A Scanner Darkly (6 of 10)
Review by James Jones
A quick scan of Richard Linklater’s resume is enough to solidify this sneaky-good director’s place among the best filmmakers of his generation. Slacker, Dazed and Confused, Before Sunrise, Waking Life, and Before Sunset…the list is almost intimidating. It’s a surprise then that Linklater’s latest, A Scanner Darkly, a morally ambiguous, sci-fi drug yarn with arresting visuals and not much else, is a disappointment.
Bob Arctor (Keanu Reeves) is an undercover cop infiltrating the slacker culture surrounding a powerful new drug called Substance D. He lives in squalor with James (Robert Downey Jr.), a brainiac wastoid with delusions of grandeur who may be trying to sell him out, Ernie (Woody Harrelson), a pathetic burnout, and Donna (Wynona Ryder), his distant girlfriend. As the film progresses we realize that even Arctor is addicted and he’s struggling to determine where his allegiances lie.
If there’s a reason to see Scanner, it’s the film’s stunning and creative visual swagger. It was made with the roto-scoping technique Linklater pioneered in his 2001 film Waking Life. Scenes are filmed in the traditional manner, and then each frame is painted over by a team of computer illustrators. The resulting effect is mesmerizing, as all of the movement and physical forms onscreen are rooted in reality, but painted in loosely and colorfully to resemble a living cartoon.
Like so many films based on the novels of Phillip K. Dick (Blade Runner, Minority Report), A Scanner Darkly is filled with interesting sci-fi/spiritual pontifications, but fails to offer compelling, relatable characters. Without these, Linklater loses his audience early and never recovers.