A Scanner Darkly

Last night I was watching A Scanner Darkly on DVD. The film was directed by Richard Linklater and based on a novel by Philip K. Dick. The film is set about seven years in the future in Anaheim, California, by which time about twenty percent of the US population have become addicted to a new drug called 'Substance D', the side effects of which include paranoia and hallucinations. The story involves a police narcotics officer (Keanu Reeves) who goes undercover to infiltrate a group of addicts. However, not even his superiors know his real identity (they all wear disguises when they communicate with him) and he ends up being ordered to spy on himself. This, as well as his increasing consumption of the highly addictive Substance D (one character comments: "You're either addicted to Substance D, or you haven't tried it.") brings on a severe identity crisis. The film also stars Robert Downey Jr., Woody Harrelson and Winona Ryder. It's made using a technique called Rotoscope, whereby the movie was filmed in conventional live action and then animated over that, which creates quite a disorientating effect. It was previously used by Linklater in his bizarre film Waking Life. It is a very interesting film, and probably one of the best Philip K. Dick adaptations to date, or at least one of the most faithful.

Today has been fairly quiet. I went out to get my groceries for the coming week, but the rest of the day, I'm planning on just staying in, really.