Review of Gattaca (1997) by Robin M — 20 Oct 2010

I like me a good sci-fi and this is a good one. Exploring the idea of what would the world be like if DNA testing and modification determined what people could do, Gattaca follows Vincent (Ethan Hawke) a naturally born 'in-valid' person who is determined to not be held back by his perceive imperfections.

With the help of Eugene (Jude Law) a man born with 'valid' genetics but left crippled by a car accident, Vincent takes on Eugene's identity to become a celestial navigator. This film delivers a good sci-fi with an interesting stylized world which gives the film somewhat of an odd 50's feel even though this is meant to be the future.

I big problem I have with this film how the I feel I should bring up is the lack of development on the relationship between Vincent and Eugene. At the start these two don't seem to get along all that well, then their is a jump to sometime later and the two are good friends.

I know this probably really doesn't need much more to it as the change happens somewhere in that period from when they first met to when film jumps to, but I feel it would have been good to see at least some of the evolution of this relationship especially since part of why these two don't get along is the genetic difference between the two.

Great film and a good watch on Blu-Ray/HD as strands of hair are used every so often as a plots device and it is good to see those strands of hair or when the actors are actually pretending to hold a hair (I'm pretty sure there is one scene towards the end where that happens).