Clearly or Darkly?

Philip K. Dick often gets labeled as a "science fiction" writer. But is he really? What role does the science play in the stories he tells? I'd say it's more fiction than science and he certainly puts more effort into character developement than into fancy shmancy techno jibbrish.

Filmmakers like Dick and his stories. And it shows. Starting with a cult classic "Blade Runner", through "Total Recall", "Minority Report", "Impostor", "Screamers" all the way to "Paycheck", and finally "A Scanner Darkly", Dick's stories hit the silver screen.

Making a movie based upon a book by souch author puts great weight onto director's shoulders. Philip K. Dick has a cult following and for there's no director on this planet who can summon all the feelings of every single person who read Darkly. It can however, come close.



If you read the book, you'll be happy to know that overall feeling of the story stayed intact. The movie shot on film, then animated frame by frame to shift the focus from the actors and draw you deeper into the psychodelic world of mysterious "Substance D" and all of its effects.

You can rest assured that this is NOT a Joel Silver flick, with over the top budget, storyline flat as a pancake and Wachowski brothers to boot.



Should you be picking up the movie then? The answer is yes, but only if you keep your expectations low. Now why would I say that if the movie is good? Because you should never expect too much. This way you can be pleasantly surprised instead of dissapointed.

So no "Philip K. Dick movie! Cool effects! Must be good then! Great even!", ok? Now off you go, to the nearest video store.