A Scanner Darkly

What an odd little film; I'm still not quite sure what to make of it. Maybe I was just suffering from a short attention span, but I still found it terribly confusing and often downright incomprehensible - especially the ending. The animation seemed cool for about the first ten minutes, until it just started to feel like a useless gimmick. Is there really any point in a film being "animated" when it just looks exactly like real life?

One strength A Scanner Darkly did possess was it's dialogue and performances. Some of the individual scenes involving Robert Downey, Jr. were nothing short of brilliant - the writing perfectly tuned in with Downey's trademark scatter-brained sense of humour and wit.

Maybe you would appreciate this movie more if you were a Philip K. Dick fan (an author I know next to nothing about), or even a Waking Life fan (a movie which I haven't seen). And if you were thinking about watching it and your decision rests on my review (tell me if this applies to you- it'll make my day ;)), I suggest checking it out, nevertheless. Maybe you're smarter and will catch on to the plot easier. Maybe you don't find Keanu Reeves as repulsive as I do. Maybe this type of animation is your thing. I'm just saying that it didn't work for me personally.

Grade: B-/C+