I am taking a course called "Utopia/Dystopia: Imagined Futures in Sci-fi" which focuses on science fiction films from the fifties to the present. I will be writing a few words about each of the films I watch in class.
Gattaca
Directed by Andrew Niccol
Released October 24, 1997
Andrew Niccol's vision of a not-too-distant future where potential is determined by genes is without question intriguing. The execution is a bit lacking, in that the dialogue is rather short and the acting is generally mediocre at best. Everyone's delivery falls flat and the scenes seem overly forced. Ethan Hawke is all panicked and nervous the whole movie, and Uma Thurman in particular is so stiff. The concept is fascinating, and the imagery is great. The film earned a deserved Oscar nomination for its art direction. Some people refer to "Gattaca" as a classic, but it is a rather a worthwhile attempt which served as a decent precursor to Niccol's next script the following year: "The Truman Show".
B-
I've been waiting quite some time for you to review this one! Every moviegoer has his or her favorite film, the one the can be viewed and enjoyed countless times over; for me, that's GATTACA.
ReplyDeleteYou comment that the dialogue is rather short and I could not agree with you more. A major part of what prevents great movies from being considered great in the public realm is the lack of lines finely attuned to what the public consciousness can keep in memory. If I say "Milk was a bad choice," people on the street will know what movie I am referencing. The line "If you are a minority of one, the truth is the truth" provokes a far different response.
The acting is unfortunately just as you have described, but I feel its cause is better derived from lack of proper dialogue rather than as a result of being "overly forced."
Personally, if I was cheating and manipulating a large-scale political and cultural system that excluded me so readily and transparently, I would be just as nervous as Ethan Hawke's character.
Although Uma Thurman's character, along with the remainder of the cast, do indeed appear stiff throughout the film, just take a moment to consider the real-world time period it is attempting to synthesize. It has shades of the McCarthy era of America, when HUAC made the whole world appear as though time had slowed to a stiff halt itself. It envokes a sense of the future, when our own knowledge, our physical grasp on our own natural selves, becomes so strong.
GATTACA hearkens back to the stand-by classics of the early 20th century; this flick is the allegory of a people gone twisted to perfection. There are moments, espcially during the swimming scenes (think "boats against the current), when I forget that I'm watching a film primarily labeled as "Sci-Fi/Fantasy" and that is a great feat.
An even greater feat is the fact that this movie has reared its head in your class at NYU, and in ethics and bio classrooms, across the country, in universities, high schools, and seminaries alike. GATTACA may not be a household name, or even a title someone on the street may recognize, but it is impossible to ignore its resonance.