Gattaca

Rating:
Summary: there is truly no gene for the human spirit
Review: Not only is this movie completely mesmerizing and interesting, it displays the way conformity affects society. I am a high school student and first viewed the entire film recently in school as an accompaniment to Aldous Huxley's "Brave New World". The class I happen to have is very rowdy, but when this film was on, our class was completely silent and absorbed into the film. I love it, and not only that, but I love Ethan Hawke. This movie touches my heart the same way "Contact" does. Watch it!

Rating:
Summary: Highly E M O T I O N A L
Review: This film is one of a kind! Although it has no action, or special effects but the story needed not any to drive our emotions high.

This movie is a "What if..?" type of movie. What if humans were judged by there genes? What if success was determined by manufactored genes? What if something went wrong? A never ending what ifs... all are challanged and proven wrong by HUMAN WILL! You'll see a perfect well built human fail, and a normal human dream come true!

I recommend this movie to both Sci-Fiction fans and non fans..! It touches you with how can a perfect world be beaten and defeated by determination.

Rating:
Summary: underated
Review: One of the most overlooked and under rated films ever made , I wonder why this gem was so easily overlooked. With deep undertones of perfection and philosophy of self this film went beyond the barriers of movie entertainment. A script always makes a movie and what a delighful script.screenplay this is!! witty and perfect enough to carry the plot, Andrew Niccol has done an amazing job with this film. The clinical production design and color layerings which form the atmosphere give it such an edge that it trule speaks in a lot of different forms.

The acting here is superb and top notch and here we see a less popular at the time lesser known Jude Law who shows us his talent and what he's capable of. A warning of a film with deeply beautiful sincerity to it, this ranks up there.

Rating:
Summary: The Best Sci-Fi Movie
Review: Finally someone perfects the extremely tedious task of creating a high-quality science fiction movie. Flops in this genre are widespread, but Gattaca is supreme. Thought-provoking and infinitely profound this movie takes a look at a world run by genetecists, people bred to top quality to hone their talents (such as a six-fingered pianist). And always remember, "Right-handed men don't hold it with their left."

Rating:
Summary: Discrimination by the numbers
Review: Science Fiction is often sneered at by the pretentious amongst us. They claim it is mindless escapism and uses fantasy to disguise a lack of quality. "Gattaca" proves these sentiments to be false, once and for all. It is frighteningly believable in its technological and social predictions but still manages to tell an interesting story.

The film takes a firm stance on the issue of discrimination. The audience is left in no doubt as to whether there is any form of "fair" discrimination, although, those of us who look a little more deeply will find a curious crutch in the logic. These days, the rallying cry against discrimination could be, "The best person for the job." It's hard to argue with that rule but Gattaca paints it in a new light. What if the "best person", was selected at birth, genetically engineered to perfection.

The central character in the film is a natural birth, a love child, an Invalid, named Vincent Freeman. The tone is set at the start of the film when he is born. After naively committing to a natural fertilisation, the Freemans are shocked to learn, from a post-natal genetic test, that their baby boy has a high probability of heart disease and an estimated life expectancy of 32 years. Learning of this imperfection the father decides to name him Vincent, reserving his own name, Anton, for their next child; a strapping boy designed to be strong, fast and smart. A son to be proud of.

In a fast vignette we see the consequences of this unequal birth on the older son. Vincent is smaller than his younger brother, weaker, near sighted and, most tellingly, is treated as if he is always sick or too fragile to tackle any of life's ordinary adventures. His parents may have been indoctrinated to see him as a lesser human but the audience is not fooled. Vincent has passion, he has dreams and we don't need the swelling music to know that he is going to overcome his genetic handicap. Although the method he uses is surprising.

We've seen a lot of films about heroic figures fighting the injustices of race or sex discrimination but few heros simply cheat. I am sure their must have been Jews high up in the Nazi bureaucracy, who had to lie and hide in order to maintain their position, but I don't remember any stories about them. This is their story. Vincent takes on the identity of Jerome Morrow, one of the genetic elite, played superbly by Jude Law. Jerome, is perfect in every way, except for being crippled. His is an interesting character, just one of many in the film.

So Vincent, now Jerome, using borrowed blood and urine, follows his dream to become an astronaut. Employed by the space program after a very brief interview, consisting of one blood sample, he burrows into his new role and bides his time. He is meticulous in protecting his alias; going to the extent of vacuuming his dandruff off the keyboard and leaving false lint and hair around his workstation.

One week before he is due to launch there is a murder. One of the mission directors is beaten to death and this brings the full weight of the law down onto the Centre. Sure enough, traces of an Invalid are found and Vincent becomes the focus of a massive manhunt. Luckily, everyone thinks Vincent is Jerome, even Irene his beautiful colleague, Uma Thurman, who is asked to assist the police with their investigation. As love interests go, Uma is always a good choice but her character is made especially interesting when we discover she hides a great shame; she has a small genetic flaw which makes her less than perfect.

There are many subtle tensions in Gattaca but overall the story is presented in broad strokes. The tag line for the film reads, "There is no gene for the human spirit." We believe this and can't help pulling for Vincent but the sad conclusion we are left with, is that perfection may be the ultimate prison. How can one find pride in life when everyone expects you to be perfect? As Director Josef says, "No-one exceeds their potential."

Rating:
Summary: "...I'M HERE TO TELL YOU IT IS POSSIBLE!"
Review: If you like inspirational movies with amazing characters portrayed by incredible actors (Ethan, Jude and Uma;) complete with gorgeous cinematography and beautiful music, then I whole-heartedly recommend you buy GATTACA. This is one of my all-time favorite movies. This movie is compelling and completely engulfing to watch.

"They used to say that a child conceived in love has a greater chance of happiness--they don't say that anymore. Ten fingers, ten toes--that is all that used to matter--not now. Now only seconds old, the exact time and cause of my death was already known." [This is referring to the main character Vincent/Ethan Hawke who later becomes Jerome, played by Jude Law.] Vincent was needless to say, an over-protected child due to his health conditions, especially his heart disorder which had a 99% probability of killing him prematurely.

When his parents are ready for "a brother for him to play with" they decide to use science and technology to their advantage and go to see a doctor/geneticist. They select hazel eyes, dark hair, fair skin, and "extras" such as no premature baldness or tendencies to violence or obesity. The parents ask if they should leave a few things to chance but the geneticist convinces them otherwise explaining by saying: "keep in mind, this child is still you--the BEST of you. You could conceive naturally 1000 times and never get such a result." So the parents trust the geneticist and Anton is born-- a child finally worthy in the father's opinion, of his [the father's] name. But do "perfect" genes make one "perfect"? I love the way GATTACA makes the viewer think about this throughout the movie.

VINCENT: "I don't know how to thank you."

JEROME: "I got the better end of the deal. I only lent you my body; you lent me your dream."

GATTACA in my opinion, proves that indeed "there is no gene for fate" and that the human spirit is stronger than any genetic code.

Rating:
Summary: Ready to Watch Again
Review: Gattaca, is one of the most incredible movies to ever come around. Never before has such a though provoking movie touched me the way this one did. It explored some of the thought renching moral dillemas(biomedical experimentation) we have in our country right now, it also explores the postive and negative side of the issue, which I believe is what the director/writer meant to do. The director cptures his audience every step of the way by not letting a minute go by that doesn't add superb picture quality, incredible sound and of course incredible acting. It doesn't matter what kind of genre you are into you will be captivated by this movie and not want to move.

Rating:
Summary: Interesting, but . . .
Review: For the most part this is a pretty interesting movie, despite the fact that there is little of the action and (especially) special effects that most people expect from the science fiction genre. It involves a future in which eugenics is the norm and genetically perfect children (great looking, superbly healthy, highly intelligent, no acne) are produced to become an elite of athletes, engineers or astronauts, while people conceived under more normal circumstances (i.e. after a night of hot passion), become janitors. "Gattaca" is thus something of a philosophical discussion about how far humanity's ability to control nature should go and what the consequences may be. This description may make it sound a bit dull, but the movie is well-made with a good cast, so the story moves along. The movie's alluring, moody atmosphere is very captivating as well. My only problem with it is that the central character (played by Ethan Hawke), not a product of genetic engineering, is *so* imperfect: he has lousy vision, a congenitally weak heart and a 30-year life expectancy, even though he had two perfectly healthy parents. This stark contrast between genetically engineered and "normal" people is grossly overdone to create more dramatic effect, but it's not very believable and it takes away from the entire story. "Gattaca" might have been a more interesting and challenging movie if the central character was only a little less perfect than his genetically engineered peers - then one could truly question why he is the subject of blatant discrimination.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent Movie
Review: A very intelligent and compelling movie. You see the futilty of prejudice, best illustrated by comparing Hawke's "invalid" character to his brother. The brother, a "Valid", can never measure up to his genetically flawed sibling. Hawke's character is superior physically and mentally, even though the genetic caste system refuses to recognize this reality.

Hawke enters the world of the Valids by using Jude Law's identity and becoming a "borrowed ladder". The irony is, of course, that aside from allowing entry to Gattaca the identity of Law provides no help to Hawke. Rather, once inside Gattaca, Hawke achieves everything on his own while working hard to conceal his identity. Hawke is among the brightest employees at Gattaca, even though they are all genetically gifted valids. A further demonstration that the discrimination against invalids is purely arbitrary.

Note this: G,A,T, and C are the letters to denote the four different acids on the DNA double helix. Clever title for a movie about genetics.

Rating:
Summary: One of the best scifi movies
Review: After studying the theatre I have come to truly appreciate how well written Gattaca was. Visually, it is quite innovative in its combination of a vintage look and a modern feel. My only criticism would be the acting, which at times becomes vague, but the chemistry keeps the movie moving in slow moments. The soundtrack itself is a work of art in itself. This movie combined elements of innovative visuals, a strong script, and a beautiful score to create one of the best scifi films in recent history.