Subject: Review: Gattaca (1997)

From: Kevin Patterson <[email-masked]>
Date: 25 Jul 1998 16:29:07 GMT

Film review by Kevin Patterson

GATTACA
Rating: *** (out of four)
Director: Andrew Niccol
Screenplay: Andrew Niccol
Starring Cast: Ethan Hawke, Uma Thurman, Jude Law

As we near the end of the millennium, one of the most popular topics in
modern narrative fiction has been how humankind's recent technological and
scientific advances might change certain things we take for granted about
life. Andrew Niccol, who has since gained notoriety for his screenplay of
THE TRUMAN SHOW, puts in his two cents on the subject with GATTACA, a
science-fiction film in which all procreation is artificial, genetically
engineered for the best possible results. Vincent (Ethan Hawke), the
protagonist of GATTACA, was conceived naturally, and has a heart condition
which the family's doctor predicted would kill him by the age of thirty.

Vincent, and others like him, are labeled "invalids." Discrimination
against them is not sanctioned by the law, but it goes on as a matter of
routine nonetheless. The only way that he can hope to succeed at his
lifelong dream of going on a mission into outer space is to assume the
identity of another valid who, for whatever reason, can no longer fulfill
his or her place in society. An underground figure helps him locate Jerome
Morrow (Jude Law), who has been paralyzed in an accident, and the two of
them come to an agreement. Jerome will supply Vincent with the necessary
genetic samples to make the impersonation hold up under investigative
scrutiny, and in return Vincent will continue to provide for his lavish
lifestyle through income from his new position at Gattaca, the future
equivalent of NASA.

Thematically, the most obvious note that GATTACA strikes is a cautionary
one about genetic engineering: Niccol seems to have been inspired at least
partly by the seminal BLADE RUNNER, in which scientists created quasi-human
"Replicants" who were then simply shut off or killed when they became
inconvenient. However, there's also a parallel between the world of GATTACA
and our own, in which discrimination is technically illegal but
nevertheless occurs on a regular basis. Vincent is surprised to discover,
when he applies at Gattaca, that his "interview" consists of a urine test,
and I would not be shocked to learn that interviews for some socially
marginalized groups last just about as long at certain American companies.

Niccol also does a good job handling the science fiction elements of the
story. The futuristic set design, with its cold, metallic interiors, is
impressive and conveys a sense of technological menace without being too
overdone or outlandish. The technology is also pretty believable: both
artificial fertilization and the genetic testing and cataloguing through
bodily samples are within the realm of today's science. GATTACA also
manages to recapture some of the wonder of space travel that has been
diluted in modern culture by all the bug-monster alien invasions and
"hyperspace jumps" that tend to dominate science fiction. It keeps the
science simple and believable (Vincent's mission is a trip to Mars), and
focuses on its human implications rather than on special effects.

GATTACA does unfold rather awkwardly at times. There's a long narration
from Vincent near the beginning that only serves to make brain-poundingly
obvious what would have eventually become evident anyway. A murder mystery
is introduced, apparently to provide Vincent with cause for fear of
discovery (since the detectives' DNA investigation could turn up evidence
of an "invalid" at Gattaca), but it fails to generate much tension: it's
just another expository device. There's also a sibling rivalry, which
occupies too many of the film's closing moments for a subplot that had
disappeared after the introductory narration, and a romance between Vincent
and a co-worker (Uma Thurman) that is fairly formulaic.

The triumphs of GATTACA are to be found mostly in the care with which
Niccol has designed his future world: the science is very plausible, the
visual design is outstanding, and the issues raised by the film are good
food for thought. It would have been better if he had found a more smoothly
flowing story to frame in this world, but his conception of it is still
enough to qualify GATTACA as one of the more interesting recent science
fiction films.

Send comments to [email-masked].

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