addicted to the deadly 'substance D'. The graphic-novel-style
motion picture follows Robert Arctor, an Orange County police officer
who is assigned to infiltrate a small drugs ring in a hope that they will
lead him higher up the 'pyramid' to the maker and distributor. Unfortunately
Bob (AKA Fred as his code-name states) finds that in order to achieve
his objective he himself must become an addict of 'D'. This means that
the film quickly unravels into a hysteria-filled rollercoaster full to
the brim with confusing plot twists and turns as Bob begins to lose his
personality…
If you were told you were going to be watching a graphic novel-style film,
what do you immediately think of? Sin City? Judge Dredd? Exactly. We all
think of the bland Hollywood franchise that's only made for profit. However,
in Richard Linklater's adaptation of the 1977 best-seller, the screenplay
stays true to the vision of its creator; using interpolated rotoscoping
(animation based upon live footage already filmed), creates a film that
actually looks like it could be a success and not 'sell out' along the
way. Though, it's not all drugs and 'Big-Brother' type governments. A
Scanner Darkly manages to find the lighter side of drugs (who knew there
was one?), and hides an almost comedic tone under the veil of moral significance.
This is located mainly in the crazed group that Reeves must infiltrate:
Hypochondriac James Barris (Robert Downey Jr) and addict to-the-max Charles
Freck (Rory Cochrane), and their mishaps that vary from stealing bikes
to a simple car malfunction, which resolves in the gang deciding to sell
their house for fear of drugs being planted within it.
A Scanner Darkly's definitive selling point is the use of the animation;
Linklater uses it to create both an eerie discomfort and a warm homely
feeling. This definitely shows in Arctor's flashbacks to his family-life,
where the scene drifts from the wasted drugs house, to a respectable family
home with a once happy Arctor. Plus, because the animation is placed over
the live film, other objects can be placed in the scene. For example,
take the first scene: Freck awakes to find that both he and his dog are
both infested with large green lice. This would not have worked so well
had it been done using CGI as the beasts would not have looked like they
were crawling out of a tiny dandruff-coated scalp. However, teamed with
the faultless soundtrack, the emotional sequences and most other scenes
simply captivate the audience.
What perhaps lets down A Scanner Darkly the most is that the film is so
hard to understand! With all its twists and turns the audience easily
gets lost. After a couple of watches though, the plot does become crystal
clear and you start to realise that the conclusion is in fact an incredible
ending and not just a kind of 'what just happened' moment. Another slightly
less noticeable problem is the dry acting of the smaller roles; the uncaring
'New-Path' workers simply lack the evil that they desperately require,
and the farm boss? Well, the farm boss is simply a hillbilly pulled out
of the cattle shed and made to look even worse. On the other hand, these
characters only feature in one scene each, and only one of them has a
speaking part. Hardly the biggest parts ever…
All in all A Scanner Darkly provides an exciting glimpse into a future
that is all too possible for today's society. And with Keanu Reeves and
Robert Downey Jr. taking the helm, it is definitely not going to disappoint
a film-lover, or a fan of the sci-fi god that is Phillip K. Dick.
Ryan Denham Year 10
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