QZ qz thoughts
a blog from Eli the Bearded

A Scanner Darkly


This is an entirely rotoscoped (animation by drawing on top of something previously filmed) movie based on a Philip K. Dick book and directed by Richard Linklater.

There's a good dose of paranoia and true conspiracy in there, too. I have not read the original, but I've read a lot of other PKD and the themes are pure PDK. Several themes are spot-on Richard Linklater, too. Overall the cast and crew seemed suited to the story.

Since I've seen Waking Life, I knew what to expect with the animation and I can see it's usefulness for this material. Though I have to admit, there were times I found the animation too close to photographic realism. Everything (and the faces in particular) were much flatter in the eariler rotoscoped film.

Four red pills out of five.

A Scanner Darkly (2006) www.imdb.com/title/tt0405296/

Waking Life (2001) www.imdb.com/title/tt0243017/