Review of A Scanner Darkly (2006) by Jess K — 28 Nov 2009

Like the animation used in the film, A Scanner Darkly has a lot more happening than it appears, unfortunately the work itself doesn't do enough to make its intentions or implications known. The movie lacks emotional impact, making us suffer through it to get at the resonant ideas hidden beneath the squiggly sea of misuse.

Of course the animation is the movie's major attractor yet little is done to make it anymore than a horrible distraction. The level of subtle shading given to actor's faces over everything else makes it seem the world is populated by disembodied heads.

Meanwhile several of the dialogue scenes don't work as plot development or comedy, despite a strong performance by Downey Jr (while Reeves looks stiff and over-rehearsed even as a floating face). The characters are dull and uninteresting.

All this neglects the ideas behind the film, which are the strongest aspect and should have been the centerpiece the whole time. A shame really that such effort was wasted on an annoying, underused, weakness that overshadows the strength.

The last fifteen minutes give a far-too-brief glimpse of where the movie should have focused from the start. While Linklater may not have created a good movie, he did make an outstanding argument that Philip K.

Dick's work should be read, and perhaps not filmed.