Richard Linklater's approach to Phillip K. Dick's A Scanner Darkly succeeds more in its style than in its script. Let's face it, the movie would not have been very interesting if it wasn't for the animated rotoscoping. The problem of forming an opinion on this movie is the choice between treating the animation as either mere spectacle or an integral part of the film. We live in a day and age where special effects can do much to enhance a film, but what Linklater has done is use stylistic effects to better draw the audience into the experience of the characters. Because this is a movie about drug addiction this is not always pleasant, but it is important to appreciate Linklater's execution of a unique vision for storytelling.
The plot isn't too difficult to follow. It's not cut-and-dried, but anyone who has muddled through Donnie Darko will be able to handle it. Set in a near-future world where 20% of the country is addicted to a deadly drug, it's the story of an undercover cop/drug addict whose identity (hidden by a totally cool "scramble suit") is unkown to even his fellow agents. Bob Arctor (Keanu Reeves) is assigned to spy on his junkie friends and his own alter ego via holographic "scanners" (high-tech recording equipment) placed in his home. As Bob sinks deeper into his addiction he develops a split personality which accounts for all sorts of existential confusions along Darkly's trippy plot.
Linklater lightens up the seriousness of the movie with his colorful cast including Woody Harrelson, Robert Downy Jr. and Rory Cochrane as Reeve's druggie housemates. Their paranoid banter is very entertaining and depressing at the same time. Reeves does alright. It's certainly the first time I could ever describe Reeves as animated (<-- joke). Anyway, the supporting cast lightens the mood near the beginning, and then the story gets darker and more intense as things go on. There is some graphic (literally!) sexuality and nudity that lends raw and seedy feeling. Linklater is intentional about making the world of Scanner dirty and unpleasant. The end result is a semi-disturbing movie that is often not fun to watch, despite the animation.
Ahh yes the animation. Anyone who's seen Waking Life will be familiar with the technique. It's a rotoscoping (or "cutting out") technique that allows an animated effect to be applied to the characters. The result is like a moving comic book or a fluid watercolor. The animation is a lot better than in Waking Life, and It's fun to watch for a while. After about forty minutes it becomes sensually draining. The cerebral feeling of disconnectedness plays an important part in the overall effect of the story. Linklater doesn't want to just show you a film about drug addiction, he wants you to feel what it's like. There are a couple of scenes in which the animation works beautifully with the theme, creating an atmosphere of disconnected familiarity. I enjoyed it as a visual metaphor, a representation of the feeling of being a stranger in a world that we should feel at home in, but doesn't.
The themes in Scanner go deeper than "Just Say No". The story explores why people choose drug addiction and how simple law enforcement cannot win a war against drugs. The only inconsistency in the movie seems to be Dick vs. Linklater. Linklater's directing is lighthearted without forefitting thematic depth. Phillip K. Dick's story is dark and cynical. There are points in the movie when the two influences seem to collide. Is this supposed to be comedic or dark? The duality could be intentional, and I personally found it fun at times.
In the end, A Scanner Darkly is worth seeing; if anything it's just pretty to look at, but there is food for thought along with the eye candy, and real people behind the animation.
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