A Scanner Darkly, by Richard Linklater
Alas, I completed the
viewing of "A Scanner Darkly". It took me a few years to commit
to watching it. I’m not sure I chose the best night as I am currently living in a
guesthouse in the middle of the woods and this is definitely a dark film.
I am left with a feeling
of perplexed disbelief and a hint of shock. As I leave the credits run before my
eyes, I am unable to see the words. I feel hypnotized and consumed by what I just
saw.
It was definitely one of
those mind-twisting plots that deserve a certain amount of contemplation. I
remember seeing “Waking Life” (also a Lanklater work of art), twice even, and
it didn’t affect me nearly as much as “A Scanner Darkly” did. I remember
feeling a tad bit of motion-sickness due to the “Rotoshop” effect (hand drawn
effect over each shot, it makes the film look hazy and dreamlike), but “A
Scanner Darkly” truly turned my stomach upside down not only for it’s visuals
but for it’s multiple hidden meanings.
Keanu Reeves plays Bob Arctor
The film’s official Genre
is Sci Fi – of which I have never really been a fan. I prefer to watch (the
same goes for reading) documentaries, or films based on a real event, as I find
it to be a more valid excuse to learn from what you see. But “A Scanner
Darkly”, is no just a random Sci Fi, it’s a universal story about the politics
between drug addiction and the government. Themes such as substance addiction,
government response to drug-abuse, government hypocrisy, are all present in the
film. The “fictional drug” (called Substance D) is a metaphor for all kinds of
mind altering and addictive substances. There is a high critic of today’s
world, in the style of “Big Brother is Watching You”:
“What does a scanner see?
Into the head? Down into the heart? Does it see into me? Into us? Clearly or
darkly? I hope it sees clearly because I can't any longer see into myself. I
see only murk. I hope for everyone's sake the scanners do better, because if
the scanner sees only darkly the way I do, then I'm cursed and cursed again.”
The scanners are like surveillance cameras. The title of the film
is referred to for the first time here. This quote is a critic of the
government, even though they observe you, they find more energy in blaming
rather than helping. The narrator admits his distress.
“The enemy will never be forgiven. The Enemy was
their mistake in playing. Let them play again, in some other way, and let them
be happy.”
This is one of the final quotes of the movie. It made a strong
impression on me. Philip Kindred Dick admits that the act of using is the
“enemy”, but he also has the right to point out that it’s a personal choice. He
himself was a victim of amphetamine excess-use. In fact, the character of
Arctor appears to have many similar character traits to P.K.D. “A Scanner
Darkly” was a piece he wrote during rehab, which was probably a cathartic key
to his recovery process. Once more, this movie is far from being a simple Sci
Fi.
“The pain, so unexpected and undeserved had for some
reason cleared away the cobwebs. I realized I didn't hate the cabinet door, I
hated my life... My house, my family, my backyard, my power mower. Nothing
would ever change; nothing new could ever be expected. It had to end, and it
did. now in the dark world where I dwell, ugly things, and surprising things,
and sometimes little wondrous things, spill out in me constantly, and I can
count on nothing.” Arctor refers to his perfect life that he chose to leave for
another darker life. He admits the darkness of the state that he’s in. I find
this quote to be very truthful (and depressing unfortunately). It’s very close
to the “Stepford Wives” crisis, through the male point of view. His character
is similar to Lester Burnam in American Beauty, the husband who becomes bored
out of his mind, and goes crazy from his “perfect” life in the suburbs.
At the very end of the film, the P. K. D, dedicates
his story to many of his friends who suffered physical damage from drug abuse. This
brought tears to my eyes – the list is long and we finally see his name appear
for the first time.
