Gattaca (2008, Blu-ray Disc)

I'm sure after first-screening Gattaca the Studio execs at Columbia Pictures sat rather bewildered in their seats. After a few moments of shock and disbelief in spending 38
million dollars on this, marketing questions undoubtedly arose such as: "Could we have more nudity, and violence?"... "Where's the weapons?"... "Where's the Aliens bent on world domination, or at least bent on phoning home?"... "Is their no catchphrases, or MTV friendly pop tune?"... and "Could we at least have cameo appearances of either Arnold, Bruce, or Will?" among many others I'm sure. Obviously Gattacas director/writer Andrew Niccol didn't buckle under most of the pressure, and was punished with next to nil in advertising for his movie -- gotta love Hollywood. What were left with is certainly the most under rated movie of '97, and the perhaps arguably the most under-rated movie of all time.

The Premise

Set in the "Not too distant future" Andrew Niccol paints a cold and sterile world which has virtually mastered genetics. Within seconds after birth you can know the estimated age of death for your child, and even what psychological and physical ailments they are likely to face. Furthermore if you visit your friendly neighborhood geneticist you can have an engineered child with no predispositions for diseases, or dysfunctional characteristics (Wonder if that includes a bad sense of humour?) On the flipside is a world that has gone beyond simple discrimination based on race, sex, or gender to one that practices genetic discrimination or "Genoism". Overall its a bleak outlook for the future, but as with any good thought-provoking Sci-Fi not an entirely unimaginable one especially with the recent mapping of the Human Genome.

The Story

Having been "conceived in love" Vincent Freeman (Ethan Hawke) has a 99 percent of chance of heart failure by age 30, and thus no chance to follow his dream of space travel. In contrast his brother Anton (Elias Koteas) is conceived via the genetic way, and thus has almost every door open to him. Their paths part as Vincent leaves home to find a way into the futures NASA -- Gattaca. Of course with his imperfect genetic makeup the farthest Vincent gets into Gattaca is as Janitor cleaning the windows, or the floors. So Vincent employs the talents of a man who specializes in switching the places of an invalid like himself with a valid who has fallen on hard times. In this case its a man by the name of Jerome Morrow (Jude Law) who due to an accident outside of the country has been has been paralyzed from the waist down.

So the identity switch of Jerome and Vincent begins. Jerome supplies blood, urine, body hair, and even the sound of his perfect heartbeat for frequent physical tests. While Vincent keeps Jerome in the "style which he has become accustomed to" or in other words fine dining, lotsa booze, and the occasional prostitute. Their plan goes ahead as scheduled with Vincent launching off in a week, but a bump in the road comes when the mission director is murdered, and Vincent becomes the prime suspect from a misplaced eyelash.

The Acting

I've never really liked Ethan Hawke, I find he tends to overact a bit in his pictures, but he puts up a solid and commendable performance here. His character is well-written, and suited to his usual demure style of acting. With Uma Thurman I'll confess I have a bias after first seeing her in The Adventures of Baron Munchausen, (Anyone remember the scene with the Big Oyster?) but putting my bias aside I thought she gave a good performance, but not an utterly jaw-dropping one. Although on second thought her looks alone probably did that for her anyway. Next we have Jude Law who gives an outstanding performance that really stands out from the pack -- never mind that his character is restricted to a wheelchair. Jude brings a real passion to this role while portraying to perfection the frailties, fears, and bitterness of Jerome Morrow. Another unsung performance I enjoyed was from Gore Vidals who plays the snobbish uptight Director Josef.

The Look

Apparently in the future there will be a serious revival of the roaring 20's dress, and architecture. This isn't a particularly bad thing, maybe a wee bit unrealistic, but whats always baffled me is why Niccol choose this 20's like backdrop for his movie. Was it simply to make the movie look more chic, or was their a deeper purpose? I'll leave that for you to decide, since I don't have answer.

Final Comments

Gattaca is the type of Sci-Fi you only see once or twice every decade or so. Most Sci-Fi's involve guns, aliens, and over-the-top acting with cheesy dialogue. Your entertained the first time you watch them, but eventually you forget them entirely. With Gattaca you get a much different experience. Not only will you be touched, and entertained by it, but you also won't forget it.