tstone
04-01-2007, 08:04 AM
A very odd film. I haven't seen Richard Linklater's "A Waking Life" yet, but this one makes me want to check it out. It used the same rotoscope animation technique as this one. For this one, it was to establish a stark sense of unreality that the characters all suffered from from one degree to another.
Keanu Reeves is Robert Arctor. Ostensibly, he's a vice cop in the near future. Surveillance technology is ubiquitous. And the police both watch their agents in the field as well as the perps under their purview. Undercover detectives at the station wear "shadow suits", electronic mesh outfits that hide their identities. People watching and being uncertain what they see, blurring of identities, perceptions shifted by drugs and alienation are all a big part of this story.
This drug, D, btw, supposedly breaks down the links in the two hemispheres of your brain, causing a split in perception. And Arctor, who took drugs to help blend in with his targets, is beginning to suffer from the effects. But, is he breaking down, or as hinted at the end, breaking through?
Robert Downey Jr, btw, turned in a fabulous supporting performance. Wynona Ryder did as well (especially her breasts).
This movie was a look at reality and it's layers, but was mostly an anti drug rant, made clear in a passage by Phillip K Dick at the end of the film.
Not one for those looking for action driven films. You have to listen to the dialogue closely to get this film.
But it's worth checking out, if you like thoughtful science fiction and aren't driven away by drug oriented stories.
Keanu Reeves is Robert Arctor. Ostensibly, he's a vice cop in the near future. Surveillance technology is ubiquitous. And the police both watch their agents in the field as well as the perps under their purview. Undercover detectives at the station wear "shadow suits", electronic mesh outfits that hide their identities. People watching and being uncertain what they see, blurring of identities, perceptions shifted by drugs and alienation are all a big part of this story.
This drug, D, btw, supposedly breaks down the links in the two hemispheres of your brain, causing a split in perception. And Arctor, who took drugs to help blend in with his targets, is beginning to suffer from the effects. But, is he breaking down, or as hinted at the end, breaking through?
Robert Downey Jr, btw, turned in a fabulous supporting performance. Wynona Ryder did as well (especially her breasts).
This movie was a look at reality and it's layers, but was mostly an anti drug rant, made clear in a passage by Phillip K Dick at the end of the film.
Not one for those looking for action driven films. You have to listen to the dialogue closely to get this film.
But it's worth checking out, if you like thoughtful science fiction and aren't driven away by drug oriented stories.