Like so-many sci-fi movies, Gattaca (1997) is set in the “not-too-distant” future. And like so many sci-fi movies, Gattaca exaggerates the end of days in the hope of influencing the present.
The scenario in Andrew Niccol’s Gattaca: the use of eugenics to create a category of human beings more advanced than the others. A man born outside this elite system breaks into it through criminal means, in the process upending challenging the notion of the supposed superiority of genetic selection over natural conception.
The ironically named Vincent Freeman (Ethan Hawke) dreams of being a “valid” – a genetically perfect human. Vincent is an “invalid” whose health flaws have not been ironed out by science. Vincent finds a way into a space programme meant for valids by using skin, hair, saliva and urine donated by Jerome (Jude Law). Although Jerome is a valid, eugenics has been unable to prevent the loss of his legs in an accident.
A murder at the space facility draws Vincent into the crosshairs of investigators. The film acquires the flavour of a suspense thriller as it follows Vincent’s attempts to keep up with the deception.
The film, which is available to rent on Prime Video and Apple TV+, is crisply narrated and visually sumptuous. The production design, dipped in shades of cold browns and nuclear yellows, create an appropriately other-worldly backdrop to Vincent’s scam.
Gattaca also stars Uma Thurman as Vincent’s fellow astronaut and lover Iren, Loren Dean and Alan Arkin as the detectives, and writer Gore Vidal as the space programme chief. While Hawke and Thurman play their parts well, the attention-grabber is Jude Law’s cynical alcoholic Jerome, who exemplifies the tragedy of a culture based on physical perfection.
Several dystopian sci-films have either dated badly or overstated (and in some cases understated) the dangers of pursuing science progress without considering the ethical consequences. In its understanding of the craze for designer babies and defiance of the laws of nature, Gattaca ensures that it remains credible as well as relevant.
