A Scanner Darkly
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An undercover cop in a not-too-distant future becomes involved with a dangerous new drug and begins to lose his own identity as a result.
What critics thought
Linklater's rotoscoped Philip K. Dick adaptation drew genuine admiration for its visual originality and fidelity to the source material, but critics divided sharply over whether the technique and the talky, drifting narrative actually served the story or smothered it. Supporters found the film hypnotic and intellectually rich; detractors felt the artiness created distance rather than immersion, leaving audiences disoriented for stretches that never fully paid off.
“What's extraordinary about Linklater's animation, computer-rotoscoped in the fashion of his 2001 Waking Life, is just how tangible the Dickian labyrinth becomes”
J. Hoberman·The Village Voice
“the brilliance of [the film] is how it suggests, without bombast or fanfare, the ways in which the real world has come to resemble the dark world of comic books”
Carina Chocano·Los Angeles Times
“more fun to think about than [it] is to experience”
Owen Gleiberman·Entertainment Weekly
“The movie is often startling and engrossing, but the question of what the heck is going on, and why, is never entirely absent from your mind”
Peter Bradshaw·The Guardian
Genres
Animation, Science Fiction, Thriller
Cast & Crew
Richard LinklaterDirector
Keanu ReevesBob Arctor
Robert Downey Jr.James Barris
Woody HarrelsonErnie Luckman
Winona RyderDonna Hawthorne
Rory CochraneCharles Freck
Mitch BakerBrown Bear Lodge Host
Steven Chester PrinceCop
Chamblee FergusonMedical Deputy #2
Graham ReynoldsComposer
Philip K. DickWriter
Shane F. KellyCinematographyA Scanner Darkly
An undercover cop in a not-too-distant future becomes involved with a dangerous new drug and begins to lose his own identity as a result.
What critics thought
Linklater's rotoscoped Philip K. Dick adaptation drew genuine admiration for its visual originality and fidelity to the source material, but critics divided sharply over whether the technique and the talky, drifting narrative actually served the story or smothered it. Supporters found the film hypnotic and intellectually rich; detractors felt the artiness created distance rather than immersion, leaving audiences disoriented for stretches that never fully paid off.
“What's extraordinary about Linklater's animation, computer-rotoscoped in the fashion of his 2001 Waking Life, is just how tangible the Dickian labyrinth becomes”
J. Hoberman·The Village Voice
“the brilliance of [the film] is how it suggests, without bombast or fanfare, the ways in which the real world has come to resemble the dark world of comic books”
Carina Chocano·Los Angeles Times
“more fun to think about than [it] is to experience”
Owen Gleiberman·Entertainment Weekly
“The movie is often startling and engrossing, but the question of what the heck is going on, and why, is never entirely absent from your mind”
Peter Bradshaw·The Guardian
Genres
Animation, Science Fiction, Thriller
Cast & Crew
Richard LinklaterDirectorKeanu ReevesBob ArctorRobert Downey Jr.James BarrisWoody HarrelsonErnie LuckmanWinona RyderDonna HawthorneRory CochraneCharles FreckMitch BakerBrown Bear Lodge HostSteven Chester PrinceCopChamblee FergusonMedical Deputy #2Graham ReynoldsComposerPhilip K. DickWriterShane F. KellyCinematographyStream
Rent & Buy