GENETIC PERFECTION = CINEMATIC SUCCESS

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GENETIC PERFECTION = CINEMATIC SUCCESS

By

Felicia Latour

Work presented to

Mr. V. Rodriguez for

the requirements of 12th Grade English EAE 4UT-01 
 
 
 


 
 
 

College catholique Franco-Ouest

Tuesday, October 13th 2009

        There are very few films in our long and established history of cinema that can claim to have made their audience deeply reflect upon a flawed element of a society that does not yet exist. “Gattaca” is a shining example of a movie’s potential to provoke speculation and questioning of something that is simply a prediction of what lies ahead. In truth, the future predicted in Andrew Niccol’s “Gattaca” is far from definite and after viewing the film, an audience may wish for anything but. In this 1997 sci-fi drama the world has become a sterile and well-defined universe of “Valids” and “in-Valids”; terms given to describe, respectfully, those in possession of genetic perfection and those without. A young and innocent Ethan Hawke portrays the movie’s “In-Valid” protagonist who borrows the metaphorical ladder from the “Valid” Jude Law. A quiet and unusually composed Uma Thurman assumes the role of Hawke’s attractive co-worker, providing a love interest for a very clean-cut and potentially emotionless film.

The story of Vincent Anton Freeman (Hawke), would seem in this day and age a normal one; however, in “the not too distant future” he is cast away by society simply on the basis of his genetic disposition. Vincent is a genetically inferior man because his parents chose God over their local geneticist. Being myopic and suffering from a congenital heart disease that will result in his 30.2 year-old death classifies Vincent as being an “in-Valid”. Knowing that he will never become anything more accomplished than a simple janitor, Vincent, being an ambitious and clever fellow, embarks upon an almost impossible process involving his “borrowing” of the superior DNA of crippled ex-swimmer Jerome Eugene Morrow (Law). This provides each man with something they both need: Vincent, destined to remain a janitor can now become a celebrated celestial navigator whereas Eugene can borrow Vincent’s near-impossible ambitions he could never dream up himself. Vincent Freeman has now become Jerome Morrow and is instantly hired to work at Gattaca where he climbs the bureaucratic ladder and finds himself hand-picked for a special mission to Titan, the twelfth moon of Saturn. All seems to be going according to plan until a Gattaca mission director is found murdered and the cops, or cleverly named “Hoovers” are all over the scene of the crime to determine the killer. Will Vincent, or Jerome rather, be able to fall between the cracks of their seamless forensic analysis without being discovered and still manage to woo gorgeous co-worker Irene Cassini (Thurman)? Alas, only viewing “Gattaca” will provide this much-prized answer

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The success of the film can be directly attributed to director and screenwriter Niccol for the sheer innovation behind this profound story of human spirit. Many scenes are filled with dazzling art direction and superb dialogue that reflect the film’s main theme of “perfection”. The hair, the makeup, the clothes, the setting are all too good to be true in their crispness and attention to detail and provide the actors with an exceptional platform on which to stand to deliver their individual roles. Law excels in possibly his most profound role as he delivers the dry, bitter words of ...

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