2006
Written and Directed by Richard Linklater
Based on the novel by Philip K. Dick
Starring Keanu Reeves, Winona Ryder, Robert Downey Jr., Woody Harrelson, Rory Cochrane
Plot summary from Netflix.com:
Keanu Reeves shoulders another futuristic role in director Richard Linklater's sci-fi thriller based on Philip K. Dick's novel. Working as an undercover cop in a world where almost everyone is addicted to Substance D - which produces split personalities in its users - Fred Arctor (Reeves) sets up an elaborate sting to nab a notorious drug runner named Bob. But little does Fred know that "Bob" is β¦ his alter ego.
My boyfriend and I were both really excited to watch A Scanner Darkly, which came in the mail from Netflix last night. I'm a fan of the other Richard Linklater films I've seen (Dazed and Confused, Before Sunrise), and my nerdy, sci-fi loving boyfriend is a huge fan of Philip K. Dick. Plus, the movie was animated with rotoscoping, a cool technique in which animators trace over live-action film movement, frame by frame, and we were both interested in seeing how it turned out
We were both highly disappointed. The film's visuals were the only redeeming quality about it, and after about half an hour, the novelty wore off. The plot was muddy and confusing - neither one of us would've understood what the hell was going on if we hadn't read the Netflix summary. The characters were unsympathetic and mostly one-dimensional (surprising for a movie about a drug which causes split-personalities). I was largely unimpressed with the performances: Keanu Reeves was his usual wooden self, Woody Harrelson overacted horribly, and Winona Ryder was just okay (c'mon, girl, I keep waiting for you to impress me again!) The exception was Robert Downey Jr., whose performance as a drug addict was funny and convincing.
Not only did we not understand what was going on in the movie, but we just didn't care. We both wanted to turn the movie off about halfway through, but we stuck through it in the hopes that it would get better. It didn't.
If you want to see a cool Linklater film with rotoscoping, see Waking Life instead and skip A Scanner Darkly. I give it 1.5 stars, and that's only because of the animation and Downey, Jr.
Butterfly
Jason took it to work and watched it and said it wasn't very good either. He actually told me not to waste my time trying to watch it before we sent it back. :/
1Thats because if anyone understands a drug addict its Robert Downey Jr LOL! Mr addiction. Thats why he was so good in Less Than Zero too.
We have this in the Netflix queue and I keep sliding it back a spot..soon it will be number 45.
2I love RD, Jr. Always have...and I totally thought of Less than Zero when I read what his role in this film was! LOL Remember when he was on Ally McBeal? He's one of my favs.
3He was one of the only things I ever liked about Ally McBeal. In fact, I think I started watching it because of him, and stopped when he left.
He's going to star in the new Iron Man movie, too. And I know this because, again, the boyfriend is a nerd.
4We just watched this the other night. I didn't like it at all. Whip, you rated it perfectly, in my opinion.
5Aw that's too bad cause I wanted to watch this solely on the fact they computer generated over a movie and it looks cool!
6We watched this 2 nights ago and I fell asleep 1/2 way through.
7Post A Comment
To post comments, please log in or register.