The Matrix still remains one of the biggest movie franchises Keanu Reeves has starred in, but his underrated Philip K. Dick movie from two decades ago also deserves the same level of acclaim and recognition.
Speaking of Philip K. Dick adaptations on the big and small screen, they often seem to have two glaring issues. While some attempt to oversimplify the concepts and philosophies behind their source material, others only draw a few core ideas from original stories instead of being direct adaptations. Take, for instance, Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner, which is a loose take on Philip K. Dick’s Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
Even the Prime Video sci-fi show, The Man in the High Castle, is a compelling addition to the genre as original series, but it arguably comes off as a terrible adaptation of the Philip K. Dick story it draws from. Other Philip K. Dick adaptations like Minority Report and Total Recall are far from being loyal book-to-screen iterations.
However, Richard Linklater’s A Scanner Darkly, which stars Keanue Reeves, is seemingly an exception and perhaps the greatest Philip K. Dick movie out there.
Why Keanu Reeves’ A Scanner Darkly Is So Underrated
Richard Linklater’s A Scanner Darkly has a powerhouse of a cast that not only includes Keanu Reeves but also Robert Downey Jr., Woody Harrelson, and Winona Ryder. To date, it is one of the closest adaptations of Philip K. Dick’s works and captures everything from the themes of surveillance to identity portrayed in the original novel.
Surprisingly, the movie grossed just $8.5 million against an $18.5 million budget and even got a mixed reception from critics. It has gained more appreciation over the years, but it remains relatively niche even today. One of the reasons behind this is perhaps the movie’s interpolated rotoscoping. It gives the movie an almost realistic animated feel that drifts significantly into the uncanny valley.
While the uncanny visuals align with its themes of identity, they make the movie seem a little too novel. Speaking of novelty, A Scanner Darkly also does not attempt to dilute the weirder and more complex aspects of its original novel. Unlike most Philip K. Dick adaptations, it embraces the source material’s hallucinatory storytelling and existential uncertainty.
This approach makes it perfect for loyal fans of Philip K. Dick’s works, but a little less accessible to the masses. Owing to this, even after all these years, the movie is sometimes remembered as an ambitious sci-fi project among Richard Linklater’s other brilliant movies, but it still lacks mainstream accessibility.
Perhaps Linklater’s other animated classic, Waking Life, could be a gateway for those who wish to ease into something like A Scanner Darkly.
A Scanner Darkly Is Quietly One Of The Better Philip K. Dick Adaptations
Even though Philip K. Dick’s prose and the complex ideas in his stories are not easy to translate to the screen, his work has surprisingly been adapted multiple times. Blade Runner has even turned into a full-fledged franchise, while Total Recall has several adaptations. As promising as movies like Blade Runner may seem, however, it seems unfair to call them loyal Philip K. Dick adaptations.
Movies and shows like Minority Report, Blade Runner, and The Man in the High Castle deliver great thought-provoking sci-fi stories in themselves. Even Netflix’s upcoming adaptation of Philip K. Dick’s The World Jones Made is expected to do something similar. However, all these takes on Philip K. Dick’s works almost feel incomplete because they significantly alter their source material.
While Keanu Reeves‘ A Scanner Darkly, too, takes a fair share of creative liberties, it does not completely lose sight of what makes Philip K. Dick’s writing so distinctive. Instead of merely borrowing its central premise, it preserves the novel’s fractured perception of reality and relentless exploration of identity. Hopefully, someday, it will rise above its “underrated” status and get the same appreciation as genre classics like The Matrix.