Richard Linklater's rotoscoped adaptation of Philip K. Dick's, A Scanner Darkly, is an adventurous, smart, original indie.
Rotoscope interpolation is a process by which an animator draws a frame and then draws a later frame; the frames in between are then generated by a software program known as, Rotoshop, which is owned by Flat Black Films. The result is different than anything we've seen and, in the case of A Scanner Darkly, makes for a heightened sci-fi experience - you'll think you're watching a graphic novel.
A Scanner Darkly is a dark, futuristic tale of perfected drug addiction. The future has abandoned crack, heroine, ecstasy... for Substance D (the D stands for all sorts of things, but mostly death.) Addicts push forward in their addiction toward a breakthrough, a deeper understanding. There are no clean users here - either you've never done D, or you're doing it. Period.
The film's setting is the future, but you'd never guess it from much of the location choices. In fact, the only element that truly stands out as futuristic is the identity concealing jumpsuit worn by undercover cops while in the office - a visual that works nicely with the rotoscope technique.
A Scanner Darkly was cast as expected - with Keanu Reeves (IMDb, Article) as hero and Winona Ryder as love interest. But the star here is Robert Downey Jr. (IMDb, Article), who is near perfect as the run-on sentence, train-of-thought speaking, conspiracy theorist, and self-indulged drug addict, Barris. And Barris' moments with his sidekick, Ernie (Woody Harrelson (IMDb, Article)), are darkly funny.
But once you get past the newness of Rotoshop and these quirky characters, you're left with story - and that's where A Scanner Darkly gets the hiccups.
Plot Spoiler Warning
Again, Bob Arctor (Reeves) is our hero. He's an undercover cop. He lives with his dealer partners, Barris and Ernie. What we know is that all three are on Substance D and that they have a fourth friend, Freck (Rory Cochrane), who is also on it. Otherwise, we see only one drug exchange - and that was just a few pills in exchange for sex. Richard Linklater has decided to not show these guys as threats, but simply as bumbling and mumbling drug addicts - weak in the futuristic grand scheme.
Now this works nicely for the plot, since in the end we discover that all of this was simply a means to get Arctor discredited and addicted, but it leaves us wondering about Arctor's motivation at the onset.
Linklater breaks away from any formula or structure by ending at a point that traditional plots would use as a first act break - posing the big question: will our hero be able to return home with the blue flower and expose the evil company behind Substance D?
Linklater leaves this to us to answer. Hoping to have established this character enough that we'll make that leap - or is he betting on a part two - somehow, I doubt it.
A Scanner Darkly is definitely an experience in indie filmmaking, and one you should try and have at your local theater - this is a big screen film. But my guess is that the eventual DVD release will have lots of extras to entice you - and hey, you probably have a big screen of your own.
Various A Scanner Darkly things:
- George Clooney and Steven Soderbergh (IMDb, Article) executive produced
- Linklater used Rotoshop on his 2001 indie, Waking Life
Production Companies
- Warner Independent Pictures
- Thousand Words
- 3 Art Entertainment
- Detour Filmproduction
- Section Eight
Distributors
- Warner Independent Pictures
