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Shelf Beauties
by Willie Waffle
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A
Scanner Darkly
A
Scanner Darkly has a cool
look and some great acting, but it doesn’t work overall as a
movie.
Keanu Reeves stars as Fred - a futuristic police informant working
undercover
to bring down the manufacturers of a new, deadly illegal drug called
Substance
D. Fred is so deep undercover (he literally wears a zippered
suit that
conceals his true identity) that even the cops don't know his real name
or what
he looks like. Along the way, he has developed a serious drug
addiction,
moved in with a couple of crazy drug users - James Barris (Robert Downey,
Jr.) and Ernie
Luckman (Woody Harrelson) - and started a relationship with a known
drug
dealer, Donna Hawthorne (Winona Ryder). All of this comes
back to haunt
him as the police unwittingly assign Fred to chase after another drug
dealer
named Bob Arctor. The problem? Fred is
Bob.
Will Bob's world come crashing down? Will anyone discover his
real life
illegalities? Can he ever kick the habit that is destroying
his brain,
career and life?
Just because the
movie is about people on drugs, I shouldn't feel like I am on drugs
while
watching it. Writer/director Richard Linklater (based on a
story by
Philip K. Dick) wants to consume us in this world of paranoia, delusion
and manic
thinking, but it becomes too muddled for us to understand where the
plot is
heading. Also, instead of letting us play along by dropping
some clues
throughout the movie, he unfairly springs a twist on us at the end that
cheats
the audience. You don't see it coming because you have no
idea to expect
a twist. Aside from those problems with the story, A
Scanner Darkly is
full of great acting performances to keep you interested (with a cast
straight
from the Folsom County Prison Dinner Theater Troupe).
Downey,
Jr. and
Harrelson are fantastic as the two crazed drug users living with Bob
(not that
they have any experience with that). Harrelson is wonderfully
wacky,
providing some comic relief as well as giving us a reason to fear Bob
Arctor may
be heading down the same tortured path. Meanwhile, Downey,
Jr. blows everyone away as the fast-talking,
brain fried conspiracy theorist with a bit of a Machiavellian streak in
him. He is
captivating with his fanatical ranting
and raving and draws in the audience, even though his speech is flying
by at what
feels like 1000 words per minute.
Much
has been said about the amount and style of dialogue he had to learn,
and it is
all amazingly executed by one of our greatest actors.
Ten or twenty years from now, if Downey,
Jr. can continue
down his clean and sober path (and I will be rooting for him to do so),
I think
we’ll realize his ability and reward him with the type of
accolades he will
deserve.
A
Scanner Darkly also is an
interesting movie to watch due to its use of Interpolated Rotoscoping. Essentially, the movie is
filmed like any
other film, then fed into a computer where it gets an animated look,
complete
with simulated brushstrokes coloring in the faces, objects and more. For a movie set in the
future like this one,
it gives Linklater freedom to play with it and add little touches. Some of the additions look
fake, but others,
like the constantly changing zippered suits the police informants wear
or the
drug induced hazes the characters experience, bring some life and value
to A
Scanner Darkly.
Linklater and
Dick fans will love the film, while the rest of us can appreciate its
artistic
merits and Downey,
Jr. on DVD.
1 ½ Waffles (Out Of 4)
Copyright 2006 - WaffleMovies.com
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