A Scanner Darkly (2006)

The story's pretty bleak: a substantial chunk of the population is hooked on "Substance D," a nefarious drug that eventually ruins in-brain communication. Big Brother's watching everything -- the only way to dodge his eyes is by wearing a "scramble suit," which is what undercover cops do when they're at the office. So, while they're exposed on the outside the damage is minimized because they can't be compromised by other cops. The cops are trying their best to find the source of the Substance D...but who and what can be trusted? I was in the dark as much as the characters were for most of the movie.

The "rotoscoping" technique used to animate live-action shots is extremely cool to watch and particularly effective during sequences when various characters are tripping -- but, just as happened during my viewing of Waking Life, I eventually started to wish that I could simply see what the actors were actually doing. It's my opinion that a half-and-half approach to the technique would've served the film better.

Still, the story's pretty compelling, especially once you get used to the sometimes disorienting effects of the film's look.

B-