| Overall Grade: |
A |
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| Story: |
A |
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| Acting: |
A |
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| Direction: |
A |
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| Visuals: |
A+ |
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Too Faithful...
by Wouldinya (movies profile)
May 29, 2007
85
of
96 people found this review helpful
In 1992 my girlfriend gave me a copy of Phil K. Dick's "A Scanner Darkly." I read it and decided to sober up. The book has tremendous meaning for me. As a screenwriter, I tried for years to figure out how to turn the book into a movie. I eventually gave up, realizing the book could not become a film without major changes that ultimately would have robbed the story of its base themes.
That said, let me commend the makers of this version of the film. They made the most faithful adaptation of any book since Terry Gilliam's take on "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas." (Why are the drug books the ones that don't get raped by the hollywood process???) And that is the film's primary problem. I watched it with a packed house at the Grove near Beverly Hills. This is always a testy audience to see a movie with; In 2003 I laughed all the way through "Gangs of New York" while the rest of the audience stared at me with obvious fear in their eyes. As the crowd left the theater after "A Scanner Darkly," I overheard the majority of them say that the movie "sucked" because they did not understand it. This is an unfortunate circumstance where a faithful adaptation requires a reading of the source book. Since most Americans are too *****ing lazy to do so, I'm afraid this film won't do so well.
If you are a fan of the book, you should like it. |
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