A SCANNER DARKLY
**** out of *****
Reviewed by Tobias

Screening in the 2006 New Zealand International Film Festival
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Genres
Animation
Mystery
Sci Fi
Thriller

2006
Directed by
Richard Linklater
Written by
Philip K. Dick (novel)
Richard Linklater (screenplay)
Cast
Rory Cochrane .... Charles Freck
Robert Downey Jr ..... James Barris
Woody Harrelson .... Ernie Luckman
Keanu Reeves .... Bob Arctor
Winona Ryder .... Donna Hawthorne

Assuming you have not read the novel/semi-autobiography by Philip K Dick (or even wasn't aware that it was based on one), one misconception of A Scanner Darkly is that it is some sort of homage to The Matrix.  After all, it stars that-Neo-guy Keanu Reeves, is a futuristic thriller and employs some lesser-used visual styles.  The rest of you who actually read the synopsis will know that while it is indeed based on the aforementioned novel; the story is of a group of drug addict friends hooked on a substance known as 'D'.  Unbeknownst to them, one of their own, Bob Arctor (Keanu Reeves) is actually a narcotics agent who is assigned to infiltrate and monitor them so they can seize the drug ring and cease the distribution.  Bob's seemingly frigid girlfriend Donna (Winona Ryder) is the key to climbing higher up the hierarchy to find who is really behind the drug but she herself seems to be hiding some secret.  The agents work in total anonymity due to a shape-shifting suit that protects their identity and thus, nobody at the precinct knows who another is, instead using codenames such as 'Fred' and 'Hank'.

Bob's 'friends', Barris (Robert Downey Jr.) and Luckman (Woody Harrelson) live in Orange County, California in the near future where they spend their time having almost illogical (and hilarious as a result) conversations that escalate from their paranoia.  One of which surrounds the mystery of what happened to the rest of the 18 gears on Barris' mountain bike (Their logic being 6 at the front, 3 at the back – 6+3=9 instead of 6x3=18).  Amidst stronger performances from Downey Jr. and Harrelson it is all to easy to put down Reeves' acting as stoic but I attest that his acting style is exactly what this character feels like it should be.  This is reflected throughout A Scanner Darkly as Bob's state of mind slowly deteriorates due to his own 'D' addiction that spirals upward to gradually loosen his grip on reality and thus challenging his assignment to monitor the group.

The first thing that you notice about the unique visuals is a result of the cell-shading technique known as rotoscoping which director Richard Linklater has also used to produce Waking Life.  Linklater has attributed it to a feeling of lucid dreaming.  The rotoscoping provides an 'augmented reality', the characters are all identifiable and have a realness to them while any effects such as Bob's shape shifting suit don't look glaringly out of place as what would happen if a combination of CG and reality was used.  By having A Scanner Darkly done in this manner, it also lends itself to complement Bob's hallucinations where Ernie and Barris at one stage turn into giant bugs; whereas traditional computer generated imagery would have felt too superimposed.  The most astounding aspect of the rotoscoping process is that for each minute of the digital video it takes hundreds of hours to convert to the cell-shaded result.

A Scanner Darkly will leave many movie-goers just as befuddled about the story as Donnie Darko does.  This is what I love about it.  But because many will view the plot as simply too convoluted to comprehend, it would be easy to ignore the questions spurred.  Most of which can be answered by a repeat viewing (or you can simply cheat and look at Wikipedia or the IMDB listing – Ahh the internet!).  My only dismay in the film was that it ended when there was so much more to explore (to which most others would scream blasphemy).  The good news is that even though many will not see it during the 2006 New Zealand Film Festival (if that is where you reside), it is certain to say that A Scanner Darkly will hit New Zealand mainstream cinemas or at least get on the independent circuit.  I for one know I will be seeing this film more than once.

This film will screen in Wellington on July 25 at 4pm at the Embassy Theatre. Refer to the Film Fest homepage for more information.

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