Gattaca (1997)

User Rating:

7.8/10   

Director:

Andrew Niccol

Writer (WGA):

Andrew Niccol (written by)

Release Date:

24 October 1997 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

There Is No Gene For The Human Spirit.

Plot:

A genetically inferior man assumes the identity of a superior one in order to pursue his lifelong dream of space travel.

Plot Keywords:

Police | Space Travel | Future | Blood | Launch

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 6 wins & 8 nominations

Cast

Ethan Hawke	...	Vincent Freeman
Uma Thurman	...	Irene Cassini
Gore Vidal	...	Director Josef
Xander Berkeley	...	Dr. Lamar
Jayne Brook	...	Marie Freeman
Elias Koteas	...	Antonio Freeman
Maya Rudolph	...	Delivery Nurse
Una Damon	...	Head Nurse
Elizabeth Dennehy	...	Preschool Teacher
Blair Underwood	...	Geneticist
Mason Gamble	...	Vincent Freeman - Boy
Vincent Nielson	...	Anton Freeman - Boy
Chad Christ	...	Vincent Freeman - Teen
William Lee Scott	...	Anton Freeman - Teen
Clarence Graham	...	Personnel Officer

Also Known As:

The Eighth Day (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for brief violent images, language, and some sexuality.

Runtime:

106 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Esperanto

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Iceland:12 | USA:PG-13 (certificate #34793) | Brazil:14 | Canada:PG (Ontario) | South Korea:15 | Philippines:PG-13 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Belgium:KT | Chile:14 | Finland:K-12 | France:U | Germany:12 | Mexico:B | Netherlands:12 (video premiere) | Norway:15 | Singapore:PG | Spain:T | Sweden:11 | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | UK:15

Filming Locations:

Barstow, California, USA

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

The film was shot under the title "The Eighth Day". This was a reference to the Biblical creation story, which states that the earth was created in six days and on the seventh day, God rested. The original title implies the tampering of man with what God has already made, and "The Eighth Day" is still the name of the center in the movie where the children are engineered, as noted on the DVD deleted scenes. By the time the much-delayed release of the film came around, a Belgian film, Le huitième jour (1996), had already been released in the US under the title "The Eighth Day". Because of this, writer-director Andrew Niccol was forced to choose a new title for his film.

Goofs:

Continuity: When the two men are swimming at night, they are sometimes shown to be naked, and other times (underwater shots) shown to be wearing boxers or swimming trunks.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Director Josef: You keep your work station so clean, Jerome.
Vincent: It's next to godliness. Isn't that what they say?
Director Josef: Godliness. I reviewed your flight plan. Not one error in a million keystrokes. Phenomenal. It's right that someone like you is taking us to Titan.
Vincent: Has the committee approved the mission? There's been talk of delay.
Director Josef: You shouldn't listen to talk. You leave in a week. You've got a substance test.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Metal Gear Solid (1998) (VG)

Soundtrack:

Nuages

The most underrated movie of the 90's

This movie is incredible--yet the only ones who seemed to like it when it came out are the type whose favorite movie is "True Lies". It became critically ignored, which I can not understand at all. The themes of this movie-of superiority/inferiority, of identity, of destiny, they're all there. For those of you that haven't seen this movie, it is about a eutopian society where the highest ranks work at a space program named Gattaca. Vincent (Ethan Hawke) has wanted to work there since he was a child, but since his parents did not "pre-order" him, he was born inferior (a 99 % chance of heart failure by the age of 30, physical and mental problems, etc. ) to his "ordered" brother Antoine. Vincent has always seen something in a rival in his brother, because his brother is their dad's favorite, and he seems to have everything going for him. Vincent's job is as a janitor at Gattaca, with the hope that he will get in some day, but all the have to do is get a fingerprint of Vincent's, or a blood sample, or anything, and they know all about him, his profile, his life expectancy, etc. No one will hire Vincent because he is so liable to damage. One day, though, he hires someone to turn his identity into Eugene's, (Jude Law) an olympic-swimming, high potential winner who has everything you would need to get anywhere-except he comes back from a trip a paralyzed cripple from the waist down. So Vincent makes a deal with Eugene-Vincent gets Eugene's identity if Vincent pays the rent and gives him a companion. Everything works to plan, and Vincent borrows Eugene's fingerprints, blood samples, haircut, even urine samples. He even meets Irene (Uma Thurman) a sexy female worker at Gattaca who takes a shine to Vincent (who she thinks is Eugene). Until one day......

Gattaca is a great visual movie (it was nominated for the best art direction oscar but lost to Titanic), rides strong on very good performances by Ethan Hawke and Jude Law, and is definitely worth seeing.