GATTACA *** out of **** Bred for looks Debut director Andrew Niccol could not have genetically-engineered a prettier picture than GATTACA and he should thank veteran cinematographer Slawomir Idziak for its flawless look. This vision is almost enough to make you want to overlook the flaws such as a misguided sibling rivalry, a too-convenient conclusion (Gore Vidal should probably hang his head in shame for his uncharacteristic intellectual passivity), and another end too, ahem, well-done. Nevertheless, it is a film I'd willingly see again for its über-serene pictures, its retro-modern sophistication, with the rest an inconvenient baggage. Uma Thurman and Ethan Hawke enhance the scenery but have their own problems. Irene (Thurman) and Vincent (Hawke) both suffer from heart problems which prevent them from achieving their full potential at Gattaca, a space training academy. Yes, they fall for each other but dating between students at Gattaca is a lesser crime than actual physical defects with their hearts, Vincent's being the graver case, grave enough to label him an In-Valid and a life of drudge work. Aiming high and determined to fly into space, Vincent links up with Jerome (Jude Law) - "Jerome, Jerome, heart like a metronome," genetically near-perfect (9.3 out of 10) but now paralyzed thanks to self-decided foolishness - to provide him with bodily samples to assist Vincent to bypass rigorous Gattacan security. Niccol comes up with clever evasion techniques for Vincent, but in GATTACA the smarts are called upon only when convenient. Preventing yourself from dropping cells is a near-impossible task and no amount of shaving or rubbing your skin raw with a loofah and pumice will help (GATTACA's trailer featured a line ridiculous in its supposed ominousness, "You shed 500 million skin cells a day - where will you hide? What will you do?" Uh, buy industrial strength dandruff shampoo?), and when Vincent's eyelash is found near a murder scene, he becomes the easy suspect due to a predisposition to violence within its nucleotide sequence. Defective biology aside, Niccol envisions more clever scenarios for his DNA-obsessed world of the future: musical pieces for the digitally-enhanced; individuals nervously submitting samples of prospective dates taken on the sly to street labs hoping for an acceptable result. GATTACA is a near-perfect dog - eager to impress with its smarts but easily forgiveable when he does stupid things since he looks so damn good. Of course there will be films of better breeding, but GATTACA is adequately admirable for its desire to be so smart. B GATTACA Directed and written by: Andrew Niccol U.S.A. 1997 Review completed on November 1, 1997. |