Robert Downey Jr., Woody Harrelson, and Winona Ryder join Reeves in this mind-bending sci-fi thriller.

THE BIG PICTURE

 Richard Linklater’s A Scanner Darkly is a mind-bending sci-fi thriller that examines police corruption and drug addiction through rotoscoping animation.
 The film’s ambiguous ending leaves viewers questioning the impact of addiction and conspiracies, with no clear resolution.
 Keanu Reeves delivers another iconic performance in this groundbreaking animated neo-noir film by Linklater.

The Matrix was a groundbreaking film for many reasons, as its breathtaking “bullet time” visual aesthetic, allusions to Greek philosophy, stylistic similarities to Japanese animation, and anti-Capitalist themes made it a breath of fresh air within the science fiction genre.

However, it’s impossible to address the film’s legacy without mentioning the brilliant performance by Keanu Reeves as Neo.

Reeves’ physically demanding, earnest role added emotion to the action-packed series, ensuring that audiences would be engaged in the continuation of Neo’s story in the film’s sequels.

However, it wasn’t the only iconic science fiction role he took on; after The Matrix, Reeves co-starred in the trippy sci-fi thriller A Scanner Darkly from director Richard Linklater.

The notion of a filmmaker like Linklater helming a futuristic neo-noir is more than a little unusual. The Texan filmmaker is best known for making slice-of-life dramedies like Dazed and Confused and the Before trilogy, often focusing on mundane aspects of reality.

While Linklater had only occasionally shown signs of his genre roots, A Scanner Darkly grew into one of the most ambitious projects of his year.

With its haunting visuals, ambiguous themes, and shocking moments of violence, A Scanner Darkly is a mind-bending thriller that tackles the perils of crime and drug addiction.

What Is ‘A Scanner Darkly’ About?

Based on the 1977 novel of the same name by Philip K. Dick, A Scanner Darkly is set in the not-so-distant future where the United States government has essentially lost “the war on drugs.” 

A powerful new hallucinogenic street drug known as “Substance D” has swept the streets of Anaheim, California, causing its users to lose grip of their reality and react violently.

In order to prevent the outbreak from spreading across the nation, the United States government develops a highly advanced surveillance system that allows undercover operatives to infiltrate the drug’s supplier network.

The law enforcement officer Bob Arctor (Keanu Reeves) is assigned a mission to disrupt the supply chain and bridge contact with the users James Barris (Robert Downey Jr.) and Ernie Luckman (Woody Harrelson).

Unfortunately, Arctor is unable to completely go undercover without using Substance D itself; he begins to participate in the cycle of abuse that he was assigned to take down.

One of the qualities that made Linklater’s early independent films so groundbreaking is the presence of familiarity; even for those who didn’t necessarily grow up in a small town in Texas, there’s an element of how he characterizes the narrative of Slacker or SubUrbia that feels universal.

This is a quality that he manages to surprisingly retain within A Scanner Darkly — the film expands on aspects of reality to create a version of the future that doesn’t feel that exaggerated.

Given the advancements that have been made in technology and law enforcement, a governmental unit that masks its agents’ identity doesn’t seem that implausible.

In fact, the escalation of police abuse cases and photo-realistic deep fakes in the years since A Scanner Darkly’s initial release make it feel like the film actually predicted the future.

Director Ana Lily Amirpour’s sophomore film is absolutely bonkers.

Like any great science fiction film, A Scanner Darkly utilizes its extraordinary premise to make comments about systematic issues.

After his addictions grow worse, Arctor discovers that the corporate rehabilitation facility known as “New-Path” is also responsible for the distribution of Substance D; the war on drugs is doomed to continue as long as both the suppliers and law enforcement can benefit from it.

While the film isn’t exactly subtle in drawing comparison to real events, the impact of the revelation is still felt thanks to the empathy that Linklater ensures for his character.

‘A Scanner Darkly’ Utilizes Groundbreaking Animation

The fact that A Scanner Darkly was a mainstream R-rated American animated film is in itself a novelty, as the medium is largely dominated by films geared at younger audiences.

However, A Scanner Darkly’s differences with other science fiction thrillers are made more striking because of its style of “rotoscoping.” 

The animation technique involves tracing over live action footage with animation, creating a distorting visual effect.

Linklater had first used the technique in his 2001 dramedy Waking Life, which successfully mirrored reality by presenting animated figures that feel like live-action performances; he’d use the style once more for his coming-of-age film Apollo 10 1/2. The effect is used somewhat differently in A Scanner Darkly. 

While the characters seem to resemble the actors that are portraying them, the freedom of the animated medium allows Linklater to make the film’s surrealist qualities more harrowing.

The film’s unusual animated style was perfectly suited to immerse the audience in the journey that Arctor goes on. 

When Arctor is under the influence of Substance D, he experiences wild hallucinations that he struggles to distinguish from reality.

The off-putting combination of live-action and animated filmmaking makes it similarly challenging for the viewer to make the distinction.

Similarly, the insertions of body horror moments are more effective when they’re mapped over images that feel “real.”

One moment involving Barris’ transformation into an insect-like creature is a disturbing summation of the effects of continued drug use.

‘A Scanner Darkly’ Succeeds Through Ambiguity

While Linklater has never been afraid to get existentialist with his films’ philosophies, A Scanner Darkly crafts a thought-provoking ambiguous ending.

It is subsequently revealed that Arctor was coerced into being addicted to Substance D by the police officers Donna (Winona Ryder) and Mike (Dameon Clarke) in order to expose New-Path’s conspiracy.

Although his addiction may have revealed the rehabilitation center’s manipulative tactics, it remains unclear if his mind will ever be able to fully recover from the effects of Substance D.

By relying so heavily on hallucinogenic sequences and making the characters fungible, A Scanner Darkly never gives the audience an objective truth.

While it reflects the conspiracies that are hidden in plain sight, A Scanner Darkly doesn’t offer a solution that would end the film on a traditionally rewarding note.