This movie was one of the best I have seen in a LONG time. There is some sex, and drug use, but the story is great. It teaches a great moral at the end on how much drugs can really mess up your life. Great movie, but just cover your kids eyes when someone is nude, or sex is going on.
A Scanner Darkly
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Is it age appropriate?
About our ratings -
Is it any good?
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Common Sense says
Provocative animated sci-fi. Not for kids.
Why We Rated This 
for Ages 16–18
What to watch out for
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Violence:
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Sex:
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Language:
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Consumerism:
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Drinking, drugs, & smoking:
What Parents Need to Know
This review of A Scanner Darkly was written by Cynthia Fuchs
Parents need to know that this animated science fiction film includes frequent discussions of drugs, both real (cocaine) and not (something called Substance D). Addicts, dealers, and cops lie to each other and lament their loss of trust and community. Characters also drink and smoke cigarettes. A sex scene shows a woman's naked body (including exposed breasts) during the act, which is fairly explicit. There is rough language and some gritty images, incuding a drug addict imagining himself being shot in the head, and another throwing up while being admitted to an alleged rehab center.
Families Can Talk About
Talk to your kids about the media in their life. We have more tools and tips that can help
- Families can talk about the animated style here. Why was it made this way? What does it do to the viewer's relationship with the characters? Does it add to the futuristic feel? Families may also want to talk about some of the common themes in science fiction -- the constant tracking of civilians, for example. How does this movie compare to other sci fi? Finally, families may want to discuss the addicts. Are they truly friends? Is anybody ultimately sympathetic?
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More on A Scanner Darkly
What’s the Story?
Set in the near future ("seven years from now"), and based on a 1977 Philip K. Dick science fiction novel, A SCANNER DARKLY concerns undercover narcotics agent Fred (Keanu Reeves), who is also a dealer named Bob. To keep his cover, he's been using, and now he's hooked on a fictional futuristic drug called Substance D. Bob is supposed to uncover some dealing kingpin, who may be himself. His roommates are Barris (a very memorable Robert Downey Jr.) and Luckman (Woody Harrelson).
Is It Any Good?
To the extent that A Scanner Darkly adopts any conventional form, it establishes Bob as the most sympathetic of the addicts. Examined by doctors, Bob learns that his use of D is having its inevitable effect, severing the hemispheres in his brain, such that he can no longer keep track of his multiple lives, forgetting where he is and what he's doing. Primary among Bob's confusions is his relationship with his girl, also his dealer, Donna (Winona Ryder). Like other woman characters imagined by Philip Dick, Donna is more baffling and remote than dependable, but she also pulses with a sense of grim knowledge.
One of the film's most compelling inventions is the "scramble suit," which serves partly as undercover device for Bob and his co-workers, partly as means to evade responsibility and seek revelation, and partly as metaphors for lost identities. The characters who wear them look like everyone and no one, their outward appearances shifting millions of times per minute. Scanner's unique animation is striking, and the conspiracy that begins to unravel -- through a disintegrating drug addicts perspective -- is equally seductive. Mature viewers may not always understand what is happening on screen, but they will be compelled none the less.
Cast & Film Details
Studio: Warner Independent, Director: Richard Linklater
Run time: 100 minutes
Theatrical release: 07/07/2006, DVD release: 12/19/2006
MPAA Rating: R for some harsh profanity, brief nudity, brief strong sexuality.
Run time: 100 minutes
Theatrical release: 07/07/2006, DVD release: 12/19/2006
MPAA Rating: R for some harsh profanity, brief nudity, brief strong sexuality.
Our Members Say
Most Recent Reviews
- I rate this title on for age 2 and give it
Very goo movie.
- I rate this title iffy for age 2 and give it
Amazing!
This was very true to the book, which I liked a lot. You should be sure you read the book before you see this, it is still much better.
- I rate this title on for age 17 and give it
For Adults Only!
It was certainly entertaining...Definitly an adult movie.Certain scenes were for 18 and up....Sex,Language,Drugs,Violence.Kids will see this stuff soon enough...Hopefully Later...
- I rate this title iffy for age 17 and give it
Not for Kids
The story and seens are definitely not for kids.
- I rate this title iffy for age 2 and give it
- I rate this title on for age 2 and give it
- I rate this title on for age 2 and give it
Awesome movie, and a pretty good adaption of a great novel
Keanu is back in this awesome movie, where the use of drugs has split his brain into two conflicting hemispheres, rather than two that work together. Because of this, he has problems remembering everything that he has been doing lately. Also, another thing this movie addresses is if the government should be allowed to survey people within their homes. In a sense, "Scanner" is a bit like "1984" by George Orwell. As for the live-action animation-- that was spectacular to look at, and helped add to the feel of the movie. As for content, the worse thing to worry about is the sex, but it was rather brief. The language isn't nearly as bad as other movies, such as "Good Will Hunting", but could trouble some people. However, I think if you're thirteen or up, than the language isn't something that you haven't heard already. So overall, this movie was fantastic, and I can't wait to see again with my friends.
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