Richard Linklater's adaption of Phillip K. Dick's A Scanner Darkly is a film like none other in terms of atmosphere. It's loosely about Dick's drug experiences in the 1960's with what looks to be speed freaks (amphetamines). The story is also about subjective consciousness construction with some political implications as well. The idea that those that are the most self-righteously against certain of society's ill are the most guilty is timely.

In Freud's psychoanalytic theory, reaction formation is a defense mechanism in which anxiety-producing or unacceptable emotions are replaced by their direct opposites. This mechanism is often characteristic of obsessional neuroses. When this mechanism is overused, especially during the formation of the ego, it can become a permanent character trait. This is often in those with obsessional character and obsessive personality disorders. This does not imply that its periodic usage is always obsessional, but that it can lead to obsessional behavior.

It's very difficult to find good science fiction on film but A Scanner Darkly succeeds due to Linklater (and the visually stunning rotoscoping that we previously saw in his great Waking Life) and a great cast of some of the greatest actors of my generation. This film is almost about too much to even write about (that could take a dissertation) so see if yourself and enjoy some actually good sci fi.

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