THE SYNOPSIS Orange County, California; the near future. The drug of choice for the criminal element and disenfranchised populace is Substance D. It also seems to be the drug of choice for undercover police agent Bob Arctor (Reeves)--who is tasked with uncovering the drug’s supply network. Could the cartel be controlled by one of his friends? There’s the enigmatic Jim Barris (Downey, Jr.); slacker Ernie Luckman (Harrelson); spastic, doped-up Charles Freck (Cochrane) and possible love-interest Donna Hawthorne (Ryder). Could it really be himself? Hard to say, as Bob and his fellow agents wear “scrambler suits”--a virtual holographic symphony of ever-changing physical traits. Thusly, no one knows who each other really is. Bob’s superiors believe that Bob Arctor is responsible and want Bob to track him down--of course without realizing that Bob is Bob. So begins a downward spiral into a world of false loyalties and trickery. Not everyone is whom they say they are and so forth--especially Donna... THE CRITIQUE Based on the 1977 novel by the late, great, S/F author Philip K. Dick (1928-1982), A SCANNER DARKLY has finally made the leap to the big screen after many years of turnaround. The results are decidedly a mixed-bag. Translating Dick’s literary stories into the cinematic medium have never been an easy task (other works have been made into such movies as Blade Runner, Total Recall, Paycheck and Minority Report). But it is A Scanner Darkly that has presented potential filmmakers over the years the Sisyphean task of making this drug-induced morality tale palatable to moviegoers everywhere. Hip, indie/studio filmmaker Richard Linklater (Fast Food Nation/2005’s Bad News Bears/The School Of Rock/Dazed And Confused) has done the deed, both writing and directing the movie--with the blessing of the Dick Estate. His handling of the difficult material is to be commended; also a plus is Linklater’s use of the animation rotoscoping techniques featured in his 2001 feature Waking Life. Nicely rendered, I say! Naturally, some of that credit should go to DP Shane Kelly (TV’s Rollergirls)--whose DV lensing comprise decent compositions and give the kaleidoscopic animation some balance. It should be noted, however, that the animation itself does come off as a bit flat--but that may have been intentional. Other tech credits (editing, music, etc. are acceptable--given its meager $8.5 million budget). By the way, Texas stands in for Orange County, CA. As for the talent in front of the lens, all are uniformly fine. I kept expecting Keanu Reeves to spout out a mournful Whoa at some point (alluding to his famous line in the 1999 classic cyberpunk movie The Matrix)--but alas, no dice. Instead, we are treated to his usual relaxed, half-asleep acting demeanor...which actually works here! The rest of the cast, Winona Ryder, Woody Harrelson, Robert Downey, Jr. and Rory Cochrane do what they can with the material. They make the movie almost watchable. As it is, I was not crazy about A SCANNER DARKLY. While visually-intriguing (the “scramble suits” VFX are really nifty), I was left pretty bored. The dialogue has a left to be desired while the pacing a wee-bit slack. Even while Paycheck was a dumb movie, at least it moved along! THE BOTTOM LINE A movie that’s waaaaaaaaaay out there. I guess that you have to either be a Baby Boomer or a drug-user (or both) to really get the meaning behind the Dick’s story. As for the movie, terrific visual concepts carry the movie up until a point--as does the acting, directing, etc. However, in the end, A SCANNER DARKLY is more esoteric than entertaining; visually-arresting--but ultimately, boring. Well, at the very least you can try and inhale all of it--but don’t expect to get high on this low... CAST: Keanu Reeves, Robert Downey, Jr., Woody Harrelson, Winona Ryder, Rory Cochrane CREDITS: Director/Screenwriter: Richard Linklater; Based on the novel by Philip K. Dick. Producers: Anne Walker-McBay, Tommy Pallotta, Palmer West, Jonah Smith, Erwin Stoff; Director of Photography: Shane F. Kelly; Production Designer: Bruce Curtis; Editor: Sandra Adair; Costume Designer: Kari Perkins; Animators: Sterling Allen, Evan Cagle, Nick Derington, Christopher Jennings & Lance Myers; Music: Graham Reynolds AC/AL 2006 105m ENGLISH BN/V http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rotoscopingshapeimage_2_link_0