New Zealand screenwriter Andrew Niccol (The Truman Show) made his feature directorial debut with this science fiction drama, set in a future when one's life is determined by genetic engineering rather than education or experience. The wealthy can choose the genetic makeup of their descendants. People are designed to fit into whatever role is decided before birth. But what happens when someone desires another way of life? Citizens in this impersonal future-world are fashioned as perfect specimens, so those in the natural-born minority are viewed as inferior to the pre-planned perfect specimens (aka "Valids") who dominate. One of the natural-borns (aka "In-Valids"), Vincent Freeman (Ethan Hawke), has several defects (poor vision, emotional problems, and short 30-year life expectancy), but he also develops a different outlook on his pre-ordained fate. He yearns to break free from society's constraints, and he dreams of a journey into space as a Gattaca Corp. navigator. To accomplish his goal, he enlists the aid of DNA broker German (Tony Shalhoub) and makes contact with Jerome Morrow (Jude Law), who was paralyzed in an accident and is willing to sell his superior genetic materials. Vincent assumes Jerome's identity and is scheduled for a flying mission. However, a week before his flight, a Gattaca mission director is murdered, and all members of the program are the suspects. Meanwhile, he develops a romantic interest in a beautiful Valid, Irene (Uma Thurman), prevented from going into space because of her heart defect. Tracked by a relentless investigator who is methodically jigsawing all the pieces together, Jerome finds his aspirations dissolving into stardust. ~ Bhob Stewart, Rovi

Science Fiction

Totalitarian States, Assumed Identities, Fighting the System, Social Injustice, Future Dystopias

Paranoid, Somber, Austere, Stylized, Deliberate, Atmospheric, Cerebral

DVD Features

• New "welcome to gattaca featurette"
• Original featurette
• Substance test outtake
• New "do not alter?" documentary
• Deleted scenes

• 1997--Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Nancy Nye-Nominee
• 1997--Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Jan Roelfs-Nominee
• 1997--Hollywood Foreign Press Association, Michael Nyman-Nominee

Review

Elegantly accompanied by an award-winning soundtrack, this "mood piece" utilizes a futuristic and stylized setting to reveal a universal tale of human struggle. Gattaca's cerebral tone comes off more dramatic than science fiction-oriented, manifesting explorations of both the human psyche and the human soul through the moral clashing of the characters. Jude Law portrays the wheelchair-bound Jerome Morrow with signature intensity, bringing forth themes of the pain of a failed perfectionist. In fact, the Vincent character (Ethan Hawke) is solitary in his convictions to make his own goals and decide his own level of perfection. While the onscreen romance between Vincent and Irene (Uma Thurman) seems less than ebullient at times, the film makes a case for placing emphasis on individuality over love story. Stylistically enthralling, the elaborate sets are complemented by the strange yellow tint of the film to complete the feel of existing in another time, and also earned the movie two Academy Award nominations for best set design in 1997. Gattaca explores relationships, values, and family issues, all through the eyes of a character who has clearly defined for himself what his life should be like, regardless of the values imposed on him by others. The box office proved ungracious towards this psychological treasure, although its writer (Andrew Niccol) would be better received with The Truman Show (1998), which explored similar thematic realms. ~ Sarah Sloboda, Rovi