Gattaca (1997)

Best movie of this year hands down!

Better Late Then Never

As Good As It Gets

This movie was so-so. It had it's moments, but wasn't the greatest.

Futuristic science fiction is the genre that most creatively explores our most basic hopes and fears. In film, images of the future tend to run in one of two directions. Some films depict a post-apocalyptic world in which social order has deteriorated and anomie is pervasive. The Mad Max films and Waterworld (which is really just Mad Max gone sailing) fall into this category. Films like Fritz Lang's "Metropolis" or the more recent "The Handmaid's Tale" depict a future that is repressive and tightly controlled with Big Brother just around every corner. Gattaca falls into this latter category.Ethan Hawke plays a character who lives in a time of genetic engineering. Parents can select or fix traits before birth so that all children are physically sound, intelligent, disease-resistant, etc. Hawke's character, Vincent, was born the old-fashioned way, and therefore has bad eyesight, heart problems, and a short life-expectancy. He is therefore assigned to menial labor in a space center where he spends his days dreaming of being an astronaut and soaring above his socially prescribed limitations.Working through a black-market DNA dealer, Vincent arranges for a new identity by purchasing the genetic identity of Jerome (Jude Law), a "perfect specimen" who was crippled in a car accident. Jerome provides blood and urine samples that enable Vincent to trick the system, but Vincent lives in a world where an eyelash out of place or dead skin on a computer keyboard could give him away. The story gets particularly complicated when someone is murdered at the space center, just as Vincent is nearing his goal. At this point, the film becomes part detective story, part science fiction, with a little romance provided by Vincent's coworker Irene (Uma Thurman).This is the film debut of writer-director Andrew Niccol. The story idea is interesting, and the storytelling strategy works fairly well. Vincent's relationship with his brother seems a bit contrived, and the chemistry between Vincent and Irene doesn't quite click, but perhaps this is one of the points of the film. In a hyperrational world (modernism carried to its logical conclusion), perhaps this is what becomes of sentiment, emotion, and the human spirit.Gattaca is not without its flaws, but for the viewer who is interested in futuristic science fiction that goes beyond the well-worn formulas, Gattaca is worth a look.

This ingenious and intricately plotted story brings to mind the motto of the few who flew in former days. Truly gripping and romantic. A genetically challenged adventurer, Ethan Hawke, who has been randomly conceived, inspires his alter ego, a failed suicide played by Jude Law, to make a success of his death. It is relatively easy to eliminate racism. But the problem discussed in this film is how do you eliminate competition ? Astronauts compete for their place on a space crew. How could they not ? The answer proposed by this stylish story appears to be that they should cheat. It's only in Wonderland that everyone is given a prize for running in a caucus race, presumably all hitting the finishing tape in a dead straight line.However the tale is stimulating, moving and touching. Uma Thurman presents an unusually beautiful and elegant presence. The sets are highly stylish: neo-Corbusier buildings, with personnel reminding me of the pictures of Magritte. The crew prepare for their launch wearing double-breasted suits, neatly worn shirts and ties. Ernest Borgnine appears in a downbeat role. Gore Vidal is a skittish heavyweight. It is disconcerting that the final urine test is not automated, and approval is left to an old-fashioned human factor. While it is possible that Vincent will not return from his Titanic excursion, he may nevertheless have left a little ex-genetically engineered souvenir on his home planet.

I'm not kidding. A nightmarish portrayal of the world where everyone is divided between soulless monsters forced to meet exacting standards and unloved chattel who are barred from success simply because of their genetic code. The worst part is that judging by the human race's breathtaking stupidity, this world is a very real possibility. It starts with simply removing diseases and ends with the removal of everything that makes life worth living--sex, diversity, flaws. The only comfort is that we're all probably going to die from overpopulation anyway, so our suffering will not be prolonged. Please, for the sake of your children and grandchildren, do not encourage eugenic modification and testing. It will send us down a slippery slope from which there is no return.

Dystopian fictions can be premonitions, and this one is no exception. The premise of the movie is interesting and plausible: a near-future society with social classes structured according to genetic strength. Those more prone to ailments and disease are cast lower in society, and the wealthier, more fortunate positions are reserved for those who are deemed genetically fitter. But unfortunately the premise is where the greatness of this movie ends. The cinematography is bland, and very orange, which doesn't seem to add anything of interest to the mood of the film. The acting, whilst good, is not memorable. Somehow the movie turned a gripping premise into a mundane, yet watchable 100 minutes. 3 out of 10 because the premise is solid and very thought provoking. However, the movie is very sub-par. If this is your idea of a good movie: all good, each to their own. Myself? I could have lived without watching it.