A Scanner Darkly (2006) -vs- Total Recall (1990)

Review by Bryce Zabel 

Last night I got a chance to see the LA premiere of "A Scanner Darkly" -- as part of the LA Film Festival -- outdoors at the John Anson Ford Theater (across the freeway from the Hollywood Bowl). It was a warm beautiful night here in Los Angeles and seeing a film projected under the open sky was a great experience. So was the after-party at Le Deux in Hollywood. And, yes, Keanu Reeves, Winona Ryder, Woody Harrelson and Rory Cochrane were all on hand. I never saw Robert Downey Jr. which was too bad because he nearly steals this movie in every scene he's in. Anyway, I was there as a guest of my friend, Steven Friedlander, who is VP of Distribution for Warner Independent Film. So much for full disclosure -- it's not like Roger Ebert has never had a truly great crab-cake cloud his judgment...

The Smackdown.  Prolific science-fiction writer Phillip K. Dick continues his streak as the hottest dead guy in all of Tinseltown. I'm expecting to read in Daily Variety next week that a napkin Dick used to blot up a ketchup stain has been optioned by Spielberg and Hanks and that HBO is turning it into a new mini-series with a budget in excess of $100 million. Anyway, both "A Scanner Darkly" and "Total Recall" spring from Dick's writing about the nature of consciousness, what's real and what's not, and whether or not the perception of truth is the same as truth. I deal with these concepts every day because I'm the father of teenagers so I feel quite well qualified to weigh in on this one.

"I am not a cartoon. I am an interpolated rotoscopic representation of me. I think."

 The Challenger.  "A Scanner Darkly" is a complete head trip, both in content and in perception. Telling the story of a near-future dope-fueled paranoia, the irony is that it has an anti-drug message but is going to be watched by more than a few audience members while under the influence of one drug or another. Some critics who have seen it are slamming it for being talky but this strikes me as unfair given that many of these same critics also bemoan in their other reviews how Hollywood is all about special effects and action these days. There is a huge special effect in this movie, however, and it's the fact that through a complex "interpolated rotoscoping" process, live actors are turned into animated characters. It is, in all honesty, a real trip to watch. I was sucked in and I'll probably see it again to see what I missed the first time around. Plus, it's a trip seeing Keanu Reeves in another movie where there are red pills and a huge underlying scam to reality as we know it.

"Maybe I am the One, but my brain feels like maybe I'm the Two."

The Defending Champion.  "Total Recall" is not about people who have lost a grip on reality because they're too stoned, but about characters who have lost their grip on reality because they have had false memories implanted into their minds. The main action takes place on Mars (or does it?) and it is wall-to-wall violence. But it also has some memorable moments like the time Schwarzenegger's character is being told he's simply experiencing a vivid dream and then wonders aloud why, if that's so, the person telling him is sweating from nervousness. Good question.

"These implanted memories about being in politics are giving me a headache."

The Scorecard.  It's probably easy to dismiss "Total Recall" today because it starred Arnold Schwarzenegger and it's an easy joke given his current political profile, but that's just not fair. This movie really is a nicely put together piece of science fiction. The story in "Total Recall" hangs together with a lot more clarity than the story in "A Scanner Darkly" which leaves you wondering whether the movie is just confusing or whether you're just easily confused.

The Decision.  "Total Recall" for all its mind-expanding (and contracting) possibilities is still just a formula film. The main character is put in a tough position, he struggles against nearly overwhelming odds and he prevails in the end. That's why I have to go with "A Scanner Darkly" in a close decision. This is a movie that is fascinating to watch and, unlike many movies, leaves you mulling it over afterward really thinking about the ideas it presented. The fact that I don't honestly know with 100% certainty exactly what happened is okay by me. I think it has something to do with the War on Terrorism and the War on Drugs merging or something, but I'll have to give that a little more consideration before I want to commit myself. Go see it yourself and let me know what you think.