Gattaca. Experimento Genético

Gattaca is written and directed by Andrew Niccol. It stars Ethan Hawke, Uma Thurman, Jude Law, Gore Vidal, Loren Dean, Xander Berkeley and Alan Arkin. Music is by Michael Nyman and cinematography by Slawomir Idziak.

It's the near future and eugenics dominate a society where children are either "valids" (reproductive through eugenics) or "in-valids" (naturally birthed with inherent genetic flaws). One such "in-valid" is Vincent Anton Freeman (Hawke), who plots an intricate scheme to assume a "valid" person's identification so as to reach his dreams of being an astronaut.

There is no gene for fate.

Biopunk future meets tech-noir in this thought provoking and intelligent piece of sci-fi. There is a decent argument to suggest that Gattaca is more style over character substance, especially given that visually Niccol's movie is stunning. It's a near future world of genetic engineering where although discrimination is illegal, perfection rules the day and the "in-valids" are passed over for high grade employment. Identity, inferiority and bigotry are fused together to offer up moral quandaries and ethical conundrums, all set to an oppressive tech-noir backdrop painted by Idziak's deft choice of colour filters. There's a striking difference between the look of the Gattaca corporation compared to the rest of the outside world, this helps to keep the thematics at work rich and potent.

As a thriller it barely raises the pulse, but this is deliberate, as is the pacing by Niccol. This is an emotionally stunted world and the ethereal atmosphere hovers continually over proceedings. There's a romance in the mix between Hawke and Thurman, which on the surface seems a token sub-plot and devoid of passion, but again this feels deliberate, lack of passion is actually the order of the day. Cast performances are well up to scratch, with Law stealing the film as a one time "valid" ironically invalidated by an incident. And while we could have done with more from top performers Arkin (as a copper attired like a classical film noir gumshoe) and Elias Koteas (as Vincent's father), it rounds out as an impressively constructed picture.

Provocative and brainy, with visual pleasures unbound, Gattaca has many attributes that reward still further on repeat viewings. 8/10

Gattaca is a smart and stimulating science fiction film that succeeds on the basis of its story rather than reliance on special effects. The theme in this film revolves around one man's fight to overcome a very unique kind of discrimination. In the 'near future' world of Gattaca, there is no glass ceiling. The ceiling of the future, though invisible, is known to everyone. It is an individual's genetic code. As aptly stated in the film, this future society has "discrimination down to a science".

In Gattaca, Ethan Hawke, plays Vincent Freeman a young stargazer aspiring to man a flight to Titan, one of the moons of Jupiter. The problem is that space travel is reserved for the genetically engineered elite and Vincent is a 'natural born' individual with myopia and a heart condition. All that natural birth individuals can hope for in the world of Gattaca is jobs involving menial labor.

Vincent is not one to give up on his dreams. With the help of a genetic broker, Vincent has a plan to assume the identity of Jerome Morrow, played by Jude Law, who is a genetically engineered athlete who was paralyzed in an accident outside of the country. Much of the plot involves Vincent's attempts to assume the identity of Jerome and avoid having his true identity discovered, so that he can accomplish his goal of interstellar travel.

The opening scenes of the movie subtly capture the viewer's attention as we see nail clippings and hair follicles fall to the floor with thundering reverberations. This serves to prime the audience for the weighty role these biological identifiers will play in the remainder of the movie.

This film is full of smart and artful story telling. The director makes skillful use of montages to fill in substantial details about the character's background and struggles without stalling the forward progression and steady pace of the story. The mix of internal and external conflict that Vincent goes through, pulls the viewer in and makes his character so engaging.

In addition to the struggle to overcome genetic discrimination this film also has thematic elements showing the power of the human spirit and the bravery those willing to challenge the social norms that attempt to keep individuals pigeonholed in certain roles. This movie has such an interesting mix of science fiction, suspense, noir, and inspiration. I view it as a must-see movie. Enjoy!

This movie is incredible--yet the only ones who seemed to like it when it came out are the type whose favorite movie is "True Lies". It became critically ignored, which I can not understand at all. The themes of this movie-of superiority/inferiority, of identity, of destiny, they're all there. For those of you that haven't seen this movie, it is about a eutopian society where the highest ranks work at a space program named Gattaca. Vincent (Ethan Hawke) has wanted to work there since he was a child, but since his parents did not "pre-order" him, he was born inferior (a 99 % chance of heart failure by the age of 30, physical and mental problems, etc. ) to his "ordered" brother Antoine. Vincent has always seen something in a rival in his brother, because his brother is their dad's favorite, and he seems to have everything going for him. Vincent's job is as a janitor at Gattaca, with the hope that he will get in some day, but all the have to do is get a fingerprint of Vincent's, or a blood sample, or anything, and they know all about him, his profile, his life expectancy, etc. No one will hire Vincent because he is so liable to damage. One day, though, he hires someone to turn his identity into Eugene's, (Jude Law) an olympic-swimming, high potential winner who has everything you would need to get anywhere-except he comes back from a trip a paralyzed cripple from the waist down. So Vincent makes a deal with Eugene-Vincent gets Eugene's identity if Vincent pays the rent and gives him a companion. Everything works to plan, and Vincent borrows Eugene's fingerprints, blood samples, haircut, even urine samples. He even meets Irene (Uma Thurman) a sexy female worker at Gattaca who takes a shine to Vincent (who she thinks is Eugene). Until one day......

Gattaca is a great visual movie (it was nominated for the best art direction oscar but lost to Titanic), rides strong on very good performances by Ethan Hawke and Jude Law, and is definitely worth seeing.

I rented this film cold at the video store -- and was very pleasantly surprised with a very well done movie. If you don't know anything else about Gattaca, the less you know, the better. Stop reading this review right now, go watch it, and come back when you're done!

It was after my first viewing of the film that several little details dawned on me:

1) The term "borrowed ladder" is a utterly-brilliantly-conceived bit of future slang that carries a *double meaning*. I'm still amazed that the producers didn't make more of this. Instead, they were content to leave this gem to be discovered by the thinking and missed by the vast masses. I was very definitely impressed.

2) As I was explaining the film to my wife, it occurred to me in mid-explanation that this is really a film that has to do with what is properly called =eugenics=; one of the things the Nazis were about. Then my mind wandered to word etymologies: I recalled that the name "Eugene" = "well born." And then I realized...

!!!

3) It's interesting the extent to which so many of the characters in the film *didn't* live up to their genetic destiny, one way or another.

4) Because I hadn't seen any previews, I had no immediate reference for where the name "Gattaca" had come from. And then I suddenly realized...

!!!

5) It wasn't until I watched the movie the second time that I caught the effects with the title sequence letters...

Now I had figured out by this time that there were likely to be other intriguing little details I've missed, so I was fascinated to read from another reviewer here about the boy Vincent falling with a toy rocket in his hand.

I wonder what else is in there?

All in all, this is a very well written, tightly woven movie. Seen cold, with no real prior knowledge of the film, it came off as a tremendous science-fiction SUSPENSE THRILLER. There were several scenes that just had me climbing the walls with tension. Fabulous job!

And I'm not the only one who thinks so. When my WIFE says she wants to see a SCIENCE FICTION movie for the SECOND TIME... well, I don't think THAT has EVER happened before!

Gattaca is in many ways the best film I have seen about prejudice. Just as people have been judged for centuries by the color of their skin, Gattaca predicts that in the future there will be a more subtle discrimination. It being a science fiction film helps make it more effective by allowing us to feel the emotions of the characters with little of our own history getting in the way. A haunting musical score goes well with the feeling of the film.

Ethan Hawke as Vincent does a fine job showing the pain of someone whose life is limited before he even tries. But just as interesting were the supposedly superior characters; Vincent's girlfriend, brother and double who suffer from the lie that genetics can perfectly predict a person's life.

The film that Gattaca most reminds me of is Blade Runner. They are both about genetic engineering gone very wrong but Gattaca takes a very different approach. The problems are more subtle in Gattaca involving our own desires for success for ourselves and through our children. Amazingly, Gattaca is a good science fiction film with a small budget, few special effects and mostly filmed in existing modern buildings.

After seeing this film for a second time I liked it even better as the plot seemed more plausible. If you would like to see a sci-fi film that is based on interesting characters and situations and not explosions or special effects, try Gattaca.