Subject: Review: Gattaca (1997)

From: James Sanford <[email-masked]>
Date: 3 Feb 1998 05:46:45 GMT

GATTACADirected by Andrew Niccol
 In the future, a "love child" could face problems far worse than
anything ever imagined by Diana Ross and the Supremes. After all, in the
world of "Gattaca," the right genetic make-up determines your future,
and parents are willing to pay plenty for designer genes to ensure that
their children live long, healthy and comfortable lives. Those unlucky
enough to be "natural births" run the risk of being labelled "in-valid,"
a title that guarantees a future of menial work.
 Such is the pre-determined destiny of  Vincent (Ethan Hawke), the
product of his parents' romantic getaway on "the Detroit Riveria."
Vincent dreams of being an astronaut, but, having been born with poor
vision and a 99 percent chance of heart disease, he's quickly set
straight by his father, who warns him that "the only way you'll see the
inside of a spaceship is if you're cleaning it." So what's a guy to do
but borrow the identity (i.e. the blood, urine, skin cells and hair) of
a "valid" to get into Gattaca, the training ground for astronauts?
 "Gattaca" is a smart, beautifully crafted piece of
not-so-science-fiction that manages to successfully mix social
commentary and suspense into a generally enthralling story.
Writer-director Andrew Niccol's vision of the world of the near-future
is strikingly simple, an environment dominated by golden hues and dull
greys, sparked ocassionally by electric blues and greens. While
technology has marched ahead--with instant DNA analysis making life much
easier for police officers and employers--fashion has gone back to the
Camelot years, with men confined in rigid business suits and women
sweeping up their hair into Doris Day-style honeybuns. Michael Nyman's
spare neo-classical score complements the picture beautifully.
 Vincent's risky masquerade would have provided more than enough of a
plotline by itself, but Niccol raises the stakes by introducing a love
interest (Uma Thurman) whose outer perfection hides her inner
weaknesses, as well as including a hastily resolved murder subplot
that's easily the movie's flimsiest element. Niccol also gets solid
performances out of Hawke and Jude Law, as the crippled genetic superman
who sells his persona to Vincent. Aside from looking gorgeous
throughout, Thurman doesn't have much to do, but she seems much more at
home here than she did in the campy climate of "Batman & Robin."
 Unlike most recent science-fiction, "Gattaca" actually gives you
something to talk about on the way home, and you're certain to think of
it again the next time you clip your fingernails and buff away some dry
skin.
James Sanford