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Scanner Darkly - 2006 |
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Movie Reviews -- week of 7/03/2006 |
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Review: The future is here, and
it’s very dark indeed. Orange County has reached the point where
the vast majority of its citizens are hooked on an illegal drug known
only as D (for Death). To combat the epidemic, the national drug and
security enforcement officials have hired 20% of the population to
spy on the other 80%. When Fred AKA Bob Arctor (Keanu Reeves) joins
the enforcers, his mission is to report on the drug activities of
his closest friends. And what begins as a simple assignment turns
into a paranoid exercise in irony centering on the war on drugs.
Director Richard Linklater’s cast choices are brilliant.
Robert Downey Jr., Woody Harrelson, Keanu Reeves are great as the
band of druggy buddies hanging out, exchanging bits of snappy dialogue
and engaging in horse-play. Perhaps the most innovative feature
of the film is its use of roto-scoping the digital picture into
an almost animated cartoon form. This technique has been employed
before, but not with as much success (“Waking Life,”
another Linklater film).
Based on a novel by Phillip K. Dick this off-the-mainstream, dark,
futuristic film has some great moments. As a commentary on the ill
effects of drugs on a society, it is top shelf.
by Mary Morgan is a member of the St. Louis Gateway Film Critics Association. |
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