Gattaca
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Movie Reviews of Gattaca
Movie Review: One of the finest sci-fi movies I've ever seen
Summary: 5 Stars
I don't know why I waited so long to see Gattaca, the blurb on the box just didn't reach out and grab me, but after seeing Dark City, I decided to take a chance on this movie too, and I'm glad I did. Gattaca is like the thinking man's sci-fi, some of the possible mixed with some of the improbable, but wrapped up in such a way that you find yourself just accepting it, because you're drawn along on the story, and you don't really want to quibble over all the details.Ethan Hawke plays an in-valid(a natural born), who desires to go to space, but never will because he wasn't born a valid, one whose genes have been altered so that he will be perfect. This setback doesn't stop him though, and through the help of a valid, portrayed by Jude Law, who was paralzyed by a car accident, he sets out to fool the top of the elite at the space company Gattaca, into thinking he is one of them. The premise is an unusual one, but it works, because we are able to believe in the ability of Hawke to carry this masquerade off.
Most of all the actors do a fine job here, I was impressed by Ethan Hawke's portrayal of the main character. Jude Law, an actor I usually don't care for, also does an impressive job as the valid who doesn't really believe Hawke can carry this off, since he himself, a genetically altered man slated to win the gold medal in swimming at the olympics, could only win the silver. It wouldn't be fair to mention the two men without also mentioning Uma Thurman, an actress I generally don't care for either, but who does a very good job in this movie.
While I followed the flow of most of the movie, and could see the possibility of gene altering becoming feasible in the near future, the biggest problem I had with the movie was the investigation that took place after the murder take place in Gattaca. The police seemed to be able to do whatever they wanted, stop anyone anywhere, and test their DNA. It was never stated that in addition to science progressing so far that citizens had also lost some of their basic rights, and that the authorities were allowed to go anywhere they wanted and test anyone they felt like. This seemed like the only real weak link in the story to me, but I let it slide since I was enjoying the overall aspect of the movie.
So, at the very least I recommend that you rent this movie, and see for yourself how good it is. I ended up buying it after I saw it, and if you're anything like me, I think you'll do the same.
Movie Review: Welcome to Gattaca
Summary: 5 Stars
I finally saw this film for the first time last night after hearing how wonderful it was time and time again. I have to say that the reviews for this film are right. It's very smart and excellently paced, keeping your attention and testing your wits. Vincent Freeman was born into the world conceived in love. His parents had opted to have a child naturally rather than have a child according to new procedures. You see natural selection is the way to go, having your sperm and eggs inspected as to the perfect child, wiping out all disease and medical problems, mood disorders or any chance of early death. These genetically altered children are considered 'valids'. Vincent was born an 'in-valid', not expected to live more than 30 years. Because of this set-back Vincent will never be allowed to realize his dream of space travel for only 'valids' are allowed to enter the training program. You must be of the utmost physical shape.
This was until Vincent (Hawke) met Jerome Morrow (Law), a 'valid' who lost everything due to an accident and is now bound to his wheelchair. He offers Vincent the opportunity of a lifetime, to take over his life, live as he should have. He cuts his hair to look like Jerome, he gets contacts and he even has a procedure done to his legs to make him the right height (crazy). Jerome supplies Vincent with enough blood and urine to pass any test. To everyone around him Vincent is Jerome Morrow. And now Vincent can realize his dream of Space Travel.
That was until the head of the department of space travel is found murdered. After a Detective (Elias Koteas) is put on the case he threatens to expose Vincent for who he is. Uma Thurman does a great job as Irene, a fellow employee at Gattaca who befriends Vincent and understands him more than he knows. Jude Law to me is who steals the show proving that he is as acclaimed as he is for a reason. Excellent story line and execution that raises this film to the next level. This film carries a ring of truth as new procedures are already making this possible. As of now parents can go as far as to pick the color of their child's eyes, hair, his likes and dislikes. With everything in the hands of the parents, nothing to chance, it's taking us so far from where we were meant to be. What ever happened to accepting what God provides? What ever happened to loving your children for who they are and not who you made them?
Movie Review: Gattaca - Just around the corner...
Summary: 5 Stars
<Non spoiler>If you thought that The Matrix was a mind-crunching look into the future, then Gattaca is something you should definitely give a shot at. Ideally, you should see Gattaca without hearing about the story or reading the reviews, and let the movie hit you with the force of its ideas.
There are several reasons why I rate Gattaca as one of my all-time favorites. Unlike the Matrix, which seems like its a possibility a few 100-200 years from now, Gattaca is disturbingly around the corner. The movie gives a sneak peak in wonderful manner, of the possibilities of Genetic engineering, and allows the viewer to ponder over some of its more unintended consequences.
The movie also has some truly sterling direction, through the use of colors, and through the depiction of the interplay of human emotions. Uma Thurman's dilemmas, Ethan Hawke's determination, Jude Law's helplessness - are masterpieces of directorial brilliance and acting superiority. The casting is definitely one of the most definitive aspects of the movie, with even the fringe cast being appropriately selected - Be it Ernest Borgnine as the Janitor, Xander Berkley as Dr Lamar and even Blair Underwood in his 10 minute role as the Geneticist. Gattaca uses some stunning shades of color and hues, which accentuate emotion, convey depth and enhance the visual experience of the movie - be it the Green hues of the beach or the orange hues of the launch pad and external world.
Beyond the directorial elements and acting brilliance, is a wonderful storyline. A storyline that in addition to raising some fundamental questions about mankind's role in Nature, also brings out the spirit of human passion, the emotional interplay between Ethan and Uma, the friendship between Jude and Ethan, the relationship between Ethan and Elias Koteas (who plays his brother), and even Ethan and Ernest Borgnine in one honest-to-god natural sequence.
There is much more to be said about Gattaca, and it is best left unsaid for the viewer to see the movie and experience it. Surprisingly, for such an accurate view of the future depicted so well, Gattaca is surprisingly less known than The Matrix, along which it stands as one of the best Sci-Fi movies of the last decade.
And yes - Uma Thurman sizzles in her muted performance!
Movie Review: The Ultimate Thinking Person's Sci-Fi Movie
Summary: 5 Stars
I was excited when I first saw the previews of Gattaca in '97, but still didn't know what to expect when I walked in the theatre. By the time I had walked out, I knew that I had just watched the most thought-provoking and moving sci-fi movies, or of any genre, ever made. Ethan Hawke is excellent in the role of Vincent "The Little Engine That Could" Goodfellow--a man cursed by a flawed physiology, but within which burns a fire to realize his dream, a fire that can never be snuffed. Uma Thurman is alluring as Hawke's love interest. She eventually learns that the man of her dreams is far closer to own flawed self than the perfect profile of him spewed forth by computers. Still, she remains in the background for most of the movie. Jude Law is simply superb in his portrayal of Jerome Morrow, a crippled ex-superman with whom Vincent exchanges identities for the chance to become an interstellar explorer (a feat frought with danger for both). The movie is perfection when Law and Hawke are in the same scene--with Law initially resenting Hawke for having the one trait that genetic engineering couldn't give him, the will to overcome adversity, but he eventually gains a grudging respect for Vincent's never-say-die attitude. Law's final scene is truly heartbreaking.The soundtrack by Michael Nyman is simply the best ever composed--and that includes anything ever done by John Williams or Ennio Morricone. The sets and wardrobe are fabulous, a combination of sterile futurism and '50s retro.
Rounding out the movie were excellent performances by Gore Vidal ("You always keep your workspace so--clean, Jerome."), Loren Dean ("You know you're going to lose."), Ernest Borgnine ("You like space? Good, you can start by cleaning this space."), Alan Arkin ("I think we can assume he didn't commit suicide."), Tony Shaloub ("You two look so right together, I should double my fee."), and Elias Koteas ("Look, the only way you'll ever see the inside of a space capsule--is if you were cleaning it.").
The movie is a monument to triumphing against overwhelming odds and a cautionary tale of how this type of prejudice may one day become the proverbial "chickens coming home to roost" for us all. Not just a "must-see" movie, a "must see over and over again" movie!
Movie Review: Powerful
Summary: 5 Stars
Gattaca is a seminal movie that reminds me of what is lacking nowadays with sci fi films. It's wonderfully written, directed, and acted. I have studied genetics, medicine, biology, eugenics, and philosophy. I can't tell you how many times this movie in some fashion is mentioned. I guess that is what is so powerful about this movie. The themes, much like the music, are recapitulated. Destiny, genes, life, fate- it's all so powerfully incorporated in the movie and how science/medicine thinks.
It is no surprise to anyone that the discoverer of the structure of DNA, James Watson- once said, "our future is in our genes." There is a genetic determinism that pervades our country, our way of thinking. Whether it is said inadvertently thru the way we are more and more reliant on genetic markers for labeling diseases or how we are nowadays discovering more and more ways to meddle with our genes. Science has in some sense become a religion. Genes are our predetermined fate.
It is this issue that GATTACA hammers at or chips away at brillantly and relentlessly. There is no gene for free will/ for desire/ for ambition. We aren't just our genes. We are a product of our upbringing, our environment, and heriditary predispositions. We are more than just a sum of different characteristics, traits that can be tagged to a repeated sequence in our DNA. There is no science for personality or for fate.
The acting in GATTACA is superb, understated (I know, enough with the superlatives). Ethan Hawke and Uma Thurman have real chemistry. They play their roles with ease that fits the speakeasy, minimalist style of the movie. Jude Law has easily his best performance in GATTACA.
The music or score by Michael Nyman- swoons and fits the dark but ultimately uplifting mood of the movie. Much of it is recapitulation- the scores repeat the same themes of struggle, persistence and sorrow.
I am also impressed in the details of the movie. The double helix DNA stair cases in the apartment. The movie's title is written in DNA nucleotides.
This movie did not translate well in the box office but it had a real impression/influence in both our culture and understanding of science.