"There Is No Gene For The Human Spirit."

Gattaca (1997): 7/10

Poster (c) Columbia/Tristar

There are a select few movies you are able to watch in school. Not only must they be appropriate to show in school, but they also must protain to whatever the students are learning. Ergo, about every student in a certain subject watches the same movie. That's the case with biology and Gattaca. It's centered around science, it's PG-13, and it's not boring; what else could you want in a movie to show to highschoolers?

In the near future (a time period too often used), most parents decide to have children genetically, so they can alter features both internal and external, to make perfect children. Some don't, though. Those that are genetically created are called "Vailds"; sexually created, "In-valids". Clever, ain't it? An In-valid, Vincent (Ethan Hawke), always dreamed of becoming an astronaut, but couldn't because he was to die at about his 30th birthday. He finds a way, however, by changing identities illegally with Jerome (Jude Law), a brilliant scientist who is now reduced to a wheelchair. In addition, people think that Vincent killed someone at Gattaca, the space station. Did he? Will he successfully go into space?

Futuristic movies are always fun, especially ones that actually could happen in the future (which is not the case for the epitome of sci-fi films, 2001: A Space Odyssey), and the possibility of genetically altered children is not far off. And thankfully it stayed plausible: oftentimes movies like this can get carried away in making a special effects show to lose whatever credibility or actual movie-going experience there was before. There were few, if any, effects here, which is a change to science fiction films. It's just a science fiction drama.

Having recently learned about DNA and all in biology, I thought that the movie would have more about it, while about the only thing to it is how the DNA nucleotide letters A, T, C, and G are emphasized in the opening credits. DNA isn't really explained much in the movie, but I digress. As interesting as the concept is, Gattaca takes a while to get going, and it seems like a lot of the picture was missing from the full-screen DVD we watched. In addition, many of the characters are extremely undeveloped and exist only to either hurry the plot along or to spew out pithy quotes. And the worst part is, most of those characters are played by great actors, and they don't even get to act. What a waste.

Don't let that last paragraph fool you, though. Gattaca is an entertaining drama, and it explores something that will most likely happen soon. If you aren't forced to watch it in school, I recommend it for something interesting to watch.

Rated PG-13 for brief violent images, language, and some sexuality.

Review Date: February 28, 2004