Gattaca
is a science fiction movie created by A.Niccols in 1997. The movie is about the consequences and limits of a scientific and
genetic domination in a futurist society.The action takes place in a new future, probably in the United States. It is the story of a young man Vincent Freeman who has a dream : going to space. In
order to fulfil his dream, he has to get into Gattaca’s elitist space programme. It would be easy if he were a Valid. Only he’s not.
In that society, science rules everything.
It’s a pitiless world. Depending on their DNA, people are divided into two classes: the valid and the invalid. The valid aren’t born naturally and they have perfect genes. They are the elite,
superior beings and they’re allowed to go to space. But those who are born naturally, the « degenerate », with genetic flaws are doomed to do menial jobs, such as cleaning in
Gattaca. They’re called the Invalid. Vincent Freeman, the enterprising character, is one of them.
Vincent Freeman, alias Jerome and Anton
He was created naturally, and his parents
discovered thanks to genetic tests that he has a heart disease, and that he’ll die when he is 30 years old. Disappointed, they decided to use science to create a genetically perfect son called
Anton after his father. Therefore, nothing was left to chance. Anton was to be part of the elite. Vincent was called Vincent Anton, which shows that he was already considered, at birth, as the
second best.
As a result, it’s the beginning of a long
rivalry between them. When they were child, they indulged in a swimming competition. Vincent was always beaten, except once. During a challenge, Vincent saved his brother from drowning. That made
him realize that he can beat his plight. As for Anton, he never accepted it. He’s a person who holds grudges. He’s still infuriated against his brother because he’s the perfect one. And
yet!
Being an « invalid », Vincent
will never be able to go to space. He is to clean in Gattaca. Except that he won’t accept his fate, unlike the rest of them. He’ll find a way to get into Gattaca, at the risk of being caught.
Vincent symbolizes the subversive, strong-willed character. He refuses to be determined by his genes, and not by his action. He’s the only character who dares to affirm his humanity, his freedom
among a world ruled by science. That's where another character appears: Jerome Morrow, a « Valid », member of the Elite.
Jerome Eugene Morrow
Following an accident abroad, he’s in a
wheel chair. Because it happened abroad, nobody knows his condition. So he hides, he perfectly knows that he doesn’t belong anymore. Just as the invalid, his existence doesn’t matter. He’s also a
victim of his status, he calls it the « burden of perfection » He was to be the best swimmer, but he kept being the second best. He couldn’t stand it and tried to commit suicide. Unlike
Vincent, he’s weak. He doesn’t have any willpower. He may seem a bit cynical, still he understands very well how society works and prefers giving up. When Vincent learned about him, he decided to
steal his « identity » or perhaps should I say, his genetic code. Desperate, Jerome Morrow, accepts. He could have fallen into a depression alone, but he decides to fight on through
someone else. Maybe he wants to keep living and fulfilling his dreams through Vincent. Still, he suffers deeply and he’s frustrated. He often gets drunk and yells at Vincent. It must be awfully
frustrating to see someone becoming you. Vincent gives him a reason to live, he seems to be happy, he laughs, hangs out with Vincent, but deep down him, he’s downhearted. I’ve found this
character particularly moving with his mixed feelings and complicated personality. Despite their differences, and their weird, tense relationship, they gradually become friends. Maybe they get on
well because they’re complementary. Vincent is idealistic, resolved, a bit naïve about this society when he thinks they will recognize him, and Jerome is depressed, realistic. In the end the
« real » Jerome Morrow tells him that he is proud of him.
So Vincent Freeman is now Jerome Morrow,
and Jerome Morrow is Eugene. He gets into Gattaca, as an impostor. Jerome Morrow gives him urine, blood and skin samples because there are regular tests. Soon, he’s considered as the best of
« Valids » because Jerome’s DNA is perfect. And he’s accepted for the mission. What a surprise ! In Gattaca, he meets a beautiful young woman called Irene.
Irene
Just like him, she always stares at the
rockets launches with desire. She’s a natural child, that’s why she can never go to space. She is hung up about her health. She has a little heart failure if I recall. She and Vincent are very
alike. But she thinks he’s perfect Valid, that’s why she’s ill at ease. But when she realizes he doesn’t care about this, they become closer. They start to fall in love with each other. That’s
why Irene will help him even if she has doubts. She understands what he feels as she feels the same way. That’s why she doesn’t care either when she learnt the truth about him. She’s a character
obsessed by perfection who will learn through Vincent that genetics is nothing compared to human will.
Nothing goes wrong until a man is
murdered. A man who wanted to stop the mission Vincent wants to participate in. Two inspectors are investigating the crime. One of them is Vincent’s brother. They found an eyelash near the
crime’s scene. It’s Vincent’s Invalid eyelash. His old « invalid self » is suspected, and pictures of him are everywhere. Will they recognize him? Is he the murderer? His brother Anton
thinks the murderer could be one of the valid. But in this society, can they suspect one of the perfect « Valid »? Will he be discovered? The net is tightening around
Vincent.
This futurist society is a kind of utopia,
it can remind us of Brave new world by Aldous Huxley. Indeed, Gattaca is made to be a perfect world with genetically perfect individuals. No place for chance, everything is
measured, calibrated, designed right from the beginning to be perfect, mostly human beings. Isn’t it terrifying? In a way, security (and not chance of natural procreation) prevails over
human rights. Of course, this makes me think of the Nazis and their superior Aryan race. In the movie, there’s no killings (at least, we don‘t see any). Everything is quiet, secured, but there’s
the same subjacent discrimination. They create perfect beings, just as Himmler wanted the Aryan women to procreate with SS men, in order to create a pure race, and for this Aryan race to
dominate. It was called the Lebensborn project. The society described here, is more vicious. Indeed, science can’t be denied, it’s objective, irrefutable. Science justifies the system itself!
That’s why it’s even more dangerous. The director wants to make us aware, that without ethics, science and technology will control us, and our society will become totalitarian. Human beings won’t
have a single word to say.
In the novel 1984 by George
Orwell, « big brother is watching you », here, science is watching them. Everything is controlled, even their heartbeat, as if they were livestock (when they wait in line to be tested).
People can't make a single mistake. They have to be perfect all the time. Nobody talks, nobody shows their expressions. Everybody looks exactly the same. They even lose their identity, and their
freedom. They conform to science‘s will and lose their singularity, their feelings and their humanity. Their DNA tells them what job, what life they’ll have. Even love has to be measured! I found
that quite frightening and the way the movie shows it is even more frightening. We fear the main character might be caught, of course, but it’s mostly the atmosphere, a stifling, oppressive
atmosphere of cold quiet. As if nothing can disrupt them.
What I’ve found really interesting is that
this story happens in a not-so-far future. Through the settings, the current life of the characters (blood and urine tests) is not so far away from ours. A.Niccols wanted to show that this
terrifying society could be ours. Being a science fiction movie, we could expect amazing settings, breath-taking special effects, new technology or monsters. None of that. Of course, we can find
weird some props (ex: stairs in DNA). All the same, it’s realistic, and sober. It’s desperately close to our present. It’s obvious the director wants us to question our present, and our future.
Even if he emphasizes the situation, the movie actually raises an actual issue. Nowadays, there’s debates about cloning, GMO, in short the ethic of science. We may not notice, but science, and
technology are a great part of our life. It has become some kind of religion. The problem is we don’t control its ends. That’s why we have to put limits to protect the environment for example.
They’ve been a polemic about the discovery of a criminal gene last year I think and the movie mentioned it in 1997. We can also talk about the Internet, which has become a way to spy on people,
or there’s also the case of illegal listening taps. It’s a breach against the right for privacy, a breach against freedom. Examples don’t miss to show the drifts of technology and science.
Through this movie, A.Niccols asks us: Is it fair to believe in genetic determinism? Isn’t it forgetting the free will of each being? Isn’t it our fault if things get out of hand?
I quite like this movie
because I’ve found it different from other futurist movies, and it raises issues and questions in a subtle way. Through the characters, A.Niccols manages to show the limits of this system.
Vincent Freeman was able to succeed, to beat his brother despite his disease. We can’t entirely control man. He’ll always have a mind of his own like Winston Smith in 1984 even if his
body won’t follow. Through Anton and Jerome alias Eugene, the author points out that both Valid and Invalid are victims of the system and of its alienating specialization. The couple
Jerome-Vincent was really intriguing and well characterized. So was the rivalry between the two brothers. I think the positive aspect of this movie, is that we can easily see ourselves in the
different characters. We can feel the fear of Vincent, the frustration of Anton, and the disillusion of Jerome Morrow. I particularly fancy Jerome. I’ve found him moving, I felt pity for him, but
I liked his kind of dark humour, his sarcasms. Jude Law very well embodied him. The way the director combined personal quest, and police investigation was clever, and suspense was well kept until
the final fall. However, to my mind,the movie was perhaps too « entertaining ».
Another negative aspect is, from my point
of view, the love story between Vincent and Irene. The scenario is great (except for some rare clumsiness), his denunciation truthful and well drawn. The characters’ psychology is richly
developed. Do we really need a love story? Their relationship could have been interesting if there weren’t those clichés all along: « Sorry. The wind caught it. » which means « I
love you just as you are » repeated twice in the movie. This was annoying, and foreseeable. It’s a shame the movie fell in some kind of romance for large audience. I felt like it spoilt
everything. The director probably meant to say that love is the only thing that cannot be controlled. The friendship between Jerome and Vincent was much more interesting though. Luckily the movie
doesn't on this love story too much. I still think it can’t be compared to an American blockbuster. If it is, it’s an efficient one.
To conclude, I can link Gattaca
with The Truman Show, written by the same author. Just as in Gattaca, the hero lives in a perfect, controlled world. He will also try desperately to drag himself out of his
initial condition, and cross the barrier to a new forbidden world like Titan in space for Vincent. The only difference between the two heroes is that at the beginning, Truman wasn’t aware of his
rejection.
Lissania
/fdata%2F4137457%2Favatar-blog-1196877703-tmpphpzE2p1g.jpg){kind=avatar}
This film redraws and recounts the life of a Jewish-girl growing-up in the Nazi-occupied Holland. When the war broke out, Anne, her sister Margot, her father Otto and her mother Anne,
moved to Holland where they started a new life, far from Hitler and his hard racism against Jews he accused of being source of all Germany’s troubles.