Gattaca

Year of release : 1997

Run time : 1h46m

Genre : Sci Fi / Thriller / Dystopia

Cast : Ethan Hawke, Jude Law, Uma Thurman, Alan Arkin

The dystopian movie is written and directed by Andrew Niccol.

In the not so distant future, Vincent was conceived naturally, and was given a small chance at survival by the doctors who tested him right after birth.

Due to this, his parents treated him as if he was sick, and when they wanted a second child, they did what the rest of society did, went to the eugenics center, to create a perfect human. The people created naturally are seen as " In Valid" as they are susceptible to genetic disorders, while the ones created with the help of the genetic registry are seen as "Valids". People don't even see someone for who they are, but based on what their biometrics are.

His whole youth, Vincent tried to better himself, to prove that he is just as good as his brother, who was genetically modified. So they swim together, and his brother, Anton, always won, until one day, when Vincent had to bring him back to the shore.

Vincent always dreamt of being an astronaut, but due to being naturally born, was always considered "In Valid", and could only get a job as a janitor.

He works as a janitor for Gattaca Aerospace Corporation, and is presented with the opportunity of seeing his dream come true, as a Valid who is crippled, Jerome Morrow, is willing to give him all the bodily samples (anything from hair, skin, blood, urine) he needs in order to work for Gattaca, and go to space, if he is good enough.

Vincent seems to be on the road to see his dream come true, until Gattaca's administrator is found d3ad with a blow to the head in his office, and the police find Vincent's eyelash.

The police start hunting for him, and Vincent might not only see his dreams shattered but might also have to prove his innocence.

All this time, he is also catching the eye of Irene, a co-worker. Although she is a Valid, she has a high risk of heart failure, and can't run for too long, this making her unable to go on any space mission.

The two bond as they have more in common than Irene thinks.

I personally enjoyed the movie, although the subject was pretty dark, as in, everyone was seen only though the lens of their genetics not who they were as humans and what they could achieve through hard work and dedication.

I liked the movie's take on the matter, as sometimes one needs more than genetics, to succeed.

I liked the movie's atmosphere , the colors, and the world created, although I wouldn't want to live there, as everything seemed too strict and controlling, with a superior race who could get in anywhere, and an inferior one who couldn't.

The movie's title comes from the 4 nucleobases of DNA, G - guanine, A- adenine, T - thymine, C - cytosine. The original title was "The 8th day" referring to the 7 days in which God created the world,but a Belgian movie was released around the same time, with that same title.

The actors were good. There's a scene in which Jude Law had to crawl up a round staircase, as his character is paralyzed from the waist down, and that impressed me.

The movie received positive reviews, but grossed only in the USA, 12.5 million dollars at the box office, against a budget of 36 million, being a flop.

Cinema Score audiences graded the movie a B-.

The movie received quite a few award nominations, including one for the Oscar and the Golden Globe.

You can watch the full movie for free, if you follow this link :

https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x9gkecg

Rating : Worth a watch !