Tuesday, May 03, 2005

Philip K. Dick's Scanner Darkly as a movie



Philip K. Dick is probably my favourite sci-fi writer, and Scanner Darkly (1977) one of his best books. Now the book has been filmed by Richard Linklater -- as an animation film (it seems the animation has been added over filmed sequences of live actors).

Here's the plot synopsis: "Some day in the future, there will be a new highly addictive drug called Substance D, and the main side effect is that it causes split personalities in all who use it. Drug cop Fred (Keanu Reeves) is working undercover to catch Bob, a big-time drug dealer. Little does he realise that he is chasing himself, as Bob is really just one of Fred's many personalities".

Well, bar Ridley Scott's Blade Runner (one of my Top Ten favourite films), film adaptations of Dick's reality-bending and hallucinatory books have not usually fared so well -- never underestimate Hollywood's talent to turn gold into shit -- so at this stage it's better I don't say anything about Linklater's take, though it seems interesting. And don't you think Keanu Reeves always gets typecast to these similar sci-fi roles? Anyway, you can see the Scanner Darkly trailer here or here.

More:

IMDB entry
A blog dedicated to the film

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