A Scanner Darkly - movie reviews and information

'A Scanner Darkly': As fascinating as it is confusing
by Eleanor Ringel Gillespie

The works of sci-fi visionary Philip K. Dick have been catnip to diverse filmmakers such as Ridley Scott ("Blade Runner"), Steven Spielberg ("Minority Report"), Paul Verhoeven ("Total Recall") and John Woo ("Paycheck"). Now add Richard Linklater ("The School of Rock," "Dazed and Confused") to the list. "A Scanner Darkly" is based on Dick's 1977 novel which, in a sense, chronicled the author's own struggle with addiction as well as being a dead-eyed elegy for the many friends he'd lost to drugs. Read the full review

TO SUM UP
Set in a future world where America has lost the war on drugs, an undercover cop named Fred is one of many agents hooked on a popular drug that causes its users to develop split personalities. Fred, for instance, is also Bob, a notorious drug dealer. Along with his superior officers, Fred sets up an elaborate scheme to catch Bob and tear down his operation.

FILM FACTS ...

Warner Independent Pictures

'A Scanner Darkly'

Director: Richard Linklater
Starring: Keanu Reeves, Mitch Baker, Robert Downey Jr., Winona Ryder, Woody Harrelson
Run time: 100 minutes
Release date: July 7, 2006
Rating: R for drug and sexual content, language and a brief violent image.
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Meet the director
Richard Linklater may be the best European director ever born in Texas.

On the web
Official movie site
View the trailer
Trailers require Quicktime

READ THE REVIEW

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: C+
"You're either on A Scanner Darkly's wavelength or you'll tire yourself out trying to get there."

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Austin American-Statesman: 4 of 5 stars
"This comics-influenced style is the ideal vehicle for a story where every bit of human interaction is colored either by mind-altering drugs or by the persona-stretching demands of Arctor's double life."

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The Palm Beach Post: B
"... a hallucinatory ride, visually and verbally, which has its pleasures as long as you do not insist on understanding what is going on at every hairpin turn."