Revisited: Gattaca

Gattaca was on HDNET and it has been probably ten years since I sat down and watched the film. The premise is still so accurate and poignant that it seems timeless. In the future we can genetically wipe out "imperfections" in a fetus so the child is the optimum mix of the parents genes. This makes "Whoops" Kids severely disadvantaged and looked down upon in society. They even limit you to doing custodial work, and you are looked down by everyone who was born in a lab. Ethan Hawke is Vincent, a man born to Casey Jones, I mean actor Elias Koteas and some lady as his mother. He has some defects, most glaringly glasses and a bad heart. This prevents him from getting meaningful employment, or pretty much doing anything except cleaning up stuff. Vincent dreams of a life in space, but obviously can't. Vincent then finds Tony Shaloub, who can "invent" an identity who gives you samples and everything you need to become them. In this case it's the crippled former Olympic silver medalist Jude Law. Uma Thurman, Gore Vidal, Blair Underwood, Maya Rudolph (VERY MINOR ROLE), and Alan Arkin round out a great cast. Law and Hawke have to work together to keep "Vincent" from discovery and also keep him thriving in the space program. A romance with Uma Thurman complicates, but also adds depth and more Uma Thurman, which are all GREAT things. I really like this movie. It never bores and moves at a quick pace with an excellent cast and decent story. Bottom Line: 8.3 out of 10. It's really worth seeing and I'm sure you can find a copy for either $5 or on a cable station at random, possibly even on demand. Really outstanding stuff from Law especially.