A Scanner Darkly

A film I've been meaning to see in a long while as I was intrigued by the animation style.



The above trailer looks awesome yes? The same can't be said for the film itself.

As a film, the plot is very thin that never really goes anywhere. A drug known as Substance D in highly addictive leading to the downfall of society and a big brother state, ultimately drawing to the conclusion that drugs are nasty stuff - not that we didn't know that already.

Heavy dialogue will definitely test your patience with weak characters that you couldn't care less about as they are never developed or fleshed out. You will constantly find yourself trying to figure things out that are never later explained leading to a hollow and fruitless conclusion.

Its a shame really as there are some great concepts laid out, but these are never developed or even explored to their potential. Wearing scramble suits that constantly shift between random identities is an intriguing concept that could lead to some great ideas and scenarios, but this never occurs only becoming a piece of clothing that is amiss in the film as a whole.

The sole highlight is the art style and animation alone which is quite wonderful, which only leads to a greater sense of disappointment with a lacking story and plot.

If anything, the scramble suits sparked the intriguing idea of one's identity. Being constantly shifting as the mask that we wear, how can one truly know oneself? Let alone capture this in a self-portrait. Perhaps something I can look into further.

Overall, a disappointing watch that is hard to recommend by the art style alone.