Rating:7/10
I found A Scanner Darkly to be a very interesting movie with some very complex characters.  I mean, this is a movie in which you really have to pay attention to so that you do get the clues as to what is happening and then the ending makes much sense.  It is almost the kind of movie you have to watch again to see if you can pick up something new to help you understand what is going on.  I really enjoyed the animation used I the movie.  It has hardly been used since the late seventies, even though it has been used here and there.  But with the animation, what is done is that it is filmed live action and then drawn over to give the film a realistic kind of look that it did have.  The scanner suit was very distracting though.  The actors all did a great job and seeing how Robert Downey Jr. and Woody Harrelson interacted was hilarious.  Even the conversations the guys were having when they were stoned were funny.  I loved the fact that Downey's character left a note that the door was unlocked and that anyone could walk in if they wanted to.  Also, Downey really portrays how psychotic he is in his own way, which is kind of scary.  I thgouth that Winona Ryder's character was pretty useless until you find out what she was there for and why she didn't want to be touched.  Also excellent acting when she found out why Reeves character was still being used after practically being destroyed was actually kind of touching.  now, Philip Dick wrote the book that this movie was based on and from what I understand several of the experiences that were in the book were from what he and his friends did while on drugs in the early seventies.  He wanted people to see how he and his friends were damaging and destroying themselves with unpleasant consequences of using drugs.  You could see the list of names he dedicated this story to all the people that he lost or were permanently damaged and this was not a short list.  A very sad movie.  But this is one to watch and to really pay attention to so that you can get the full experience of what is going on and how it seems as if no one is going to win.  This isn't for everyone, so if you don't have a lot of patience, or if you want a wham bam of a movie, this isn't for you.  People who can take the time to understand and watch this, will really appreciate this kind of movie.