A Scanner Darkly

I only got to see this movie recently, didn't get to see it when it hit the theaters last summer. I've watched it three or four times now, and let me tell you, it rocks!

A Scanner Darkly, based on the science-fiction novel of the same name by Philip K. Dick. It's the near future. 20% of the US population is addicted to the deadly "Substance D." People live under hidden surveillance in a state of total information awareness. The police wear identity-shifting "scramble suits," not to disguise themselves in trailing suspects, but rather to remain anonymous to other police officers.

Keanu Reeves plays "Officer Fred"/"Bob Arctor," an undercover narcotics agent whose dual identity is unraveling into an outright split personality. But the real performance to watch comes from Robert Downey Jr., who steals every scene he's in.

The movie was filmed as live action, then rotoscoped— transformed by computer into animation. One of those rare "book adaptation" movies which is actually true to the original book. Worth seeing. Like I say, it rocks!