Scanning For Substance D
A Scanner Darkly is set in a near future California that is overwhelmed by people addicted to a hallucinogenic drug known as Substance D. Law enforcement, and an entity known as New Path, actively try to stop the continued spread of the brain damaging drug, but with only marginal success. Keanu Reeves’ character, Bob Arctor, aka Fred, is an undercover cop with a family who walks a fine line between his job and his normal life, which involves consuming some Substance D. His ‘friends’ include Downey Jr.’s character, James Barris, as well as Ernie Luckman (Harrelson) and Freck (Chochrane) who is heavily addicted to the substance.
Bob, as his friends know him, or Fred, as his superiors know him, is tasked with infiltrating groups of drug users to ultimately find the source of Substance D so that law enforcement can snuff it out. A really cool ‘chameleon suit,’ which you may have seen in previews, automatically shifts Bob’s voice and appearance every few seconds to help him hide his identity in public when needed.
This undercover tale is an intriguing one, complete with an interesting set of characters and circumstances. Does Fred’s boss know he is a Substance abuser? Will Bob’s friends find out about how he is ‘using’ them? There are several social/political ideals at work in this interesting one and a half hour film.
I remember when this movie was first being advertised. Viewers immediately noticed the fact that the film is animated, and rather uniquely so. Animating the film was no small task, and that’s the subject of the best extra feature (covered below). The animation richly improves the captivating nature of the film, and made some story ideas far more believable (if not possible) than what they would have been had this movie been shot in a traditional manner. What really impressed me was the fact that there was no loss in detail in the actors’ body language and facial expressions from the animation.
On Blu-ray
Animation in HD is a beautiful thing, more often than not. If it’s an animated film coming out of Hollywood, you can pretty much bet it’s going to look awesome in HD. A Scanner Darkly is no different on this Blu-ray release — the image quality is outstanding. I didn’t notice any technical issues at all with the image and was thoroughly impressed with not only the raw technical quality but also the art direction of the film itself. The audio package is also great and didn’t disappoint.
There aren’t many extra features on this Blu-ray release, but here is what you will find:
-Audio Commentary with Keanu Reeves, Writer/Director Richard Linklater, Producer Tommy Pallotta, Author Jonathan Lethem, and Philip K. Dick’s daughter Isa Dick Hackett.
-The Weight of the Line: Animation Tales (21m,SD): A feature that includes a lot of production and behind the scenes footage, primarily relating to the transition from video to animation. Includes some interviews with cast members, too.
-Trailer (2m, SD)
To the summary…