Review of A Scanner Darkly (2006) by Stephen E — 06 Dec 2011

Despite how close to home the message is, "A Scanner Darkly" is surprisingly cold and distant. Richard Linklater uses some interesting graphic novel-like animation to make everything seem more appealing and hallucinogenic, but much of what happens on the screen is boring and, often enough, the film will meander from scene to scene without any real connection or explanation as to why the scenes are necessary.

There is some good here, though. The supporting performances from Downey Jr. and Harrelson are both meticulous and hilarious, and there some scenes featuring honest and well-written dialogue. But aside from that, "A Scanner Darkly" fairly mediocre.