A Scanner Darkly

This film is an adaptation of Philip K. Dick, in which she co-stars alongside Keanu Reeves, Robert Downey Jr., and Woody Harrelson.

The movie is the lost masterpiece of the 2000s that predicted the end of privacy, and maybe some people out there truly do not want you to remember that it exists. Philip K. Dick wrote this story based on his real-life friends whom he lost to drugs. In fact, during the end credits of the film there is a dedication listing the names of his friends and the price each one paid, some death, others permanent brain damage and psychosis.

I remember it being recommended to me when I was still young, and I am very glad I watched it much later, because I believe I was far too immature to grasp the magnitude of what Richard Linklater and his team created. The film uses the technique of interpolated rotoscoping, animation over real actors, and manages to effortlessly convey the fluidity of reality and the paranoia of surveillance. Many critics have described it as the most faithful screen adaptation of Philip K. Dick, mainly because it does not simply depict a world of drugs, but the disintegration of human identity itself. It feels like watching a dream that slowly turns into a nightmare. Or perhaps the most convincing depiction of what it feels like to lose your mind.

However, the film is not really about drug addiction at all. It uses drugs as an allegory for much deeper meanings. You need to watch it and surrender to its madness with a very, very open mind.

The production process was a technical ordeal that nearly derailed the entire film. This was not done with the push of a button or a simple computer filter. While the live-action shooting with the actors lasted only 23 days, the animation process took a full 18 months. Every single second required hundreds of hours of manual work, as animators literally drew over the actors’ faces frame by frame. Linklater insisted on this technique because he wanted to preserve the actors’ human expressions and emotions. He wanted you to see the fear in Keanu’s eyes and the hysteria on Downey Jr.’s face, while at the same time feeling that everything exists inside a fluid dream.

Robert Downey Jr., in my opinion, delivers yet another excellent and seriously underrated performance here, back to back after A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints. These two might even be among the best performances of his career, period. On the other hand, Keanu Reeves proves that he can do far more acting-wise outside of the Matrix, whether machines or mobsters. Yes, that was a jab at the John Wick films. Not that I did not like them, but when you have made this film, they are simply not comparable.

Two actors who have truly lived life to the fullest and have both, at some point, hit rock bottom. I believe that in this film they were not just playing their roles, but a fragment of their real selves. It just happened that the cameras captured and exploited their pain, resulting in this indie cult masterpiece.