IMDb > A Scanner Darkly (2006)
A Scanner Darkly
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A Scanner Darkly (2006) More at IMDbPro »

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A Scanner Darkly (2006) -- An undercover cop in a not-too-distant future becomes involved with a dangerous new drug and begins to lose his own identity as a result.
A Scanner Darkly (2006) -- An undercover cop in a not-too-distant future becomes involved with a dangerous new drug and begins to lose his own identity as a result.
A Scanner Darkly (2006) -- ZuGuide.com - Trailer (Flash)
A Scanner Darkly (2006) -- Trailerfan.com - Trailer (Flash)
A Scanner Darkly (2006) -- Sinematurk - Trailer (Flash)

Overview

User Rating:
7.2/10   37,408 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Up 13% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Richard Linklater
Writers (WGA):
Philip K. Dick (novel)
Richard Linklater (screenplay)
Contact:
View company contact information for A Scanner Darkly on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
28 July 2006 (USA) more
Tagline:
What Does A Scanner See? more
Plot:
An undercover cop in a not-too-distant future becomes involved with a dangerous new drug and begins to lose his own identity as a result. full summary | full synopsis
Awards:
2 wins & 6 nominations more
NewsDesk:
(68 articles)
AFF09: Debbie's Conference Wrap-up
 (From Slackerwood. 27 October 2009, 12:00 PM, PDT)

Poster: Me and Orson Welles
 (From HeyUGuys. 15 October 2009, 4:04 AM, PDT)

User Comments:
extraordinary and faithful adaptation of one of PK Dick's most personal more (276 total)

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Rory Cochrane ... Charles Freck

Robert Downey Jr. ... James Barris

Mitch Baker ... Brown Bear Lodge Host

Keanu Reeves ... Bob Arctor
Sean Allen ... Additional Fred Scramble Suit Voice (voice)
Cliff Haby ... Voice from Headquarters (voice)

Steven Chester Prince ... Cop

Winona Ryder ... Donna Hawthorne

Natasha Valdez ... Waitress
Mark Turner ... Additional Hank Scramble Suit Voice (voice)

Woody Harrelson ... Ernie Luckman

Chamblee Ferguson ... Medical Deputy #2

Angela Rawna ... Medical Deputy #1

Eliza Stevens ... Arctor's Daughter #1

Sarah Menchaca ... Arctor's Daughter #2
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Additional Details

MPAA:
Rated R for drug and sexual content, language and a brief violent image.
Runtime:
100 min
Country:
USA
Language:
English
Color:
Color
Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
SDDS | DTS | Dolby Digital
Filming Locations:
Austin, Texas, USA more

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
In Arctor's kitchen there is a drawing of a head in a box next to the phrase "Time to thaw Walt out!". This is a reference to the urban legend that animator Walt Disney had himself cryogenically frozen. more
Goofs:
Revealing mistakes: Donna's car is a convertible, but whenever she's having a ride with Bob (at relatively high speeds), their hair is barely moving. more
Quotes:
[first lines]
Freck: [on the phone] I looked them up. They're aphids. They're in my hair, on my skin, in my lungs. And the pain, Barris, it's unreasonable. They're all over the place. Oh, they've completely gotten Millie too.
more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in Be My Oswald (2006) more
Soundtrack:
Black Swan more

FAQ

What's the deal with Barris's $3-for-a-gram-of-cocaine aerosol trick?
What's the deal with the "Scramble Suits"?
What happened to Freck?
more
291 out of 316 people found the following comment useful.
extraordinary and faithful adaptation of one of PK Dick's most personal, 7 July 2006
9/10
Author: imaginarytruths from United States

When someone on a trip starts to wig out, you take them someplace quiet and talk soothingly and assure them that everything's going to be OK. But as the tagline of this film makes clear, for these characters everything is most definitely NOT going to be OK.

For those who haven't read the book, it's important to know what you're getting into. PK Dick wrote this novel as a way of telling the story of how he and his friends in the early '70s damaged and destroyed themselves with drugs. He tells this story within the framework of a surreal science fiction thriller, but many of the scenes are straight from his own experiences with the unpleasant consequences of people using drugs and disintegrating mentally.

This film does an amazing job of capturing the feel and tone of the book as well as the paranoia, perceptual distortions, and chaos of hallucinogenic overindulgence. Add to that a story that only gradually emerges from the madness, but by the end brings in a lot of heavy ideas such as the existence of free will, whether ends justify means, etc. There is a sense of consequence to what happens in the film, a sense of despair at what has been lost. So this story of drug-addled losers becomes the story of the human struggle for identity and meaning.

I have a couple of minor quibbles regarding scenes from the book that only partially made the cut (no explanation for the significance of "If I'd known it was harmless I would have killed it myself, no little kid to explain how 6 and 3 gears means 18 speeds). Still, most adaptations of PK Dick stories take a few basic ideas and try to shape them into more conventional films that fit into established genres. Even when it works, such as with Blade Runner or Total Recall, it's not really PK Dick. Not so this film. This is PK in all his dark and perverse and deeply thoughtful glory.

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Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for A Scanner Darkly (2006)
Recent Posts (updated daily)User
the dedication at the end xerxerxex
'Flow My Tears The Policeman Said.' xerxerxex
Keanu Reeves most Unwooden Performance joewilson70
my favorite monologues xerxerxex
woahhh what the hell happened Deppgurl734
About the FAQ on Donna vs. Connie... J_win7
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