I’ll preface by mentioning I have not read the book. This movie was introduced to me by a friend when we had a few hours to kill, and he had it on DVD, and he told me it was “pretty cool”.

Understatement.

A Scanner Darkly follows the lives and trips of a handful of addicts in a “near future” dystopia where The Law is always watching and the citizens are always using. An addictive drug known as “Substance D” is the most popular choice on the market, D being for dumbness, despair and desertion. And Death.

The Law (Orange County Sheriff’s office) has recruited Bob Arctor (Reeves) to go undercover within his friendship group to crack the supply chain and bring down higher-level dealers of D. The law doesn’t actually know it’s Arctor, as he functions anonymously under codename Fred, inside a suit that projects a constantly-shifting mix of images of random faces, so there’s some delicious irony as Fred is told to specifically target, well, himself, on surveillance footage from his own home. The journey we follow of Arctor/Fred is a downward spiral as his own addiction eclipses his brain, leaving him with permanent psychosis and a forgotten identity.

So, that’s the tragic (and based on true events) plot. Here’s the part that makes it so wicked cool: The all-star cast filmed their parts in less than one month on digital cameras, before the footage was whisked away to post-production for 18 months and painted into animation. The effect leaves you feeling as though you’re watching the most realistic cartoon ever drawn -- real, recognizable human faces; solid acting from A-list stars, and a subtle mix of special effects like the Fred suit. It’s somehow more human than all the latest offerings from Pixar (maybe because their characters are rarely human?), and more real than Disney examples like Tangled.

It’s also bleak, depressing, and just a little horrifying. So really not that far removed from your average Pixar or Disney cartoon. Heh, kidding. The gritty realism of the different levels of addiction shown in the characters is beautifully rendered by the animation, especially in the opening scene (don’t watch this while eating, kids -- learn from my fail) when Freck (Cochrane) hallucinates a major outbreak of bugs all over his, and his adorable border collie’s, bodies. Also worth mentioning are any/all the scenes with cars -- somehow the animation still manages to capture sunlight reflecting off hoods and bumpers with dazzling accuracy. It blows my mind, being one of those people who cannot draw in the slightest.

The acting is also great -- but when has Robert Downey Jr. ever let us down? As fast-talking Bariss, he steals the show. Reeves is good too, but then I’ve always been a fan. The man has more than one facial expression, I swear it! Rory Cochrane, as loopy Freck, is mind-bogging in the way he twists and contorts his face in the throes of drug-induced insanity. According to director Linklater, the part was written specifically with Cochrane in mind. Winona Ryder comes across a little 2D, but improves as the movie progresses and her character is given more to do. She’s probably the weakest link in a film where even the extras, painted under all that animation, are brilliant.

To summarize, this is a smart, devastating movie. It follows you home and gets in your dog’s fur. It’s a public service announcement for why kids shouldn’t do drugs. It’s probably also a great one to watch while high, just to stick it to The Man.

And watch out for The Man, dudes, because he’s probably watching YOU.

   -- Cathy Thomson