Gattaca - the Science of Discrimination

Gattaca is a wonderful science fiction movie from 1997 starring Ethan Hawke, Jude Law, and Uma Thurman. It is set in the near future where genetic engineering has become commonplace and people can discriminate against each other with science. It was written and directed by Andrew Niccol, who went on to make S1m0ne and Lord of War.

Ethan Hawke stars as a man who desperately wants to get into the space flight program, but he's natural born instead of genetically engineered, so the whole world sees him as flawed. Jude Law plays a partially paralyzed former space cadet who decides to sell his identity to Hawke. Uma Thurman plays Hawke's girlfriend who also works at the space center. The whole plan seems to be going well until a murder takes place in their office, and detectives roaming around for evidence might uncover Hawke's true identity. All he has to do is remain undetected long enough to board the spaceship, then this world won't be his problem any longer.

In the space program offices where Hawke's character works, the employees are regularly subjected to identification tests involving their own DNA. Before they can enter the building, then must insert their finger into a device which quickly draws a drop of blood to test who they are. When the investigators are combing the offices, they vacuum up things like hairs and fingernail pieces in order to identify the owners, and they can do so instantly.

The only way Hawke can keep up his charade is to regularly collect pieces of hair and nail clippings and skin cells from Jude Law, and then deposit them around wherever he has been. He even devises a system of keeping a small bit of Law's blood under a finger cover in order to cheat the machine at the door. It's all incredibly elaborate and every bit of it is shown on screen in fascinating detail.

What this movie really boils down to is the triumph of the human spirit. Hawke's character has a heart condition that will surely limit his life, but other than that mild physical problem he has everything else it takes to do the job. What's interesting is that Jude Law's character has the perfect genetic makeup for all the physical and intellectual demands of the job, but he's not right in the head. It's one of those situations where somebody might look like a great candidate on paper, but when you really get to know them then you'll understand there is more than just a genetic profile.

This is by no means an action movie, but rather a murder mystery set in a futuristic setting. It was nominated for an Oscar for Art Direction and is a really cool-looking movie. The sets and look of the characters were actually based on noire movies from the 1950's, so it gives the movie a timeless appeal. Like all great sci-fi, there are tons of subtle little moments that help stylize the setting, such as when Hawke and Thurman go to see a famous pianist who was genetically engineered to have 12 fingers. Instead of using CGI or prosthetics to show a 12-fingered man, it simply shows a single glove with six fingers instead of five. Nice touches like that are what make this movie a delight.

I consider Gattaca to be one of the greatest science fiction movies of all time because of the way in which it tackles science and genetics and how they work alongside human determination and those things which cannot be easily measured. It's both scary and uplifting, and paints a picture of what the future could hold for mankind if we continue to let the government invade our lives.