A SCANNER DARKLY
If you are not you in a totalitarian society,
do "you" exist, and do you like what you see?
PopcornReel.com Film Review: "A Scanner Darkly"
By Omar P.L. Moore/July 7, 2006
The science fiction visionary Philip K. Dick
explored this question and lots more highly thought-provoking fare in his novel
on which Richard Linklater's new film is based. The director who also
adapted the novel for the screen, employs a clever technique of cover animation
(which he did in his "Waking Life"), shooting the film in live action and then
applying something resembling trace animation, making the humans ever more lucid
and vivid, which is ideal for "A Scanner Darkly", a film about totalitarian
society, drugs and identity.
Bob Arctor (Keanu Reeves) is a dealer and user of a substance which in seven
years from now will be a major nuisance to the American public. Located in
Anaheim, California, he is a more than recreational user of "Substance D", which
puts hallucinations and one's own actions into bizarre focus. Arctor is
also an undercover operative wearing a constantly face-shifting, chameleon-like
outfit and is assigned to investigate himself -- or is he? The key to the
film is understanding that most of it takes places in a drug-addled haze and
that we are not sure who Arctor really is. He in fact does not seem to
know. Whether that is down to the drugs, the complexities of human
identity and multiple personalities, it is hard to know. If the audience
is unwilling to surrender itself to the story and the dialogue, which is
brilliantly acted out by Robert Downey, Jr. and Woody Harrelson (as Arctor's
recreational druggie buddies), then it will come away empty and dissatisfied.
"A Scanner Darkly" is the kind of film that you may have to see twice to
appreciate. Sometimes there are elements of David Cronenberg's "Naked
Lunch" (its more "buggy" moments) and Quentin Tarantino's "Pulp Fiction" (its
more comical and philosophical dialogue moments) in this film.
Trip through the human heart of darkness: Keanu Reeves as
Bob Arctor (or is he?) in Richard Linklater's "A Scanner Darkly", based on Philp
K. Dick's novel. (Photo: Warner Independent)
Winona Ryder makes a welcome return to the screen as Donna,
the girlfriend of Arctor. Ms. Ryder has a pivotal role in the film and
does well in her first extended big-screen acting in a few years. She
makes an impression and when she is gone from the screen we cannot wait to see
her return. There are some very funny moments in this serious, intense
exploration of the goodness and mainly bad-ness of the human heart. Mr.
Linklater's film is also a meditation on contemporary American society -- do
Americans like who they are, what they have become, and how much is the goodness
of Americans being replaced by the darkness that lies in the human heart,
particularly in a post-9/11 America where fear and xenophobia may be more
difficult to conquer?
It is a difficult task to try to present metaphysical themes and identity crises
on screen in a story that is the province of someone like Mr. Dick (his name
appears briefly on a watch and an headphone set during the film, as a tribute to
him), but Mr. Linklater succeeds admirably, and should be commended for that.
The director meets the challenge and gets Mr. Downey to be the chief scene
stealer as James Barris (read: Chuck Barris, the former host of the Gong Show,
who claimed he was a CIA agent), with some breathlessly funny mind-bending
dialogue. Mr. Harrelson has some spontaneous bursts of hysterical angst,
which are hilarious. They both enjoy their roles and it shows. When
Mr. Harrelson shrieks out that the trio should have made a trip north to San
Francisco instead of south to San Diego because it would have avoided the peril
that hits them on the road, you know that the former "Cheers" star's character
is no longer in ontrol of his own mind space. This line alone is worth the
ticket. In the space of three weeks, Mr. Reeves in the space of three
weeks has appeared in two challenging films where his temporal existence is a
mystery. His spacey, uncertain demeanor in this particular film suits it
perfectly. The fact that he starred in "The Matrix" films also lends some
weight and credibility to the character he plays here. That may actually
be an unfair statement, but audiences cannot not help but make the instant
"Matrix" connection in several scenes, particularly when the red "Substance D"
pills are given to Mr. Reeves' Arctor character. (Which one: red pill, or
the blue pill?)
Sometimes "A Scanner Darkly" plods along at a drug-induced pace, and other
times, things happen very quickly. Sometimes we are not even sure what is
happening, and one gets the feeling that that is what Mr. Linklater -- whose
next film ("Fast Food Nation") is another adaptation coming to theaters this
Fall -- wants. As Arctor is meandering through the meaning of existence,
so are we. We are living inside his head (is it his?), for almost two
hours, and it is a long, strange trip indeed.
Copyright 2006. PopcornReel.com. All Rights Reserved.
"A Scanner Darkly" is rated R for drug and sexual content, language, and a brief violent image. The film runs for 1 hour and 50 minutes.