Writer: Andrew Niccol
Director: Andrew Niccol
Cast: Ethan Hawke, Uma Thurman, Jude Law, Gore Vidal, Alan Arkin, Xander Berkeley, Jayne Brook, Loren Dean, Ernest Borgnine, Elias Koteas
Rating: PG-13
Studio: Sony Pictures
Release Date: March 11, 2008
Whoever doubts Jude Law’s ability to act needs to check out Gattaca. The movie, which I have always wanted to see, but just never had the chance, will soon be available in a special edition release. Law, who plays the secondary lead to Ethan Hawke, along with Uma Thurman, is superb as a superior human being (a valid) who ends up in a wheelchair after he walks out in front of a car.
The entire movie explores highly controversial, thought-provoking subjects, with the main issue being that of genetic engineering. With the world filled with genetically superior, engineered humans (valids), those who happen to be born naturally, with all the flaws that humans can have, are viewed as invalids or second class citizens. This leads to the exploration of issues that include the pressure placed on the valids, the true abilities of invalids, love and relationships between valids and invalids, and the flaws that come with meddling with nature.
Release Information:
Sony Pictures is set to release a special edition of Gattaca on March 11, 2008. Gattaca was originally released in theaters on October 24, 1997. While critics seemed to love the film, the obscure nature of it and the random theater locations ensured that Gattaca was not a box office success. Still, the film seems to have a broad following with a high viewer rating on sites like IMDB.
Gattaca was first released on DVD on July 1, 1998. On December 11, 2001, a Superbit Collection of the film was released and in 2004, this version was released in a pack with The Fifth Element. Sony Pictures has released the new, special edition of Gattaca in both a standard DVD and Blu-Ray. The standard will be available on March 11 through retailers on and offline, including Amazon, where it will cost $14.99 USD. The Blu-Ray will be available for $19.95 USD.
The Gattaca Plot
Gattaca explores the field of new eugenics. For those who do not understand what this is, the movie explains that new eugenics is the genetic engineering of humans to create individuals with superior qualities and characteristics. In the world in which Gattaca is set, the vast majority of humans use genetic engineering to have children. They can choose everything from eye and hair color to prevention of genetic defects including heart defects and something as simple as vision problems (nearsightedness, farsightedness).
The narrator and main character for the story is Vincent Freeman (Ethan Hawke). Vincent is an invalid. He begins the story by explaining that his parents had planned to have a natural birth with their children. They had planned to name him Anton after his father Antonio (Elias Koteas), but after the doctors listed his flaws (the future development of a rare cardiac condition and myopia) with his life expectancy of 30.2 years, Antonio decides to name him Vincent. From here, the story explores Vincent’s relationship with his genetically engineered, younger brother, Anton. Anton was a perfect specimen. He was considered faster, smarter, and better than Vincent.
From his childhood, Vincent dreamed of going to space. He was discouraged of dreaming by his parents and brother. Vincent shouldn’t dream so big because he was an invalid. He really wouldn’t amount to much of anything. After winning a swimming race against his brother, something Vincent had never done, he is inspired and ends up disappearing, leaving his family behind without a second thought. Vincent goes to work at the Gattaca Corporation, a company that deals with space travel (think NASA). He is a lowly janitor, but that doesn’t stop him from continuing to imagine and dream big.
Vincent is desperate to fulfill his dream, so he becomes what is known as a “borrowed ladder”. He ends up connecting with Jerome Eugene Morrow (Jude Law), a valid who is a paraplegic. Jerome has a superb genetic structure, but having been told all his life he would succeed, the shortcomings in his life, all of which have led to second place finishes, make him miserable. As a swimming star, Jerome only received a silver medal. In his angst, he can’t even get committing suicide right, as he has failed and only managed to become paralyzed.
Despite his failures, Jerome, who tells Vincent to call him Eugene, is willing to share his DNA with Vincent. He shares his urine, blood, etc. to ensure that Vincent is believed to be Jerome Morrow. Vincent has his hair cut and styled and even has his legs stretched to ensure he is similar in appearance and looks to the real Jerome. For all intents and purposes, Vincent becomes Jerome. With his accident happening outside the country, nobody knows he is in a wheelchair so there is no reason to suspect anything.
At Gattaca, Vincent (as Jerome) quickly rises through the ranks. As the story shows, Vincent is set to head out on a mission to explore Saturn’s moon, Titan. He takes great care to avoid leaving any DNA material of his own at Gattaca. However, when the mission director for the Saturn trip is murdered, a week before the launch, Vincent accidentally leaves an eyelash at the scene of the crime and soon becomes the prime suspect simply because he is an invalid.
As Vincent tries to keep up the ruse of being Jerome, he becomes close to a fellow employee of Gattaca Corporation, Irene Cassini (Uma Thurman). Irene is involved in the space mission in a control aspect, but due to a mild heart defect, despite being a valid, she is unable to actually go on a mission like Vincent (with Jerome’s DNA). With the police trying to track down Vincent, it is increasingly hard for him to avoid being caught, while the real murderer goes free. To add to the story, his past comes back to haunt him in an unusual and interesting way.
The acting for Gattaca is superb. While Hawke, Thurman and Vidal are always good in nearly everything they’re in, the standout performance goes to Jude Law, who plays an empathetic failure. His pain, his anger, and his conviction as Jerome helps Vincent is inspiring. Doubters of Law’s talent can’t argue with the skill he displays in this movie. The acting is what made this film. Had the actors lacked the depth and ability the cast seems to have, the movie wouldn’t have been nearly as good or as effective.
Storyline/Plot: 
Replayability:
Acting:
Directing:
Audio/Visual:
Gattaca has some of the cleanest, clearest video presented for the time in which the film was made. It’s impeccable with no visible, visual errors. The anamorphic widescreen video is presented at an aspect ratio of 2.40:1. The clear picture just enhances the futuristic quality of the film.
The audio for Gattaca is as excellent as the visual quality. Both music and dialogue come in clearly with no muss or fuss. The audio is presented as a Dolby Digital 5.1 English track. There are also Dolby Digital 5.1 French, Spanish and Portuguese tracks and subtitles available in all four languages.
Visual:
Audio:
Bonus Features:
Surprisingly, for a special edition DVD, Gattaca is quite bare when it comes to bonus features. Most of the features are carried over from the original DVD. What is available is six deleted scenes, a featurette, a retrospective called “Welcome to Gattaca”, outtakes, and a featurette called “Do Not Alter?” about the scientific aspects to Gattaca. There are also a myriad of trailers for other films including The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep, Dragon Wars, Close Encounters of the Third Kind: 30th Anniversary Edition, and Ray Harryhausen in Color!
Bonus Features: 
Bottom Line:
If you plan to get the special edition of Gattaca, you will want to get it for the better quality, not for the bonus features. Fans of the movie or those who do not own this film will want to pick it up. If you already own the original release, you will have to weigh whether purchasing a better quality (visually and audio wise) is worth it. Either way, I loved the movie and I highly recommend owning any version of Gattaca, as long as the film is purchased.
Overall Rating: [rating:]
Technorati Tags: DVD review, Gattaca, Special Edition, Ethan Hawke, Uma Thurman, Jude Law, Andrew Niccol
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