Movie Review: Gattaca

Gattaca is one of those movies that you wish were better because it deals with such an interesting issue. It is a story where people’s lives are determined by constant DNA screens. It presents us with the dystopian vision of the future struggling to accommodate a genetic underclass. Of course a genetic underclass exists today, we just don’t call it that. Ethan Hawke’s character is a member of this class even though he is obviously brilliant. A bad heart makes him eligible only for menial labor, which doesn’t really make sense. The hacker in me roots for him as he fools the system day in day out (though it’s a pretty shoddy system in truth) even though what he does is incredibly dangerous and selfish. The treadmill scene demonstrates that he really is unfit to be an astronaut. Hopefully he doesn’t conk out during the mission and get his co-pilots killed. Overall it’s a nicely done flick. Uma Thurman and Jude Law were good and I enjoyed the aesthetic.

Grade: B-