A Scanner Darkly is based on a novel of the same name by Philip K. Dick., whose work heavily influenced works such as Blade Runner and other science fiction movies. Like many movies of this kind, it is ultimately depressing with the characters doomed from the beginning. I personally do not like the subject and characters, but I do find the story engaging and the graphic style interesting.

This movie portrays drug users and what they see via the use of stylized rotoscoping technique. This allows supernatural scenes and non-existent technology to be integrated seamlessly to create a consistent look and feel throughout the movie. The technique is much better than in Waking Life, more details and facial expressions. For me this is also one of the biggest draws of this movie. While the actors themselves interpret the work of the writer, their performance is filtered through the lines that mimic a comic character, with just a few outlines to produce the essence of the scene.

At one point the main character's heavy drug use has caused a brain disorder, to the point of him living two lives without being aware of it. This gradual transition isn't obvious, but is key to make sense of the last part of the story. Time to watch the movie again?