Gattaca (1997)

Short: Realizing that his free-born status will always prevent him from achieveing his goal travel through space, Vincent (Ethan Hawke) purchases the identity of Jerome (Jude Law), a man who's considered genetically perfect except that he's paraplegic. Vincent uses Jerome's identity to join Gattaca, an elite space program, where he meets Irene (Uma Thurman). During the investigation of a murder at Gattaca, one of Vincent's eye lashes is found only days before he is set to take off to a moon of Jupiter and threatens his entire future.

I was a little surprised when I realized that I haven't mentioned this movie before. I saw it when it came out (I was 14), and I fell in love with its style. Every shot, every costume, every set.

For some reason that is a bit beyond my understanding, in the future everything will go back to 1930s glam. To be honest, I can't wait for that to happen.

Cinematographer Slawomir Idziak captures the grace and elegance of that decade set against tragedy and on the brink of war with quiet patience.

Actually, now that I think about it, it makes of lot of sense to make constant, silent reference to the 30s. The descrepancy between the poor and the rich (the free-born and the genetically chosen) was shocking, and it impacted every area of their lives.

This movie is the first offering from writer-director Andrew Niccol. It seems a little odd that he would go after such a grand and simple story, but he carries it well. He went on to pen The Truman Show, which showcases his unusual perception of reality and his desire to question that which we rarely consider.

His direction osciallates beween showcasing the minutae of the efforts Vincent and Jerome must undertake and the overwhleming difficulty that Vincent faces as he gets closer and closer to achieving his life long goal. It's really sad, actually.

Hawke brings presence to his Vincent and a sense of urgency. Vincent's heart's been ticking a little too long, and Hawke makes sure the audience feels that way.

I wouldn't describe Irene as a difficult role as Thurman has little more to do than look beautiful and occassionally confused. She does both those things well enough, so I feel no need to further comment or crticize.

I rather enjoy Law here. I find with Law that the longer he is around, the less I like him. It's possible that he's been breaking the cardinal rule of reading what's written about you. Despite Jerome's flaws, I feel genuinely heartbroken over his life, and I attribute that reaction to Law's unrepetant arrogance and intensity. Really, he should go after more roles like this one.

One of the film's strongest points is it supporting cast. The viewer is treated to fine performances from Xander Berkley, Loren Dean, Elias Koteas, Gore Vidal, Blair Underwood, Tony Shalhoub, Ernest Borgnine, and Alan Arkin. Man, just loking at that list makes me giddy to see this movie again.

This movie maybe isn't for you if you have pacing issues, as it is on the slow side. Other than that, I highly recommend it if you, like me, like to question the immediate future as well as the past.