A Scanner Darkly (2006)

I caught the movie at a human rights film festival recently. I haven't actually read the book, so I can't really weigh in on how they compare, but man, as a standalone story? It’s fantastic. Tense, smart, vivid, and totally unpredictable. The animation is top-tier, too. To be honest, Keanu usually looks better than he acts, but since the whole thing was animated after the fact, his lack of range doesn't really hurt the final product. Robert Downey Jr. is excellent, and Winona is great as well. Honestly, if you aren't into dark, depressing, dystopian flicks, just stay far away from this one...

I caught this one a couple of months back during a rather terrible movie marathon
You can probably guess how much I was enjoying myself, but honestly, the film was a surprisingly pleasant surprise.
Robert Downey Jr. is fantastic—really carries the humor well.
Keanu Reeves plays his usual role: a guy who seems perpetually lost in both time and space.
Woody Harrelson is, as always, solid.
Winona Ryder looks a bit more refreshed than usual here.😬
I haven't read the book, so I can't weigh in on that, but it’s incredibly rare for
a movie to actually outshine its source material. I can't think of a single instance where that happened.🙂

I’m really digging this! Especially the soundtrack. That track during the end credits was killer—I think it was Black Swan by the guy who fronts Radiohead. And man, I just love Winonin's raspy little voice...

Look, I haven't even touched the book, but honestly? It doesn't even matter if I did or not. Movies aren't just made for people who've already read the source material—or plan to later. I went into this totally blind, without any preconceived notions about the book. And man, was I disappointed. The movie itself felt incredibly sluggish—just kind of dragging its feet—and the plot left way too many holes for my liking. As for that animation work? I don't really get why they spent so much effort on it; it actually ended up being kind of grating to watch (apparently, they spent 18 months just on the post-production animation phase alone). The themes didn't click, the execution missed the mark... though I guess the acting from Woody and R. d. junior was okay, if you can call it that.

And yeah, the thing wasn't even playing in theaters—well, except for that one H. R. film festival—so the only actual promo I ever saw was some ad in Hollywood magazine (which, by the way, isn't even publishing anymore). I just happened to stumble upon it at a local video rental shop one day and decided to rent it. Big mistake. 👎

Uh, I have to admit, I’m feeling pretty disappointed. The direction felt kind of uninspired to me, almost like they were just going through the motions. And honestly, I didn't really get the whole point of using cell computer rotoscoping, because it feels like they barely scratched even 10% of what that tech could actually do. The atmosphere just wasn't there for me.

The script itself isn't bad, I guess, but the acting sort of gets lost in all that digital animation trickery... so it feels like the whole movie suffers because of it.

But maybe the DVD is worth grabbing if you just want to see Dick on screen. I've never actually seen him in motion or heard his voice before, so, I don't know, maybe Paul Giamatti could do a really good job playing him in some upcoming biopic. 👍

Does anyone know exactly how long the animation—specifically the rotoscoping—took for this film? Or can anyone point me toward a reliable source?
I’m trying to pin down a number, but I keep running into wildly inconsistent claims. Some sources suggest 15 months, while others claim as much as 70 months. I’m inclined to dismiss the latter 🙂

Unlike Waking Life (which I probably pull out every single time I hit an existential crisis), this was a pretty weird experience 😬

I mean, the only real link is that rotoscope animation style, but even then, the movie just didn't really grab me... felt a bit slow

Given Linklater's usual vibe, this felt a little too dark for my taste. Still, the acting is solid, some of the dialogue and scenes actually land, and the whole technique definitely brings something "different" to the table

Sophia Brown78 said:Yeah, definitely not peaceful.
I've no idea which edition you were reading, but he basically wrote this whole thing as a tribute to all his buddies who either passed away or ended up totally wrecked from overdosing. Even Dick himself was caught up in it. He lists them all at the end of the book. It’s pretty heavy when you realize all those characters he dropped into that sci-fi world were actually just descriptions of his real-life friends who are gone...

The book is incredibly dark, it offers zero hope for a better tomorrow (well, maybe a tiny bit 🙂), and I'm really curious to see how much they changed it...

I also found the book to be very sad and moving.

The movie is solid and follows the plot fairly well, but the novel definitely left a stronger impression on me than the film did.

Tears in Rain, the Officer Said.