A Scanner Darkly (2006) – Review

Directed by Richard Linklater

A Scanner Darkly is based on the famous novel written by Philip K. Dick. Based on real-life experiences involving the destructive power of drugs, the book has been a cult classic with many readers…

So that’s a little about the book, so what of the adaptation to the silver screen? Using a technique called Rotoscoping which has been used in other films including Linklater’s ‘Waking Life’ and other various commercials etc. The technique involves shooting the film traditionally and then animating on top of the video footage in post-production. This process is very time consuming but gives a very painterly and fluid look to the picture, and in the context of drug experiences this seemed appropriate as a technique to use. From the outset there is a level of sophistication seen in the movie, the most obvious being the quality of the animation, a big improvement in terms of realism and original effects.

A chilled paced movie is complimented with dense dialogue from the screenplay, which many have said is quite true to the book. Although the source material was a great success I feel that the film was a big let down. Waking Life was a big inspiration for me, and still stands out as one of the most innovative films of modern cinema. So when I heard about ‘A Scanner Darkly’ I naturally had high expectations. A Scanner Darkly fails to grab the audience, because it’s all one in one gear and lacks balance. Waking Life was definitely the opposite – the different styles of animation, a querky score and original material made it very unique and appealing to a young audience.

A Scanner Darkly was not what I expected and adds to the recent list of bad and disappointing movies.

7/10