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BSA206 A Scanner Darkly

A Scanner Darkly is a 2006 film, directed by Richard Linklater, based on Philip K. Dick's novel of the same name.
It is about an undercover cop who becomes an addict to a dangerous drug known as "substance D". The film is shot in entirely rotoscope, which I think adds to, and elevates, the overall mood of the movie. I think that the subject matter makes the use of rotoscoping quite fitting because the whole story revolves around a guy who doesn't quite feel himself as a result of falling into the trap of addiction, along with this, many characters throughout the story aren't who they say they are. Rotoscoping makes the characters not quite real, but not cartoons either. We recognise the actors faces, making them seem more human and accessible, but they aren't quite themselves at the same time as a result of the rotoscoping and this gives the audience a feeling that everything is not quite right. This feeling continues throughout as the plot evolves, before coming to a head at the end revealing all.

I think that rotoscoping the film was a success. It made it much more interesting than it would have been without because it added a whole other level to what the audience recognised as real.

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