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LIFE & ARTS

'Darkly' worth a scan

Phillip K. Dick's story told using alluring animation technique

by LUCAS MIRELES
THE DAILY COUGAR

A Scanner Darkly, directed by Houston's own Richard Linklater, is best described as a trip. 

The film is set seven years from now and is based on the path of a drug-addicted narcotics agent named Bob Arctor, played by Keanu Reeves. 

Constantly surrounding him are his drug-addicted friends played by Robert Downey Jr., Woody Harrelson, Rory Cochrane and Winona Ryder.

Without giving too much of the plot away, Reeves' character finds himself in an interesting situation involving spying on himself and friends, while struggling with his own addiction. 

Revealing more would spoil the twists and turns associated the movie.

The story alone is worth the gander, and it should be, coming from author Philip K. Dick. This is the same man who penned the stories for such futuristic movies as Blade Runner, Total Recall and Minority Report.

The acting should be rated very highly because everyone had to act insanely blitzed throughout the entire film. Considering some of the real-life situations some of the film's actors have found themselves in, they had plenty of experiences on which to base their roles. 

Downey has struggled with drug dependency, Harrelson is a pro-industrial hemp activist and marijuana consumer, Ryder has been charged with drug possession, Reeves was in Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure and Linklater wrote and directed the cult hit Dazed and Confused.

If anyone was under the influence of illegal narcotics during the filming of this movie, one would not be surprised or offended. 

Actually, it would be a relief to know the actors would take the time to get "into" the minds of the characters, and if they happened to thoroughly enjoy it, then it's a bonus.

The entire film is animated, and the animation is the best part of the movie. If you're looking for a drug-influenced animated sequence of random objects put to narration with music from the Mars Volta blaring in the background, stop right there and watch Adult Swim. 

This animation technique, on the other hand, is called Rotoscoping.

To explain it simply, the film was shot digitally and then animated using Rotoscope. 

The frames are animated with a computer using vector keyframes -- the program "fills in," or animates, the other frames in between. 

This is not exactly an expedient process, as each minute was reported to have taken around 500 hours. 

Using this animation method for a feature-length film is truly an accomplishment.

With all technical jibber-jabber aside, the animation makes the movie look downright cool. 

Even if the story drags at points, it's acceptable because the animation will keep viewers interested. 

A Scanner Darkly (whose budget is estimated at $20 million) has only brought in around $2 million since its limited theatrical release July 7. 

But don't be discouraged by this lack of appreciation by the American public -- it may be labeled as a flop at the box office, but it certainly isn't a failed attempt at providing an entertaining experience at the cinema.

Ignore the conformity of ignoring this film and go experience it on the silver screen. The animation itself is worth the price of a ticket.