A Scanner Darkly

Before I get to the movie there is a confession I must make. I haven't seen the whole movie, through no fault of my own. When we were in the theater (please make note it was an AMC theater) the first problem was at a reel change the frame was set wrong, so the audience saw the top of the frame at the bottom of the screen, and the bottom of the frame at the top of the screen. The middle of the screen was completely black (kind of like the old days when you were watching TV and could not get the vertical control to work). Then at the very end of A Scanner Darkly where, I found out later, they quote Phillip K. Dick about the many costs of drug use, the screen went totally blank for awhile. Is this a plot to deprive the audience of the ending? When the projector lamp came back on the film was already into the specific credits. So at this point I had no idea what the last tidbit of the film was. I thought about sneaking into another theater and catching the last 10 minutes of the film. I decided to write the New York Times column, “The Ethicist”, about would it be ethical if I snuck into an AMC theater only, or could I just sneak into just any theater that was showing the movie to catch the tail end. Or if you consider the fact that AMC did give me two complimentary tickets, when I went and complained about the problems, should I use these tickets just to watch the last ten minutes of A Scanner Darkly , or could I sneak in just for the last ten minutes and then go see another movie. The Ethicist is full of questions like this every Sunday. But I do now have some idea what was at the end of the movie so it doesn't seem to be such a pressing issue now as it was when the problems first occurred. At the time it seemed like what would have happened if they had ended The Wizard of Oz right after Dorothy kills the Wicked Witch of the West (what was her name, Myrtle?). It changes the film, and what the film means.

I loved this movie. The movie stars Keanu Reeves, Robert Downey Jr, Woody Harrelson, and Winona Ryder (though they have now been animated). The movie is somewhat grim, and it does throw you a couple of curveballs. If you have seen and enjoyed Blade Runner you have an idea of what the plot of this movie is like (both were written by Phillip K. Dick). This is a very dark grim film about drug addiction and identity. It is a real science fiction film with a real plot, and if you enjoy science fiction please track this film down while it is still showing in the theaters.

The film was shot in the regular way and then manipulated in a computer. The film has the look of a comic book, but the animation is full animation. There are no moments in the film where people stop and stare, and we hear talking for hours on end which plagues much of the Japanese anime. This is the real deal. The director uses this power very tastefully, and what he does with the animation feels true to the story. Richard Linklater, the director, also directed Before Sunrise and Before Sunset . A Scanner Darkly works very well. If this was cheaper to make than a regular feature, and maybe it was or wasn't, I don't know, it could open up a whole new world in movies. Please Hollywood , gamble every once in awhile and make more movies such as these. Do we really need every TV series ever made by man to be adapted into a full movie (I wasn't talking about Miami Vice , but it will do)?

You can write James Harper at movielover77061@yahoo.com