A Scanner Darkly (2005)

A Scanner Darkly (2005):

Set in a future world where America has lost the war on drugs, undercover cop Fred (Keanu Reeves) 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.

Wait, Richard Linklater is doing an adaptation of one of my favorite Sci-fi books, by one of my favorite metaphysical authors (Philip K Dick), and Keanu Reeves is in it? Can we petition to edit Reeves out? Interesting cast list nonetheless....

Quicktime trailer here

Oh, looks like an animated film, which plays to Keanu Reeves strengths. Ahem.

It features an all star cast including: Keanu Reeves, Winona Ryder, Woody Harrelson, and Robert Downey Jr.. The film was shot like any other film. Animation was applied over live action. Director Richard Linklater experimented with this unique type of animation with 2001's “WAKING LIFE”

A Scanner Darkly

America in the near future has lost the war against drugs. Though the government tries to protect the upper class, the system is infested with undercover cops like Fred, who regularly ingests the popular Substance D as part of his ruse. The drug has caused Fred to develop a split personality, of which he is not aware; his alter ego is Bob, a drug dealer. Fred's superiors then set up a hidden holographic camera in his home as part of a sting operation against Bob. Though he appears on camera as Bob, none of Fred's co-workers catch on: since Fred, like all undercover police, wears a scramble suit that constantly changes his appearance, his colleagues don't know what he looks like. The camera in Fred/Bob's apartment reveals that Bob's intimates regularly betray one another for the chance to score more drugs. Even Donna, a young dealer whom Bob/Fred loves, prefers the drug to human contact. Originally published in 1977, the out-of-print novel comes frighteningly close to capturing the U.S. in 1991, in terms of the drug crisis and the relationships between the sexes. But the unrelenting scenes among the addicts make it a grueling read.

{Film, B12 recommended, Books}

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