The Pundit

A Scanner Darkly

By Paul D Agostino ⋅ August 6, 2006 ⋅  Email This Post ⋅  Print This Post ⋅ Post a comment

Richard Linklater’s adaptation of Philip K. Dick’s novel A Scanner Darkly manages to entertain the audience for the two or so hours that it lasts. Set in the near future, a narcotics agent, Rob Arctor, is working undercover to discover the source of the latest drug epidemic, the drug known as ‘Substance D’.

A Scanner Darkly is, simply put, eye-gasmic. If there is one reason to see this film, it is to embrace the immense quality of the artistic style represented onscreen. Linklater’s use of rotoscoping has effectively managed to further blur the line between whether or not the audience is witnessing life imitating art or art imitating life.

As entertaining as the film is, it suffers from a couple of issues. Firstly, as is the case with most adaptations, we have the problem of how the author intended for his work to be read versus the interpretation of the screenwriter. As a result of this, it’s possible to suggest that Linklater has divided his audience. Those familiar with the novel may be disappointed with the adaptation yet those unfamiliar with the novel will probably enjoy the film.

Secondly, as fantastic as the animation is, after watching an hour and a half of the same thing the impact it has severely wears off.

Thematically, the film appropriately deals with drug addiction and the implication that should a social stratosphere allow a drug addict to exist, that a causal relationship exists between the institution and the individual. Ultimately, the individual is the only victim.

The characters are well portrayed; in fact, the support cast steals most of the limelight, providing us with a number of genuinely funny moments throughout the film.

Overall, A Scanner Darkly felt like it was building to something, but just didn’t quite get there.