Gat-about

My favorite science fiction movie (unless you count Back to the Future -- and I don't consider it to be primarily sci-fi) is Gattaca. I didn't need to watch it again to confirm that. But as soon as I mentioned FlickChart, the film started cropping up a lot. More than one of my friends told me about difficult match-ups involving Gattaca and some other movie. In each given scenario, it was an easy choice for me: Gattaca all the way.

Still, talking so much about the film made me want to watch it again. So I did.

Here's the short synopsis, in case you haven't seen it. (But if you haven't, go do so. Now!) In a not-too-distant future, genetic engineering has become the rule of society. Parents with money select any number of advantages to be engineered into their child from birth, and all of society has become a rigid class system favoring the genetically superior. The main character of the story is a man of natural birth, denied his dreams in life because of his genetic code. So he conspires with a genetically superior man who became confined to a wheelchair after an accident; by stealing the other's DNA and masquerading as another person, he'll have the chance to pursue his dream of voyaging into space.

I think that in a way, Gattaca has a lot in common with Pleasantville. Pleasantville is a story about about denying the potential within yourself. Gattaca is a story about other people denying that potential. A different side of the same coin, but I feel it makes for an equally compelling movie. And the fact that the protagonist's dream is to become an astronaut is icing on the cake for a space enthusiast like me. (And seems somehow even more poignant today, in this post-Space Shuttle world.)

The visual design of a movie is very strong, especially for a movie made on a limited budget. It presents a spartan future that seems loosely inspired by what the 1950s thought the future would be like. Sets are cavernous and sterile, yet have interesting accents to catch the eye. One particularly nice touch is the spiral staircase in the protagonist's home that looks like a DNA double helix.

The strong vision and strong script is then realized with strong actors. Ethan Hawke is excellent as the "de-gene-erate" with inferior DNA. Jude Law is the crippled specimen that Hawke becomes, playing a fun and wonderful character arc even though the story is mostly focused elsewhere. Uma Thurman's role in the story is primarily as a love interest, though she too brings depth to her role that expands the film. The cast is rounded out with more great actors, including Alan Arkin, Tony Shalhoub, Xander Berkeley, and Dean Norris. And there's Ernest Borgnine too, in a small, fun role.

Gattaca is a full meal -- a feast for the eyes, and food for thought as well. A grade A film in the true, thought-provoking sci-fi mold.