CANNES -- This film involved a painstaking animation process that required up to 500 hours to create one minute of screen time. And, with each minute of screen time, it has delivered back all that pain to the viewer; in multiples, since the indie-heaven cast and the hand of Richard Linklater promises so much.
Audiences compelled by professional obligation will be this film's most likely outreach, with those sitting in the middle of the aisles most likely to last through the duration. Commercially, "A Scanner Darkly" should be quickly remaindered to video, although on the upside, it may rejuvenate attention to Philip K. Dick's original novel to see exactly what inspired all these talented people to perpetrate this.
Throughout his creative life, Philip K. Dick battled his own demons of drug addiction, and the work upon which this trippy film is based, "A Scanner Darkly", is one of the author's bestsellers. Characteristically set in the Dick universe of the near future, "A Scanner Darkly" centers on the institutional fight against drug addiction, as an undercover cop is assigned to spy on his friends, and, in the complex convolutions of the plot, to eventually spy on himself.
The story itself is a mind-bender of big issues: addiction, surveillance, paranoia and personal rights. Unfortunately, filmmaker Richard Linklater gets swamped by the book's grand philosophical pinions and resorts to verbal explication rather than dramatization.
Indeed, movement-wise, there is nothing animated about this animated feature. It is static. Scene after scene of verbose fiddle-faddle: Characters orate at each other, while sitting in cars, sitting at dining tables, sitting in living rooms, sitting at office desks. The film might be better titled "The Big Sit".
What is going on? Well, a lot of verbiage about the ravages a drug dubbed Substance D is perpetrating on beautiful downtown Anaheim. Unfortunately, filmmaker Linklater further fuddles the works by allowing the actors histrionic excess. Not surprisingly, the most entertaining is Robert J. Downey's hyper-active performance as a fey and haughty friend of the undercover cop. Popped way-over-the top, Downey delivers what William F. Buckley, Jr. might seem like if plied with uppers. Fortunately, other performances are more subdued, namely, Keanu Reeve's myopic turn as the undercover cop. Remarkably, Reeves seems to be doing an imitation of Clint Eastwood, mumbling in the soft cadence of early Dirty Harry. In short, audiences will have to seek out their own peculiar diversions in order to last the whole course of this demi-dud.
Visually, this "Scanner" is no phantasmagoria, unlikely to inspire comparison to great animated head-trips of the ‘60s past. The film's muted pallet of pastels, while immensely suited to bath soaps, is less dynamic as a filmic eye-grabber. While acknowledging the craftsmanship and creativity of the animation team, "A Scanner Darkly"'s colorings and shadings make the real-life characters look like wood carvings.
A SCANNER DARKLY
Warner Independent Pictures Presents
In Association with Thousand Words
A Section Eight/Detour Filmproduction/3 Arts Entertainment Production
Screenwriter/director: Richard Linklater; Based on the novel by Philip K. Dick. Producers: Anne Walker-McBay, Tommy Pallotta, Palmer West, Jonah Smith, Erwin Stoff. Executive producers: George Clooney, Steven Soderbergh, Jennifer Fox, Ben Cosgrove, John Sloss; Director of photography: Shane F. Kelly; Production designer: Bruce Curtis; Music: Graham Reynolds; Editor: Sandra Adair; Animators: Sterling Allen, Evan Cagle, Nick Derington, Christopher Jennings, Lance Myers. Cast. Bob Arctor: Keanu Reeves; James Barris: Robert Downey, Jr.; Ernie Luckman: Woody Harrelson; Donna Hawthorne: Winona Ryder; Charles Freck: Rory Cochrane.
MPAA Rating: R, running time 100 minutes.
Audiences compelled by professional obligation will be this film's most likely outreach, with those sitting in the middle of the aisles most likely to last through the duration. Commercially, "A Scanner Darkly" should be quickly remaindered to video, although on the upside, it may rejuvenate attention to Philip K. Dick's original novel to see exactly what inspired all these talented people to perpetrate this.
Throughout his creative life, Philip K. Dick battled his own demons of drug addiction, and the work upon which this trippy film is based, "A Scanner Darkly", is one of the author's bestsellers. Characteristically set in the Dick universe of the near future, "A Scanner Darkly" centers on the institutional fight against drug addiction, as an undercover cop is assigned to spy on his friends, and, in the complex convolutions of the plot, to eventually spy on himself.
The story itself is a mind-bender of big issues: addiction, surveillance, paranoia and personal rights. Unfortunately, filmmaker Richard Linklater gets swamped by the book's grand philosophical pinions and resorts to verbal explication rather than dramatization.
Indeed, movement-wise, there is nothing animated about this animated feature. It is static. Scene after scene of verbose fiddle-faddle: Characters orate at each other, while sitting in cars, sitting at dining tables, sitting in living rooms, sitting at office desks. The film might be better titled "The Big Sit".
What is going on? Well, a lot of verbiage about the ravages a drug dubbed Substance D is perpetrating on beautiful downtown Anaheim. Unfortunately, filmmaker Linklater further fuddles the works by allowing the actors histrionic excess. Not surprisingly, the most entertaining is Robert J. Downey's hyper-active performance as a fey and haughty friend of the undercover cop. Popped way-over-the top, Downey delivers what William F. Buckley, Jr. might seem like if plied with uppers. Fortunately, other performances are more subdued, namely, Keanu Reeve's myopic turn as the undercover cop. Remarkably, Reeves seems to be doing an imitation of Clint Eastwood, mumbling in the soft cadence of early Dirty Harry. In short, audiences will have to seek out their own peculiar diversions in order to last the whole course of this demi-dud.
Visually, this "Scanner" is no phantasmagoria, unlikely to inspire comparison to great animated head-trips of the ‘60s past. The film's muted pallet of pastels, while immensely suited to bath soaps, is less dynamic as a filmic eye-grabber. While acknowledging the craftsmanship and creativity of the animation team, "A Scanner Darkly"'s colorings and shadings make the real-life characters look like wood carvings.
A SCANNER DARKLY
Warner Independent Pictures Presents
In Association with Thousand Words
A Section Eight/Detour Filmproduction/3 Arts Entertainment Production
Screenwriter/director: Richard Linklater; Based on the novel by Philip K. Dick. Producers: Anne Walker-McBay, Tommy Pallotta, Palmer West, Jonah Smith, Erwin Stoff. Executive producers: George Clooney, Steven Soderbergh, Jennifer Fox, Ben Cosgrove, John Sloss; Director of photography: Shane F. Kelly; Production designer: Bruce Curtis; Music: Graham Reynolds; Editor: Sandra Adair; Animators: Sterling Allen, Evan Cagle, Nick Derington, Christopher Jennings, Lance Myers. Cast. Bob Arctor: Keanu Reeves; James Barris: Robert Downey, Jr.; Ernie Luckman: Woody Harrelson; Donna Hawthorne: Winona Ryder; Charles Freck: Rory Cochrane.
MPAA Rating: R, running time 100 minutes.
- 5/26/2006
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.