By Brian Marder
Story
Imagine the sci-fi spirit of
Blade Runner crossed with the drug-induced musings of
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and set to trippy animation. Now consider that this animation plays like a book by Philip K. Dick (who also penned
Blade Runner’s novel), and you’re likely spinning with imagery; welcome to
A Scanner Darkly. Set in Anaheim, California, seven years into the future, an undercover narc named Bob Arctor (
Keanu Reeves) is assigned to spy on his druggie friends (
Robert Downey Jr.,
Woody Harrelson,
Winona Ryder and
Rory Cochrane). They’re all hooked on Substance D, the latest suburban drug, and its side effects--including possible manifestation of separate identities--can be downright nasty. Unfortunately, Bob, the “scanner,” is hooked too, and he leads the ultimate double life, unbeknownst to him: By day, he partakes in “D” consumption; by night, he watches the surveillance tapes as a cop--not realizing he may, in turn, be spying on himself.
Acting
Scanner marks a welcome return of sorts for all five actors to their more decadent (cinematic) days.
Downey and
Harrelson are up to their old
Natural Born Killers tricks, even though their characters share nothing other than insanity with those in
Oliver Stone’s movie.
Downey, perennially the most underrated actor, steals every scene he’s in with his character James’ mile-a-minute psychobabble. Not far off is
Reeves, who somehow grasps Bob’s drug-induced psychosis almost too well and is much more comfy (and likable) playing the central character in a film that’s not carrying an entire production company. We haven’t seen
Ryder in a major release since ‘02’s
Mr. Deeds, and although her part isn’t as meaty as the boys’, she gives a compelling performance. And
Cochrane, whose breakout role was the dopey burnout in
Scanner director
Richard Linklater’s
Dazed and Confused, is an often funny casualty of the paranoia associated with Substance D.
Direction
Linklater’s last release was
Bad News Bears, and his next is October’s
Fast Food Nation. Clearly, and to his credit, no director offers us as much variety, with so many of his films clicking on all cylinders; to his discredit, however, parts of his latest film don’t click. The biggest flaw is the animation, which, while truly amazing to behold, detaches us. What began as a winning experiment--on his 2001 philosoph-ilm
Waking Life--can no longer be dismissed as such, but rather a gimmick behind which
Scanner hides. Sure, it’s apt for Dick’s futuristic dystopia, but this film didn’t need any added complexity to bog our brains down. In addition,
Linklater’s
Scanner outcasts fail where his others have been immortalized: They don’t endear us--yes, that truth is faithful to the source material, but films can’t get away with such disconnect. Ultimately, all we feel towards the characters is fascination over their animated likenesses. But
Linklater is praiseworthy for even tackling such a novel, and the adaptation
will find a fervent cult following.