Gattaca (1997)

Wow! I had heard high praise for Gattaca. Now that I've finally seen it, I'd say it's a muscular marvel of science-fiction prescience, clairvoyance, and poignancy. Gattaca is The Minority Report meets Code 46 -- except Gattaca predated those films by 6-7 years. Gattaca is named for the human genome -- our DNA contains the amino acids guanine, adenine, thymine, and cytosine -- and for the genetic engineering and space exploration corporation that industrialized the human gene pool, institutionalizing a scientifically justified and pervasive form of discrimination against those who were not born through genetic design. (They become janitors, not astronauts.) It is a society based completely on genetic control -- the most ultimate form of control, among the many evident in this taut and austere film. (Forget the ID badge, EZ-TAG, FICO credit score, and surveillance camera; your proof of identity -- and access to all societal amenities -- is *you*, as tiny bits of your DNA are sampled and tracked everywhere you turn.) Some have complained that Gattaca is too rigid or formulaic but I see it as a perfectly crafted minuet of totalitarian angst. In short, when every skin flake or eyelash fallen from your body can be and is freely collected and analyzed by employers and crime-scene investigators alike, you have to be very bright and disciplined to get around the system. Ethan Hawke's character is that man -- and more. Jude Law is his similarly determined though less mobile accomplice. Uma Thurman is an eventual love interest who discovers his secret. We also have some nice appearances from Ernest Borgnine, Tony Shalhoub, and Alan Arkin. Gattaca is as good as Contact. If you're not concerned about the future -- as in, this very thing actually happening within a decade or so -- then don't see Gattaca. If you care about the pitfalls of life in a technological society and have a social conscience, see it; buy it; own it. I sure will. 5 stars.