A Scanner Darkly

M

Martin

Death Scythe
I finally found the time to check this out at the cinema and was pretty damned impressed.

The first thing that struck me was how faithful an adaptation it is to Philip K Dick's original novel (he also wrote the books that inspired Blade Runner and Total Recall) - parts of the dialogue were taken straight from the book and the story followed the sequence of events quite closely. Even things like the '18 speed bike' scene were retained, along with the rest of the techobabble and dopers' banter. If I hadn't read the book first I would have probably found it a bit confusing though.

It's not often I say this but Keanu Reeves' performance was pretty good. I know he's a really nice guy and all that but I just don't rate him as an actor. He always comes across as a bit dense and for some reason is given the line "but...why?" in every film he stars in (this one was no exception! :p) Robert Downey Jr.'s take on Barris was very good indeed too - it captures the slightly unhinged, manic personality of the character to perfection.

Richard Linklater uses the same visual effects that he did in Waking Life - the 'painting over' of the frames to make it look animated. This was perfect for the rendering of Arctor's scramble suit, as well as the more trippy moments! Overall a very strange but interesting film. Well worth watching.

Good source for an avatar too. ;)
 
Its funny that you watched this today because so did I!

You're right, if you haven't read the book (which I haven't) there's a hell a lot to take in on your first sitting. Its definitely a film that'll be better every time its viewed.

Its got cult written all over it.

First impressions for me was "interesting".

I'm confident a few more watches down the line and this'll be a minor classic as far as I'm concerned.
 
WTFDaveMustaine said:
I wouldn't mind seeing this but i'm put off by Keanu Reeves being in it. He really can not act.
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He plays the part of a guy who's pretending to be a burnt-out stoner. Imagine Reeves' character in Bill and Ted, only more screwed-up! TBH, Downey steals the show in every scene he appears in - the '$60 dollar gun silencer' scene for instance.
 
Imagine Reeves' character in Bill and Ted, only more screwed-up!
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He was horrible in that as well. Keanu reeves is more wooden than Pinocchio, he's still waiting for the fairy godmother to show up and turn him into a real boy. Take a look at the his Monthly Calendar next time you're in WHSmith or somethis, it's the comedy. Every picture on it he has the exact same expression and pose and yes they are all different photos taken at different times. A day to day calendar would be the icing on the cake.
 
cornixt said:
Aren't the actors half animated or something? That's got to improve the acting ability of keanu Reeves!
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But even his voice is wooden! He sounds like he constantly has a hair down the back of his throat. He's probably putting on a fake tough guy voice or something daft like that.
 
WTFDaveMustaine said:
I wouldn't mind seeing this but i'm put off by Keanu Reeves being in it. He really can not act.
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I was kinda put off by that too, but after seeing it, that's not really a problem. The character's supposed to be nearly brain-dead... >.>

The film was... ok. The painting over effect works well, especially given the subject, and the characters were pretty interesting, and funny on occasion. I can't comment on how faithful it was to the book, but it seemed to me as if several elements were touched upon but not fully explored - there was definitely a sense of missing elements. Also, the fairly steady plot development followed by several twists at the end was kinda weak.
Still, it's quite an original film (from my experience in the field) and worth watching, even if it's not great.
 
There was more of an emphasis on the 'conspiracy' side of things rather than it being a cautionary tale of drug clulture. I guess what 'sells' to a film audience is more of a concern to a film director than a novelist who is portraying his own drug-related experiences! There are a few elements that the film missed out on unfortunately, but it managed to retain most of the important ones.

It could have done with showing the 'split' between Fred and Arctor a bit more effectively I think. The book makes a superb job of showing Fred gradually begin to see Arctor as a separate person.
Ramadahl said:
I was kinda put off by that too, but after seeing it, that's not really a problem. The character's supposed to be nearly brain-dead... >.>
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My thoughts exactly!

If you like the visual style, Linklater uses it to great effect in Waking Life as well. Now that film is weird, in the best possible way!
 
Martin, am I correct that you'll be getting this one when its released on DVD?

I've had it preordered for a while now and believe it or not, since playing and completing the PS2 video game Killer7 my desire to see this game has escalated wildly (no, I'm not joking either. Very similar expereinces as far as I'm concerned).

This will probably be much better on second viewing (and thereon) so I'm quite excited.
 
Martin said:
This DVD? Hell yeah! Not a bad price either actually.
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I'm really looking forward to this one. I don't nomrally listen to audio commentary's (though there a nice feature to have) but this is one film where I'll be very interested to here what has to be said!
 
I have yet to see this but it is in the same 'must see' catagory as Seven Swords..... if only my local blockbusters would have a copy on the shelf, its always out
 
I'll be honest with you McIcy, A Scanner Darkly isn't a film I can predict anyone who hasn't seen it yet will like or dislike. It is an aquired taste. You might like it, you might not.

It isn't a must-see compared to Seven Swords (in your case anyway :) ). Seven Swords I more or less know you will like, absolutely. This, I don't know. But I still recommned you watch it, you may really like it (or not).

If you liked the Killer7 video game for the PS2 though there is a very strong possibility you will enjoy A Scanner Darkly. :)
 
I bought this a couple of days ago on DVD but haven't watched it yet. That will change tonight mind you. Looking forward to seeing it again, even more so now so I can compare certain elements and styles as seen and expereinced in the PS2 Killer7 video game.
 
I finally watched this again last night (at time of writing) and I was correct on my first assumption about this film - it was better (in my case, much better) second time round. I really enjoyed it.

It was interesting in part because some of the "episodes" that occured were reflections of the author's (Philip K Dick) state-of-mind during a period of his life when he participated in drug "abuse". And personally I found the general storyline interesting too (particulary in the last quarter), and concepts such as the Scamble Suit were fantastic.

I definelty rate this very highly (more so now), and probably equal it to another cult film I like which is Donnie Darko: The Director's Cut. Amazing visuals of the film act as the cherry on the cake. :)

I think this film benefits from an audience that is receptive towards animated productions, and anyone on this forum that shouldn't be an obstacle because, after all, the primary focus of this forum is animation.
 
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