Dameon Clarke, Heather Kafka, Jason Douglas

Set in a future world where America has lost the war on drugs, an undercover cop, Fred, is one of many agents hooked on the popular drug Substance D, which causes its users to develop split personalit...( read more  read more... )ies. 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.

Flixster Users

71% liked it

115,482 ratings

Critics

67% liked it

166 critics

R, 1 hr. 40 min.

Directed by: Richard Linklater

Release Date: July 7, 2006

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DVD Release Date: December 19, 2006

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Stats: 9,895 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (9,895)


  • October 10, 2009
    I like all you dumb fuckers talking about how you saw this movie high or how much you want to drop acid and sit through it. Considering the movie is essentially a straight indictment of drug use and culture, you've completely missed the point. Philip K. Dick is spinning in his gr...( read more)ave right now.

    Obviously the big draw here was the rotoscoping, which looks cool. Why did Richard Linklater make this choice, I wondered throughout the film? I think that it's to depict how detached people intimated in this drug culture become from reality - how everything in the world around them becomes a not-quite-there caricature. They see shapes, but they can't attach meaning to them. The details are gone, washed away in a drugged haze. I confess that I didn't arrive at this conclusion until after I'd finished the movie, and instead just chose to appreciate that it looked cool as I watched it. It is an effective device for allowing the viewer to see into a blurred reality. It's also a double edged sword, because you can't help but wonder how different the film would be played straight. It would probably allow more attention for the performances, which are sort of de-nuanced by the rotoscoping. What we see here is essentially enhanced voice-over work. Not that anyone is exactly doing career best here, with Keanu being Keanu and Winona looking whiny and soppy and Robert Downey Jr. being annoyingly glib. The movie rises beyond this, though, and it manages to be thematically and visually captivating enough to warrant a watch.
  • September 20, 2009
    Recently added to my collection. Review to follow.

    "What does a scanner see? Into the head? Down into the heart? Does it see into me, into us? Clearly or darkly?"


    Plot: Set in a future world where America has lost the war on drugs, an underc...( read more)over cop, Fred, is one of many agents hooked on the popular drug Substance D, which 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.

    [INSERT REVIEW HERE]

    Directed by: Richard Linklater
    Genre: Animation, Mystery, Sci-Fi, Thriller
    R 18
  • September 15, 2009
    I was worried that the animation would spoil this film version of one of my favourite books. Luckily Richard Linklater's adaptation of Phillip K. Dick's novel was really refreshing and original and worked perfectly. Phew!
  • May 2, 2009
    Keanu Reeves plays a drugged-up undercover cop who is ordered by his law enforcement superiors to spy on and film his life with his housemates. It's based on a Philip K Dick story and is very much like something out of Heavy Metal with it's animation-based-on-real-life stylings. ...( read more)Robert Downey Jr and Woody Harrelson play his buddies whom the police seem to be especially interested in. Is very slow-paced, but just interesting enough to keep your attention.
  • April 23, 2009
    Once you get past the novelty of the animation style (which is quite impressive, but has since been done to death)...what you have is an interesting and quirky story of a rather bleak but not unimaginable future.

    Both ammusing and disturbing, but ultimately an impressive and...( read more) (mostly) enjoyable trip (pun intended).
  • November 13, 2009
    Very interesting look into the future courtesy Philip K Dick. Always been a fan. Excellent cast and story.
  • October 24, 2009
    This movie is great! It's an awesome downer movie that really makes you think about this...alternative reality about drugs in the future and the government. I rented it with OK expectations, and was smiling when it was over. Very kind and sweet to your eyeballs (meaning its visua...( read more)lly appealing) and it had GREAT acting. By great acting, i mean... GOOD GOOD GOOD
  • October 24, 2009
    what does a SCANNER see? into the HEAD? into the HEART?
  • October 23, 2009
    That was one very trippy movie. I'm left with no illusions that Philip K Dick had never tried drugs - he knows too well what he speaks of. The story is also well crafted and the movie well executed.

    I swear Keanu Reeves was hired for his ability to say "Whoah", and if I'm right...( read more) then it was actually an ideal piece of casting. Rory Cochrane and Robert Downey Jr are amazing in this movie.
  • October 19, 2009
    claustrophobic, paranoid, visionary

Critic Reviews


July 14, 2006
Amy Biancolli, Houston Chronicle

The first film to capture the author's transience and his art. full review

July 13, 2006
Colin Covert, The Minneapolis Star Tribune

One of the most disturbing antidrug public service announcements ever produced. full review

July 7, 2006
Claudia Puig, USA Today

A Scanner Darkly is a visually riveting mind-bender inspired by drug-induced experiences. full review

July 7, 2006
Liam Lacey, Globe and Mail

Richard Linklater's squiggly new film, A Scanner Darkly, is an ambitious attempt to find the right visual style to render the experience of drug addiction and the paranoid vision of novelist Philip K.... full review

July 7, 2006
Ty Burr, Boston Globe

This is a movie about losing one's grip and like any addict's story, it's boring, ugly, sad, and terribly human. And surprisingly funny. full review

July 7, 2006
Kurt Loder, MTV

[A] real-world movie that's essentially been spray-painted, Scanner has turned its back on one of animation's greatest strengths: the playful elasticity that allows characters to stretch and soar in i... full review

July 6, 2006
Peter Travers, Rolling Stone

Embedded in the visionary headtrip of A Scanner Darkly is a hotly political call to arms. full review

June 26, 2006
David Edelstein, New York Magazine

It's a pity it doesn't have more oomph, because the book is arguably Dick's masterpiece, and as brain-rattling today as when it came out in 1977. full review

June 26, 2006
Roger Ebert, Ebert & Roeper

The movie probably involves more dialogue and less action than some people will expect; it's about the nature of a life where you can never be sure what or who is real. full review

View more A Scanner Darkly reviews at RottenTomatoes.com

Comments


  • darkwatson2
    February 25, 2008
    its a good film. but its bizar,
  • vitchard
    May 29, 2007
    Yes! Very good movie, and FYI this was was written by the same man who wrote the book Bladerunner was based on (Philip K. Dick)....as mentioned below.....
  • Yakwhacker
    March 7, 2007
    Am I the only one who wants to see this because it's based on a Philip K Dick story? Come on, stoner movie, druggie author, whatever- Dick was a sci-fi genius
  • TheMysteryLlama
    January 30, 2007
    i dont get it, its just a stoner movie - random people get stoned, get paranoid & cant remember stuff, just dressed up with some felt tip pens of the film cells.
  • ShysubGirl
    January 4, 2007
    The style of animation is called roto-scoping. They film the actors playing the parts, and then basically paint over them.
  • stabwound
    December 31, 2006
    Is this movie taking the whole drawn over (i.e. Waking Life) approach or is this computer animation. Looks interesting, but I found Keanu pretty unwatchable.
  • sweetiepie065
    August 20, 2006
    hey guys whats up?
  • WiseManoftheSea
    August 1, 2006
    It was a great film to see. It really shows how drugs can be, also how messed up life can be too.
  • AXL9871
    July 21, 2006
    I dunno about you guys. But hoorah for stoner flicks. I wanna watch this movie so badlyyy.
  • JeT0425
    July 18, 2006
    I watched the first 24 minutes of this film online...

    [http://media.filmforce.ign.com/media/670/670907/vids_1.html]

    ... and I have to say I wasn't too impressed from what I saw. I know it's only a little clip of the film, but it didn't look like my kind of flick.

    I'll wait for the DVD, thank you.

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

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A Scanner Darkly Trivia


  • In this 2006 science fiction movie of decrepit Los Angelas, a cop studies the effect of drug called D. Man becomes disorientated. Movie stars Keanu Reeves. Robert Downey, Jr.,Woody Harrelson, Rory Cockrane, and Winona Ryder. Movie is__  Answer »
  • What bugs does Freck see everywhere? [A Scanner Darkly]  Answer »
  • What are the common denominator of these movies? blade runner total recall minority report screamers paycheck a scanner darkly next  Answer »
  • Which authors book is the film A Scanner Darkly based on?  Answer »

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