This might be the best film of the year thus far.
I have to qualify that statement by saying that I have absolutely no illusions that it will be awarded with anything save some nominations in the production design/visual effects categories come awards season. But still, this movie was wonderful.
The story is by Philip K. Dick. You may remember some of his other work: the stories behind Blade Runner and Minority Report perhaps? We've all worked hard to forget Paycheck. The most notable thing about the film is its use of rotoscope animation (actual drawing/painting on the film itself), and many people might be lured into the theatre (or maybe driven away?) simply because of the "look" of the movie.
Now I must qualify by saying that this is in no way a "gimmick" movie. This isn't like Spy Kids 3-D, when, as much as we all love Robert Rodriguez one has to just ask...why? This is a powerful story that is acted brilliantly by a group of actors who have had their relative ups and downs in the industry. Sure, it may not be a stretch for Robert Downey Jr. to play a drug addict - but actors have won multiple Oscars for essentially playing themselves. Woody Harrelson is excellent as well, and Keanu Reeves might give his best/least annoying performance to date. Winona Ryder does a good job, I suppose, but ever since The Crucible she's always come actress as...well, for lack of a better term...a bitch.
The film is set seven years in the future, in a time when "D" is the new "E", and everyone and their mother is getting high. Cocaine and weed are still around, and people still drink tequila, but this new drug is all the rage - and it has prompted (or at least validated) a new type of law enforcement that involves interception of cell phone calls, virtual arrest warrants, and chameleon suits to protect the identities of officers and informants. It is a scary day and age. A group of junkies has a mole among them, and everyone is trying to stay one step ahead of the man. Even though these people are drug addicts, the government is the bad guy here. There is also a scary-as-all-hell rehab clinic that, from the looks of it, is not quite as hospitable as Betty Ford. In the end, this future looks bleak yet harrowingly possible.
The audience is able to swallow this heavy material thanks to some unbelievable writing. I don't know how much of the dialogue comes from Dick's book, how much was added to director Richard Linklater's screenplay, or even what lines were embellished or improvised by the various actors; however, the end result is brilliant. Downey fills every scene with a kind of crazy magnetism, and Rory Cochrane is incredible as an over-the-edge addict. I won't ruin the opening scene, but I will say that it sets the tone for the whole show.
I can't really say enough about the way this film looks, the color is incredible, and the foreground seems to sway and separate from the background, giving the world a disorienting feel that adds to the tension between the characters and inside their heads. The limited locations add to the intensity, making even the audience feel claustrophobic and trapped at times.
Even I was a bit surprised by the film's ending, but it fit, and was very "Philip Dick". Together with Blade Runner and Minority Report, A Scanner Darkly creates a trilogy of incredibly disparate, yet similarly impressive films, that provide unabashed glimpses into the world's potential future. Scanner might hit closest to home, and for that reason, it just might be the best. If it weren't for the painted film cells, this story might have been simply too realistic to handle.
The Verdict: A-