“This has been a novel about some people who were punished entirely too much for what they did.” – Phillip K. Dick
Nat, Cody, and Robert take a trip, into a world of drugs, questions about identity, addiction, love, and surveillance via Richard Linklater and Phillip K. Dick in A SCANNER DARKLY.
A lot of Phillip K. Dick adaptations are very loosely based on the actual novels. That’s understandable given the density of the material and Dick’s propensity to throw in an utterly batshit new concept every 30 pages or so. However, A SCANNER DARKLY appears to be the most faithful of adaptations, for better or worse.
Arthur C. Clarke published 2010: Odyssey 2 in 1982. It was a well received, Best Seller and it didn’t take long for Hollywood to come calling. What’s more there was some ambition, if not to rival 2001, to at least make it a respectable followup. And by Hiring Peter Hyams, some care was shown.
Seven years in the future, the War on Drugs is almost completely lost. But, the government is still trying to wage this war with increasingly futile results. Bob Arctor (Keanu Reeves) is an undercover Narc trying to get to the source of Substance D. He’s infiltrated a circle of low level junkies including James Barris (Robert Downey Jr.), Charles Freck (Rory Cochrane), Ernie Luckman (Woody Harrelson), and Donna Hawthorne (Winona Ryder). Will he get to the bottom of the case before the Substance D he is ingesting splits and damages his mind beyond all sense of identity?
A SCANNER DARKLY is one of Phillip K. Dick’ more praised books. It’s certainly more personal than most of them as judged by the afterword. But, it’s also one that has all of Dick’s thematic concerns on full display. “Who are we?” and “What is reality?” are two of the recurring themes of Dick’s writing and it’s on full display here. Along with a withering depiction of drug addiction, a lot of stoner humor, and the follies of the authorities to try to control it all.
We certainly have a lot to discuss among the themes and story choices, not to mention the substance of the film. Oh right, did we mention it is animated? We have quite the conversation.
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Time tracks:
0:00:00 – A SCANNER DARKLY Discussion
1:00:11- Next Movie and Outro
