A Scanner Darkly

Impressions before seeing it
Richard Linklater is an interesting director, and I was a fan of the animation style he had previously used in Waking Life. Also movies based on Phillip K. Dick novels tend to have cool ideas.

How was it?
I haven't read the book, so I don't know how much of the movie is Dick's and how much is Linklater's, but I think it was needlessly complicated. Having undercover cops wear "scramble suits" to keep their identities anonymous (even from each other) was a neat idea, but combined with a drug that causes split personalities and multiple levels of sting operations it sort of makes a mess out of character identities. I mean I'm not saying I had trouble following who anyone was, but they did, and when even the characters aren't sure who they are it muddies the plot. There were also some weirdly out of place comedic moments that felt a little too bizarre for a movie that is, at other times, trying to be smart and provide serious social commentary on the war on drugs. A lot of that comes from Robert Downey Jr., who is playing almost the same quirky, fast-talking weirdo he played in a short film I saw called Whatever We Do (which I also didn't like, and for many of the same reasons here). Also I'm pretty sure Keanu Reeves only wore one facial expression for the entire movie: concern over how confused he is.

Recommendation
The animation is cool to look at, and it's an interesting watch for one viewing, but I don't think it's something that would hold up after seeing it a second time. The most effective part of the message came after the movie was over, when Dick's afterword was displayed, listing many of his friends who had died or been severely damaged by drugs. But this movie just kind of went over my head. If you want a real anti-drug movie, watch Requiem for a Dream.