What Does a Scanner see?

Fred (Keanu Reeves) is a narc trying to locate the suppliers of drug Substance-D. Undercover as addict Bob Arctor, Fred's fragile grip on reality slips into paranoia and disorientation when asked to spy upon himself.

Putting Philip K. Dick's masterpiece A Scanner Darkly on screen was never going to be an easy task. A deeply personal novel, it is an honest tackling of the fractured and paranoid nature of drug use. This alone makes it a difficult work to approach, but the added complication of showing a "scramble suit" (a device masking a narc's identity with constantly shifting fragments of other people) on screen also lends it a technical complexity. Thankfully the rotoscoping technique employed by Linklater (pioneered in Waking Life, and improved upon here) is a perfect fit on many levels.

Famed for his slacker credentials, Linklater has assembled a fitting cast for a movie about drug taking. Robert Downey Jr. is particularly excellent, stealing every scene he is in as the manic, motor mouthed Barris. The scenes shared with Arctor, and Luckman (Woody Harrelson) have a natural chemistry that is a joy to watch; thanks in no small part to the many memorable lines of stoner dialogue. It's only the character of Donna, played by Winona Rider, that fails to make much of an impact.

The movie can feel a little disjointed at times, making it difficult to follow. For the first two thirds there is a distinct lack of direction, but a lot of humor and memorable scenes are present. It's once Bob is unknowingly asked (thanks to the scramble suit masking his real identity) to spy on himself, that the sense of deep paranoia sets in and begins to unsettle you. At the point Bob begins talking about himself in the third person, there is a painful awareness that you are witness to the complete mental collapse of the character. It is a saddening realisation, dislodging the stoner humor of earlier scenes. You are left facing the uncomfortable reality of the consequences of the characters decisions.

When the story kicks in during the final half hour, a myriad of philosophical ideas covering free will, God, identity, totalitarianism, and a host of other Dickian staples are rapidly thrown at us. This leaves you with a feeling it is all over too quickly, something at complete odds to the directionless nature of the rest of movie. Though perhaps this is intentional, mirroring the author's views on drug taking. Reading Dick's note to fallen friends before the credits roll is a soul wrenching experience. It firmly reminds us this is a story from someone who experienced it first hand. Any accusation the anti-drugs message conveyed is heavy handed is completely without merit.

Linklater has skillfully handled the adaptation of an important, personal, and complex novel. Arguably giving us the finest cinematic translation of Dick's work to date.