Subject: Review: Gattaca (1997)

From: Scott Renshaw <[email-masked]>
Date: 24 Oct 1997 00:00:06 GMT

GATTACA
(Columbia)
Starring:  Ethan Hawke, Uma Thurman, Alan Arkin, Jude Law, Loren Dean.
Screenplay:  Andrew Niccol.
Producers:  Danny DeVito, Michael Shamberg and Stacey Sher.
Director:  Andrew Niccol.
MPAA Rating:  PG-13 (profanity, sexual situations, violence)
Running Time:  105 minutes.
Reviewed by Scott Renshaw.

     GATTACA arrives with the kind of "torn from today's headlines"
premise which should guarantee a provocative story.  Studies suggesting
genetic predispositions for certain medical conditions and stories of
cloned animals have generated the uneasy feeling that ethics are trailing
science by too wide a margin.  On the heels of those stories comes a film
about a near-future where genetic determinism has turned America into a
de facto caste system.  A blood test at birth brands every individual with
an incontrovertible marking post of his or her potential; those whose base
pairs don't line up quite right (a chance of developing diabetes, perhaps)
are relegated to the fringes of society.  Parents genetically engineer
offspring rather than risking a "faith birth," because spinning the
ribonucleic roulette wheel could have Junior designated a janitor before
the umbilicus is cut.

     Into that world steps Vincent Freeman (Ethan Hawke), a "faith birth"
doomed from the start with myopia and a weak heart.  Vincent, however,
isn't willing to play by the rules, not when his dream is to enter the
space program headquartered at Gattaca.  Enter a black marketeer (Tony
Shalhoub) whose business is helping the genetically disadvantaged.
Vincent is introduced to Jerome Morrow (Jude Law), a stellar genetic
specimen who, inconveniently, was rendered parplegic in an auto accident.
Thus Vincent and Jerome become a team -- Vincent providing a healthy body
for Jerome's identity, and Jerome providing the necessary bodily fluids to
validate that identity.  There is only one small problem, or rather
several million of them:  any hair, any cell, any trace of Vincent could
betray his true identity as an "invalid."

     Writer/director Andrew Niccol does an exceptional job of guiding the
feel of this brave new world, from Jan Roelfs' sterile production design
to Michael Nyman's restrained score, creating an intriguing backdrop for
the exploration of how people deal with externally imposed limitations.
The concept works; Niccol's execution of that concept often doesn't.
GATTACA ends up reading much better than it plays, though it doesn't play
terribly.  It's simply an intellectualized film experience, one which
attempts to make its point in overly hushed tones.

     In principle, that's a noble goal, particularly when some film-makers
(who shall remain Oliver Stone) prefer to beat their messages into the
back of your head.  But GATTACA is framed as a suspense film and a murder
mystery -- the unknown "invalid" called Vincent Freeman becomes a suspect
when his hair is found where "Jerome Freeman's" boss has been killed --
and Niccol doesn't have a handle on creating the requisite tension.  As
many times as Vincent is almost discovered in GATTACA, the film rarely
gets you caught up in his personal predicament.  The subject matter is
ready-made for inspiring passionate feeling, discomfort or outrage
directed at a social order so contrary to our notions of personal
responsibility and freedom.  It's not enough for Niccol to give viewers
something to nod their heads at in agreement.  He should be working
harder to make them angry.

     It's a particularly frustrating approach because GATTACA is
unimpeachable on so many other levels.  The performances are rock solid,
the production values impeccable, and the script well-stocked with
supporting characters who have a chance to learn about themselves through
Vincent's determination.  It just doesn't _move_; it's a philosophy lesson
more than a gripping narrative.  GATTACA is well-crafted enough that it
could very well leave you thinking.  If it left you _feeling_ nearly as
much, it might be deserving of its own headlines.

     On the Renshaw scale of 0 to 10 faded genes:  6.

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