with the release of gattaca , i began to wonder why all science fiction films deal with destructive aliens , or aliens in general .
hollywood has given audiences plenty of thrills with those alien films , but what was usually lacking was a good story . . . and good characters . . . and good acting , etc ( contact being the exception ) .
and for some reason , hollywood has never taken a look at the aliens here on earth .
the closest , that i have seen anyway , was 2001 :
a space odyssey , which made mankind an alien race themselves , being dwarfed by the technology which they created .
now comes gattaca , another film about technology reigning supreme , except here on our planet .
the difference between 2001 and this one is simple : gattaca is more frightening .
most of the concepts of this movie are based on recent discoveries in genetic engineering . using this premise , writer / director andrew niccol creates some genuine suspense and thrills .
unfortunately , due to a lack of advertising , i fear gattaca may fair horribly at the box office .
since seeing the film , i have been asking people if they have seen gattaca .
lately , however , i have been asking them if they have even heard of gattaca .
most people do n't even realize that it is a film .
despite this fact , i surely hope that the audience members who have seen this film will tell their friends about it .
niccol 's film deserves more than what independence day made because it is smarter , better produced , and more realistic .
gattaca begins in the 21st century .
procreating is now done in a petri dish , and genetic engineering is the normal way of doing it .
natural child birth is considered old - fashioned .
we are introduced to jerome morrow ( ethan hawke ) , an employee of the gattaca space program .
one of the directors of the program has been murdered , and the main suspect is one vincent freeman .
the only problem is that jerome morrow is vincent freeman .
vincent was born the natural way when his parents decided on bringing their first child into the world through love .
however , after his birth , and through several genetic tests , doctors tell his parents that he will have a 99 % chance of a weak heart , as well as poor eye sight and a short life span .
as a result , both parents decide to bring their next baby into the world via genetics .
anton ( loren dean ) is produced without flaws , and the competition between brothers spawns .
vincent has a dream to fly a solo - flight around the titan , the 14th moon of saturn , but because of his condition , gattaca , and society in general , forces him to do menial labor around the company .
labeled
an " in - valid , " vincent 's dream seems impossible , until he meets a black - market dna specialist , german ( tony shalhoub ) .
german introduces him to a " valid " who has been paralized from the waste down due to an automobile accident .
jerome morrow ( jude law ) agrees to give vincent all the proper identification tools ( urine , blood , skin and hair samples , etc . ) that he will need to get past gattaca 's tight security .
in exchange , vincent will provide jerome with the rent money and friendship .
after the murder , however , his dreams are put at risk due to one of vincent 's eyelashes left at the scene of the crime .
irene cassini ( uma thurman ) is a genetically flawed " valid " working for gattaca , and she begins to fall in love with vincent / jerome .
gattaca is one of the best science fiction films i have seen in a long time .
only two other intelligent science fiction films have come out in the past two years ( contact and the arrival ) and gattaca will rank among them .
unfortunately , whenever one intelligent film comes out against special effects - laden films , it normally gets buried .
the second best thing about gattaca is the production design by jan roelfs .
the orange glow of gattaca 's scenes are impressive , but the sets deserve most of the credit .
the sets are very well done , creating a futuristic sense , but not too futuristic as to alienate viewers .
as we look at the designs , we realize that these buildings are n't too far into the future .
this brings the plot even more credibility as genetic engineering becomes more possible by every passing day .
the best thing , however , is the plot .
the story is more than your average sci - fi / thriller .
at its heart , it develops a theme which is never overpowering but is always present .
perhaps niccol is warning our race about the changes genetic tampering could bring .
would our society become a bunch of soulless zombies ?
maybe human nature is a result of mankind 's flaws .
if we get rid of flaws , do we get rid of dreams as well ?
niccol 's intelligent script handles all these questions extremely well , and the result is an incredibly smart thriller set against a dramatic story , or vice versa .
the power of the actors brings a lot of credibility to flat characters .
while flat may sound like a poor job on niccol 's part , it actually enhances the meaning behind the story .
ethan hawke has developed into a handsome adult actor , giving his best performance of his lifetime so far .
his curiosity and motivation pushes his character past all the discouraging remarks from his parents and " valid " peers .
uma thurman is . . .
well , uma thurman .
her character is slightly underdeveloped , but the story is n't about her . however , thurman gives a lot of depth to the flat character .
jude law gives the most complex performance of the film with the most disturbingly realistic character .
he provides several nice touches , and his final scene is a very touching and heartwrenching one .
loren dean gives a nice performance in his well - developed character .
dean is also responsible for some of the most suspenseful scenes in the movie .
alan arkin portrays one of the detectives with a little less more excitement than with his psychiatrist in grosse pointe blank .
still , he does a good job .
gore vidal and xander berkeley both provide some very good supporting roles , and berkeley also gives a heartfelt discussion towards the end of the film .
gattaca is rated pg-13 for brief violent images , language , some sexuality , and nudity .
despite the somber and desolate mood of the entire film , i was n't exactly prepared for the ending which left me feeling empty .
it turned me off slightly , but then i realized that everything turned out the way it should have .
if this had been a typical hollywood film , it would have ended much differently .
however , with all the mindless science fiction films out there , it is nice to have a film which does n't talk down to its audience
( i especially like the ironic title and how it consists of the four letters which make up the genetic coding : g , t , c , and a ) . instead , it provides some much needed entertainment which gives us science fiction fanatics just what we want : a science fiction film with morals behind it .
whatever happened to giving the audience a lesson while entertaining ?
hopefully more writers and directors will learn from gattaca . . .
and hopefully audiences will too .
p .
s .
personal note to p .
j .
gladnick
: how dare you call this film the worst film of the year .
i ca n't even begin to image what film you do like .
that frightens me beyond anything .
Output: P