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First off I
want to thank Agent Automatic for inviting me to see this and for the
conversation we had afterwards, where some of this review is going to
stem from. So I apologize if I steal too much.
Set seven
years in the future, Bob Arctor/Fred (Keanu Reeves) is an undercover
agent for the Orange County Sheriffs Dept. He is supposed to work his
way up the drug dealer food chain and get close to the higher ups. In
the process he gets addicted to Substance D and his mind starts to
compete with itself, don't ask me, I'm just repeating what they said in
the movie. Meanwhile his girlfriend/dealer Donna (Winona Ryder) won't
let him get close to her, in more ways than one. His two roommates
Bariss (Robert Downey Jr.) and Ernie (Woody Harrelson) are along for the
ride. Throw in the super junkie Charles Freck (Rory Cochrane) and the
cast of misfits is complete. That's about all I can say without giving a
lot away.
This was a
very strange movie in many ways. Let's tackle the visual style first.
You probably know by now that this is animated using a process called
rotoscoping. I don't really know what it is and I am too lazy too look
it up. Part of it is they film the scenes like a regular movie then
place the animation over it frame by frame. To me it was fascinating and
disconcerting at the same time almost to the point of being distracting.
There were points in the movie where I found myself watching the
animation rather than paying attention to what was going on with the
story. And I can't even begin to explain the scramble suits. They are
used to hide the identities of undercover agents but beyond that, you
have to see them for yourselves. I felt that they were unnecessary to
the story. It seems to me that they were used as a way to show off the
animation. I mean, there are other ways to hide your identity than a
f***ed up acid trip of a suit. I'll bet if you saw one in real life it
would cause an instant migraine.
I believe
that the animation adds to the story but takes away from the acting of
some of the performers in this. Except in Keanu Reeves case, Keanu is
Keanu , although he does seem to be improving over time. I didn't
recognize Rory Cochrane at all. I actuallly had to look him up on the
IMDB once I got home. You may remember him from “Dazed and Confused” or
“Empire Records”. He played the most disturbed character in the film,
Charles Freck. He reminded me of a cross between Oliver Platt and
Benicio Del Toro, especially Del Toro's Dr. Gonzo in :Fear And Loathing
In Las Vegas:. I usually find Winona Ryder to be kind of whiny in most
of her films but I actually enjoyed her character here. I felt Ryder's
and Cochrane's performances are the ones who suffered from the
animation. Robert Downey Jr and Woody Harrelson are the more
entertaining of the cast. Harrelson looks like a surfer stoner and acts
like one too. Downey plays this as he plays almost everything, paranoid
and obsessive and just plain weird.
The story
itself was hard enough to follow. Having never read the book I went into
this without a clue as to what I would be seeing. It wasn't until the
very end that a lot of questions were answered. And some not answered at
all. Such as, why was Bariss such a pr*** and who did Arctor actually
sleep with? Why had the images changed not only when he was in bed, but
also when he was reviewing the tapes? I have even looked on a few
message boards for answers, but none were answered satisfactorily. I
guess I will have to see it again and read the book, hopefully I will be
able to understand more.
For those
who don't know my taste in drug related movies, I lean towards the
comedic side as my step mother died from drugs when I was 17. I have
recently reviewed movies such as “Killing
Zoe” and “Drugstore Cowboy”
and really didn't care for those because of my personal experiences. But
this film is a good blend of seriousness, comedy, science fiction with a
little bit of mind f*** thrown in for good measure. I enjoyed it enough
to recommend it to a few different types of moviegoers, the Phillip
K.Dick fans, as Automatic told me that Linklater stayed pretty true to
the novel. I would recommend it to animation fans who just want to see a
cool looking movie. Also to mystery fans as well as Sci-Fi fans. It was
decent, if somewhat confusing Sci-Fi/Drama flick that is worth a rent.
So until I
can ride my hover board while wearing a scramble suit,
keep
reading
Mitch
Best Lines:
Barris:
There's only one thing we can do to thwart the plot of these albino
shape-shifting lizard B****ES!
Fred:
[voiceover] What does a scanner see? Into the head? Down into the heart?
Does it see into me? Into us? Clearly or darkly? I hope it sees clearly
because I can't any longer see into myself. I see only murk. I hope for
everyone's sake the scanners do better, because if the scanner sees only
darky the way I do, then I'm cursed and cursed again.
Barris: I'm
gonna squash you like... like a bug.
Luckman:
Yeah, what kind?
Barris:
A... f***ed up, b***h beetle.
Medical
Deputy #1: You know, Fred, if you keep your sense of humor like you do,
you just might make it.
Fred: Make
it? Make what? The team? The chick? Make good? Make do? Make out? Make
sense? Make money? Make time? Define your terms. The Latin for 'make' is
facere, which always reminds me of f***ere, which is Latin for 'to
f***', and I have been getting jack s*** in that department as of late.
Medical
Deputy #2: Damage has taken place to the normally dominant left
hemisphere, and the right hemisphere is attempting to compensate.
Fred: The
two hemisphere in my brain... are competing?
Medical
Deputy #2, Medical Deputy #1: [in unison] Yes.
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