I waited 11 years to see Gattaca

I remember when Gattaca was being advertised back in 1997.  Everything about the movie was right up my alley:  sci-fi movie; takes place in the future; Danny DeVito involved (producer).  Somehow, with all of these qualifications, I never got around to seeing it.  Not only that, I never rented it.  I’ve received and mailed back over 300 DVDs from Netflix–none of which being the Andrew Niccol film.

Alright, so let’s talk about the movie.  Get lost if you haven’t seen it already–but I guess I shouldn’t be talking.  The film definitely has a noir feel to it.  Even though it takes place years from now, it borrows a very 50’s-gangster look which occassionally comes off as confusing.  I just chalk the art direction up to the fact that maybe a few years down the road we suddenly decide embrace that time in American history.

So real quick, it’s the future and everyone’s identified by DNA, not photos.  Blood, urine, hair follicles, skin flakes, whatever.  Not only that, but if you’ve got the cash, you can pretty much design a child to have perfect genes and a predisposition to excel in life.  Ethan Hawke’s character doesn’t have this advantage, but he’s fooled enough people with someone else’s DNA that he’s healthy enough to become an astronaut–his lifelong dream.  The week of his big journey into space, he finds himself in the middle of a murder investigation.  All the while he must revisit his troubled relationship with his estranged brother and juggle a budding romantic relationship with a female coworker.

What I liked: I’m a sucker for futuristic movies.  Even though the technology isn’t as impressive as movies like Minority Report or The Fifth Element, the movie defines its own style.  There’s no touch-screens or virtual reality or anything like that. Instead, it’s a vision of the future on par with what The Twilight Zone used to do–and I really enjoyed that.   Gattaca is a space-exploration conglomerate and I loved the space shuttles constantly being launched into the sky that filled the background of countless scenes.

What I didn’t like: The whole “no one ever looks at photos” thing was a bit frustrating, but I understand the point trying to be made here:  Hawke’s character is never “spotted” because he needs to be ID’ed instead.  The backstory with the two brothers’ relationship isn’t as important as it was intended and the last swimming scene had me yelling-at-the-TV mad.

I’d watch Gattacca again, I’m sure there’s a few things to catch early on the second time.  However, I wish I had seen it for the first time back in ‘97 as I’m sure it would have made a deeper impression on me.

Rating: Sorry, I don’t rate old movies!

Yes, I know “Gattaca” is made up of those DNA letters A-C-G-T.