Gattaca: It's all in the Genes

Reviewed by Vickie, Cinema Geek

Vick's Rating:

= There's two hours of my life I'll never see again. Is it too late to ask for my money back?
= They could have done SO much better. Wait for the video.
= Not bad at all. Some solid work.
= Wow! I'm very impressed. I might go see this one again.
= For the love of all that is good and kind in the world, what an amazing movie!!!

You're born. You will die when you're seventy-eight. You will be predisposed to various illnesses, both physical and mental, including heart disease, manic depression, dandruff and an affinity for ABBA records. You will work in a large, multinational corporation. You will marry someone else who works for a large, multinational corporation. Your favorite color will be blue and your life will not really be your own.

Welcome to "Gattaca."

Set in the not-too-distant future, when genetic make-up overshadows every other aspect of an individual, "Gattaca" introduces the audience to a world where science has the ability to create the perfect human being and where natural conception (the equivalent of genetic roulette) is frowned upon. Prospective parents confer with specialists to carefully select every trait their unborn child will possess, from sex to hair color to height and weight. These children will be known as Valids, since their parents have taken no chance in ensuring their future, while children born "naturally" are deemed In-Valids, because their lives have been left up to the uncertainties of Mother Nature...and Lord knows what havoc She can wreak when She wants to.

Enter into this world Vincent (Ethan Hawke), a young man with big dreams--he wants to fly into outer space--whose hopes are dashed based on his DNA. He is an In-Valid and therefore relegated to life as a member of the working class (read: manual laborers, not astronauts). Frustrated by the system, he opts to sneak into the higher echelons of society his own way: the illegal way. He buys the rights to the life and genetic material of a Valid, a former elite athlete named Jerome (Jude Law) who, thanks to an accident, has been left paralyzed from the waist down and has become somewhat of a drunken recluse. In exchange for money, Jerome readily supplies Vincent with blood, urine, hair, skin cells and anything else that might contain a hint of DNA -- even offering up his (ugh!) vomit at one point -- which Vincent will then use for the innumerable biomedical tests that take place daily to ensure that members of both classes remain where they should. Think of it as a really, really thorough screening process aimed at weeding out "undesirables." All goes well for Vincent as he easily assumes Jerome's identity, securing a job at the Gattaca Aerospace Corporation and moving steadily up the corporate ranks. He falls for an attractive colleague (Uma Thurman) and is under consideration for a coveted spot on a manned mission to one of Saturn's moons. Aaah, the life of a Valid.

Then there's a murder at Gattaca and all hell breaks loose.

Vincent accidentally loses an eyelash (believe me, in this world that matters), which is found by police (giving new meaning to the term "sweeping" the premises) who run it through their computer, discover that (gasp!) an unaccounted for In-Valid was in the offices and immediately assume that he must be the killer. What follows is essentially an extended chase sequence, with Vincent and Jerome swapping identities back and forth while trying to keep the truth a secret.

Slick is the best word to describe this movie. From the art direction and the costumes to the music and the dialogue, everything has a very cool, steely feel about it. The future is, in this incarnation anyway, very smooth, very quiet, very organized and very, very tidy. Ethan Hawke is perfectly cast as the tortured hero who aspires to live beyond what society has dictated for him, and Jude Law is excellent as the disillusioned, fallen idol whose only happiness in life is gleaned from alcohol and putting one over on the powers that be. Unfortunately, either because of the script or because the intricacies of her part were left on the editing room floor, Uma Thurman doesn't really have much of a role and her direction seems to have been "just stand there and look unavailable." Which she does, and does well.

It doesn't take much of a suspension of disbelief to enjoy this film, which is equal parts science and suspense. Nothing that happens is out of the realm of possibility, and that makes the subject matter all the more compelling. What if our world ends up like the one in the movie? It could happen.

I realize that this particular review has served more as a detailed plot synopsis than my analysis of its content, but that's because the content itself is far more interesting and complex than anything I might have to say about it. For what it matters, I really enjoyed the film. "Gattaca" is science fiction, but not in the same way as something like "Star Wars". There are no aliens, no teleporting, no tasers and no intergalactic battles, so if that's what you're looking for, keep looking. It's "highbrow" sci-fi, almost like science fact. And that's kinda scary.

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