Powerful

Gattaca is a seminal movie that reminds me of what is lacking nowadays with sci fi films. It's wonderfully written, directed, and acted. I have studied genetics, medicine, biology, eugenics, and philosophy. I can't tell you how many times this movie in some fashion is mentioned. I guess that is what is so powerful about this movie. The themes, much like the music, are recapitulated. Destiny, genes, life, fate- it's all so powerfully incorporated in the movie and how science/medicine thinks.

It is no surprise to anyone that the discoverer of the structure of DNA, James Watson- once said, "our future is in our genes." There is a genetic determinism that pervades our country, our way of thinking. Whether it is said inadvertently thru the way we are more and more reliant on genetic markers for labeling diseases or how we are nowadays discovering more and more ways to meddle with our genes. Science has in some sense become a religion. Genes are our predetermined fate.

It is this issue that GATTACA hammers at or chips away at brillantly and relentlessly. There is no gene for free will/ for desire/ for ambition. We aren't just our genes. We are a product of our upbringing, our environment, and heriditary predispositions. We are more than just a sum of different characteristics, traits that can be tagged to a repeated sequence in our DNA. There is no science for personality or for fate.

The acting in GATTACA is superb, understated (I know, enough with the superlatives). Ethan Hawke and Uma Thurman have real chemistry. They play their roles with ease that fits the speakeasy, minimalist style of the movie. Jude Law has easily his best performance in GATTACA.

The music or score by Michael Nyman- swoons and fits the dark but ultimately uplifting mood of the movie. Much of it is recapitulation- the scores repeat the same themes of struggle, persistence and sorrow.

I am also impressed in the details of the movie. The double helix DNA stair cases in the apartment. The movie's title is written in DNA nucleotides.

This movie did not translate well in the box office but it had a real impression/influence in both our culture and understanding of science.

A snorefest

I found this movie to be a deadly bore...I had to watch it in a biology class

Uma Thurman is gorgeous in this film

Surpisingly Great!

Gattaca with Ethan Hawk, Jude Law and Uma Thurman is a great movie-an exciting vision of a dark future, a portray of the human spirit as well as a song of praise to the beauty of the human body created by God.
Watching the film was a great pleasure. Although science fiction at the first glance it is not trying to impress with special effects, but with great cinematography and a deep plot. It lacks the action elements of average science fiction movies, but catches the viewer with its thriller-like suspense. The plot has many surprising turns and an ending that can not easily be expected. The future world is created with much care and scares by appearing realistically connected to present scientifical developments. The acting is very convincing, which should be expected of a cast like this.
I can recommend this very moving film to people interested in the genres of drama, science fiction and thriller as well as to everyone who wants more from a movie than just entertainment.