A Scanner Darkley -- 2006 -- R

This was a seriously weird movie. To start with, the subject matter, based on material by Philip K. Dick (author of the stories that inspired Bladerunner, Total Recall, and Minority Report), is flat bizarre but at the same time, terribly interesting. There is a drug that causes one to have a split personality. Enter a cop who is investigating this major drug dealer. He is told to bug the guy's house, observe him, everything. Well, big thing is the dealer is him...the cop. It's his "other half," so to speak. But thanks to this drug, he doesn't know it, since his work persona is a different name from his drug persona.

Add to this weird story, the animation technique used here. Yes, it's an animated film, but only sort of. You see, they filmed the whole thing with live actors, and then used a method of animation to draw over the entire film making it animated out of the real actors. Weird. Yeah, but it looks really cool, and it's freakishness works great with the material.

Elements of the film's story work very, very well...when they're present. The central plot of the cop vs. himself are well done, and paced well. I like how that side of the film plays out right to the end when the focus is 100% on that storyline. It has a wonderfully ambiguous, yet perfect ending to it as well.

The down sides are nearly every single scene involving the "Bob" persona, which is the drug dealer, interacting with his friends. These scenes play off as almost completely pointless. Sure, the interactions are amusing, and the bike conversation is priceless, but it doesn't advance the plot. It barely gives them some character, but it grinds the movie to a standstill. Same can be said for almost every scene involving these guys. We grind to a halt to listen to their inane rambling for an insane amount of time. It really hurt the movie for me since this made up most of the first hour of the film. By the time it started getting good, I wasn't into it anymore.

The only other thing I am curious about is what happened to Bob's family. They were brought up at one point, but then it just says they were gone. I'm assuming she left with the kids. Did they really exist even? We don't know. His friends are amusing, but they're mostly flat with very little characterization beyond the rambling which barely expands their character. I almost commented on the plot, but most of the time, they didn't even serve that purpose.

So it's got an awesome premise. I love the idea behind it completely. Unfortunately, the execution falls flatter than a pancake with the incessant babbling of Bob and his drug buddies. There is some minor relationship built and even a little twist, but by then, you barely care because the druggies have taken away brain cells as you've been watching it. The writer said he was going for a close adaptation. He needed to remember that this is a movie, not a seminar.