Gattaca (1997)
Where have this movie been all my life? I keep complaining about that science fiction movies are always lacking compared to written stories, but here is one that could easily have been written by Nancy Kress. If you like science fiction stories about genetics, go read some of her stories.
Of course the overall concept of a future where our genetic markup controls everything is frightening and we are getting closer to that reality everyday. Perhaps more than we think because the factor today is not genes (yet), but data profiling. It is already being used like this today. Someone should really make a modern version of this movie with data profiling and AI algorithms instead. The ethics explored in this film will forever be relevant. The challenges of free will in a controlled society.
Voiceovers are usually hated with good reason, because it tends to show little respect for the viewers intelligence. Same applies here to an extent, but I initially liked Hawke’s calm narration of things. My main problem with it is that it was just used as an intro. Doing a voiceover can be done to great effect if it is handles as a personal viewpoint throughout the movie, not simply to tell viewers what they can see on screen.
Besides that I really liked the overall calm and peaceful tempo and tone of this movie, even though there is plenty of tension lurking beneath every scene. It is exciting and engaging, without the need to be hectic. The focus is of course the personal journey of all the three main characters, but I liked the small snippets of this future. Like the gene testing service for ones dates.
It is not without its flaws. Plenty of stuff that happens doesn’t quite hold up to careful scrutiny, and I did find the scenes where the brothers swim out into the ocean to be a tad silly. It may serve an important point, but it could have been done in a less cringy way I think. Overall I am just glad this movie exist and that I finally got around to see it two decades too late.
Rating: 4