Dir. Andrew Niccol
USA, 1997
Gattaca
is a sci-fi suspenseful love story set in the not so distant future. At this
point in time, science is being used to genetically manufacture perfect babies.
For those not scientifically designed, the possibilities of their future become
more and more limited. A young man, with dreams of things larger than his DNA,
decides to test the system by adopting one of these genetically perfect
lifestyles, while his own his said to be plagued by disease and violence. He goes
farther than he could have ever imagined, until, a single event throws
everything to fate.
Ethan
Hawke plays the protagonist with his love interest, Uma Thurman. The cast also
includes Jude Law, Tony Shalhoub, Ernest Borgnine, Alan Arkin and several other
noteworthy names including a young Bob Odenkirk in one scene (always a cop).
The concept of the film is definitely intriguing. The possibilities of science
have outgrown mankind itself, and the results are a eugenically cleansed
future. The performances are subtle, as they should be considering the scripts
premise, but nothing stellar. The script itself is interesting but nothing to
call home about. The suspense draws you in, while the love story, initially
endearing, falls into corny, 90’s bad one-liners. The implications of the film
are also somewhat befuddling. Jude Law’s character, who because of a past
injury, is used for his genetic identity, is depressing; a well-done
performance, but is ultimately overshadowed by the story itself. His character
battles with his own inability to live to his potential and has suicidal
tendencies because of this. This would’ve been a more interesting plotline,
but, unfortunately, Niccol gets side tracked with the lackluster love story.
Gattaca promises to be a story of identity, but falls into the cheese of a bad
romance.
Overall,
an interesting concept with infinite possibilities; however, the story lines
falls hopelessly into it’s own 90’s-ness.