Reader Recommendation: Gattaca (1997)

One day while browsing through the store with some friends, one of them pointed out Gattaca and asked me if I'd ever seen it. This has become a regular occurrence, as I'm sure you can understand. At any rate, I answered 'no' and I was told I should, as it was a good movie. So here I am, sitting down with some dinner and ready to find out what this world of genetic manipulation is all about. Hit the jump for my 100% all natural thoughts and opinions.


I found the world in Gattaca to be quite an interesting mash up of science fiction with a good old film noir style. You see, most people in the world are now genetically manipulated before conception so that they have no disease, no possibility of mental disorders, what colour their eyes and hair will be, and even to make sure they won't get addicted to smoking. A small few people still have children naturally, but these people grow up as undesirables or "invalids". Companies won't hire them for fear of medical insurance costs, and so they are relegated to be janitors and whatever other jobs the genetically superior don't want.

Vincent is one such man; an invalid. Ever since he was a kid, he's dreamt of becoming an astronaut, but that future is all but out of his reach all because of his genes. No matter how much he studies or trains, they simply will never even let him in the building. One day, he decides to follow some less than legal paths to get past his shortcomings and beat the system. If that wasn't tricky enough, one day a murder is committed and he has to keep his true identity secret under the extra added scrutiny of suspicious cops.

Endless physical tests prove you're genetically better, and worthy of being an astronaut

I just loved how complicated the story got, and yet when watching it, it all seems so smoothly pulled off. I think it's because his need to conceal his true identity happens no matter what, even without the police around. But now it becomes amplified because of them. And I really loved how, even though it's a futuristic sci-fi world, it still has that film noir detective story sprinkled over it too. Did I mention there's also a romance layered on top of all of that? Well there is.

I also liked the characters that get involved in all of this. Ethan Hawke plays Vincent, and the man he works in conjunction with to become "Jerome" is Jude Law. I liked both of them, but that film noir style really does force them to hold back their acting a bit to give it that cold edge that noir is known for. A surprise for me was how much I liked Uma Thurman in this movie. She plays the love interest to Vincent. If I'm to be completely honest, I've never liked Uma Thurman, specifically her looks. I've never understood people's adoration of this woman, especially when it comes to people saying how beautiful she is. I've just never seen it. Putting that aside though, I actually liked her and thought she did a really good job here.

I'd have to agree with my friend, Gattaca was a really cool movie. Some decent characters, if not exactly very deep. The story and the setting and genre mash-up is what really kept me interested though. I definitely second his recommendation, so if you get a chance to see it, check it out. Cool little movie.