A Scanner Darkly review *WILL CONTAIN SPOILERS*

Reality2Insomnia · Moderator Joined: 22 Jul 2007 Posts: 125

I finally bought this movie a couple days ago, and fell in love. It is one of the best films I've seen in YEARS. And the graphic novel look is just breathtaking. Linklater outdid himself! However this movie can be very confusing. After I watched it for the first time I was completely confused. So I just hit play one more time, but payed more attention. Now I understand everything. That's why I'm going to Spoiler Sum the plot in case you were confused by this movie and don't have time to re-watch it.

But before I get into that, let me just say that the cast was amazing! Robert Downey Jr. is one of my favorite actors, and he is hilarious in this film and at the same time very disturbing.

PLOT *SPOILER FREE*
The L.A. of a not-too-distant future suffers a surge of drug abuse involving a new ultra-addictive and eventually brain-damaging substance simply named "D". Bob Arctor is an undercover narc leading a double life, dutifully reporting to his superiors while effectively having abandoned whatever normal existence he had for a "D" user/dealer career. But this schizophrenic situation and the drug-induced memory and concentration lapses put Bob under mounting stress.

PLOT *SPOILER INDUCED*
The movie centers around a group of friends who are all addicted to this new drug "Substance D". There's James Barris (Robert Downey Jr.), Charles Freck (Rory Cochrane [Slater!]), Ernie Luckman (Woody Harrelson), Donna Hawthorne (Winona Ryder), and Bob Arctor (Keanu Reeves). Now Bob is an undercover narcotics agent who reports in by the name "Fred", but at the same time is just a regular druggie with his friends. Nobody knows who he is because NARC's wear what is called a Scanner Suit. A suit that changes your appearance every second. So his identity is safe. His job is to find information on Substance D and take in the people who are carrying it pretty much. So that's why he is sent to monitor his friends. Bob quickly becomes addicted to D, getting all his supply from his girlfriend Donna. Barris becomes very paranoid about Arctor and goes to the police to give information with Arctor in the room (scanner suit). Barris tells them of his addiction and how he believes that him and Donna are running an underground terrorist group. Fred/Arctor now gets re-assigned to watch Arctor at all times. They have installed cameras in the home, and all he has to do is review tapes for activity. His boss Hank (scanner suit) already is sure that Fred is one of the friends. Seems like an easy job, just watching yourself. But when Fred/Arctor goes to see the department shrinks about his mental state, you see that the D is seriously fucking with his brain. He is starting to confuse shapes, pictures, people, etc. We learn this when he sees an outline of a dog, and calls it a sheep. Because to HIM, he sees a sheep. The doctors inform him that a "splitting" of his brain has occured. In which his two brain hemispheres do not function together as one. Which is very bad for him alone. Because now his two personalities, are split. Fred now watches Arctor because he believes him to be a separate person, and Arctor doesn't know he's a NARC.
Trippy huh? Well when Hank, finds out about his addiction he informs him that he will be disciplined. And then reveals to Fred that through process of elimination he reveals that Fred is Arctor. This comes as a HUGE shock to Fred. An even bigger shock is that the department was just using him to get to Barris, who had connections with dangerous people. They put him through everything with "Substance D" (actually using it) just to get to Barris. Hank then phones Donna and asks her to take Bob to "New Path" a rehabilitation center. Arctor leaves very confused and upset with everything, and we follow Hank all the way when his identity is revealed. Hank is in fact Donna. There is something more going on!
We learn that Arctor was a pawn in an even bigger plan. The police had reason to believe that New Path was harvesting and distributing Substance D, so they had to sacrifice someone. They had to get their brain so fried where they would have to be sent to rehab. Which was easy since Donna supplied Bob's drugs. Arctor is then sent to work in the fields (New Path), to harvest. He remembers nothing, not even who he is. But throughout the entire scheme people where planting thoughts of blue flowers in his mind (where Substance D is taken from) by telling him to give Donna blue flowers. Arctor stumbles across rows of these flowers to show that New Path IS harvesting the drug. After seeing the flower he subconsciously is telling himself to keep one. So he takes a flower to give to his friend (Donna) when he sees her again. He has no clue that he is 3 months away from bringing a powerful drug nation down. He just wants to give his friends a gift.

Hope this helped you! Again I loved this movie and I'm sure you will too! One of the best parts is Arctors monologue about scanners (monitoring cameras) and if they can see who he is because he can't. It is so brilliant, I got chills hearing it!

5/5/ stars for me! Very Happy

Cheers!!

--Ryan
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"This is your life, and it's ending one minute at a time..." -- Chuck Palahniuk

SmokeTwoJoint5 · Site Admin Joined: 21 Jul 2007 Posts: 121

Not seen the movie yet so I avoided the bit that contained spoilers...Thanks for the heads up on that...I do plan on seeing the movie, I planned on it when it came out but never got round to it
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Reality2Insomnia · Moderator Joined: 22 Jul 2007 Posts: 125

Good deal man, trust me you don't want to be told the twists. See this one as soon as you can! Not alot of extras on the DVD, but the movie makes it worth buying.

Cheers!!

--Ryan
_________________
"This is your life, and it's ending one minute at a time..." -- Chuck Palahniuk