Critique.

Social and historical context.

Gattaca locates its story in a not distant future -according to a subtitle that tells us it at the beginning of the film-.

Humanity has got a developed technological level. Then, they are able to make space trips with freedom and they have made important progresses in genetic engineering, which is applied to humans. These ones are the main evidences of the development of this future society, but other ones, such as modern style buildings, are too.

Genetic engineering advances are clearly the most important point because it is the axis of the movie and its ideas. In this society, these techniques let humans to be made in vitro to choose their physical appearance, avoid possible inherited diseases or delete violence instincts, as we said in the introduction. This way to be born has been so successful that, according to Vincent´s words, it has become the usual one for having children and the better way to reject “in-valid” people in enterprises, companies or every institution which requires a specialized staff, because of their genetic profile which are not accorded to complex jobs. The reason of this last things was that those companies do not consider necessary taking on a low level genetic profile person if there are thousands of high level DNA applicants, even if they have not studied so much or have not so great preparing.

The society of Gattaca is divided into “valids” or “in-valids” depending of the quality of people´s DNA. We have already mentioned it but we will describe these better later.

This unjust division makes us thinking about the destiny of humans since their birth and wondering if we like our society to be like that one.

Main characters.

The main characters in Gattaca are Vincent/Jerome, Eugene, Anton (Vincent´s brother), the director of Gattaca, Irene and the doctor of Gattaca. Obviously, because they are who appear in the film the most, speak almost all the dialogues and are responsible of making the film to work out.

Vincent Anton Freeman (Ethan Hawke) is the star of this film obviously because the story issues affect him directly, works as the himself biography narrator and has the qualities of the modern hero (perseverance, desire to get happiness, and intelligence). He is the directly affected person by the society he lives in, because he was born in an natural way, so the rules on this society take him as an “in-valid”. However, despite his evident vision defects, bad genetic profile and low life expectancy, he faces courageously this unjust world to achieve his childhood goal of travelling to space. It is proved in his continuous training, studies and his overcoming desire, that he evidences when he said to his brother “I got it because I never reserved anything for the coming back!” .

Ethan Hawke performance communicates seriousness, order and discipline because the character is not too expressive or moody, so it helps him to achieve his goals always in a direct way and it is proved in Vincent's clear defined actions -he knows what is his goal all the film: going to space- and the reason of that: escaping from his hated world .

Vincent is probably the best character to make us feel identified with him, because all of us have to face an hostile world and spend all our efforts seeing other ones succeeds if we want to achieve our goals too.

To sum up, Vincent/Jerome is the symbol overcoming and other´s; a difficult role to perform because of the outstanding evolution of the character and the impressions he has to cause to the viewer in connection with the curious topic of the film, which Ethan Hawke gets very well.

Eugene (Jude Law), the true Jerome Morrow, is the accurate opposite person to Vincent because he has a superb genetic profile, the best ever made (the person that meet him with Vincent said that he might live forever, has a bull´s heart and could cross a wall with his strength), but he is now disabled. Despite he could be whatever he wants, Jerome is really conformist because he trusts too much his genetic profile and we can see that in his lack of enthusiasm and he contrition of his one silver medal. However, after losing the control of his legs, he decides to spend his last days helping Vincent by changing places to let him getting his goal, and he involves so well in it by spending all the day collecting samples of his body, climbing upstairs to replace Vincent quickly, etc, that there is no doubt that helping Vincent and living his successes makes him a happier person.

The evolution of this character is also interesting. In the meantime Vincent progresses, Jerome realises of his own potential and enjoys Vincent´s successes as they were one. Finally, when Vincent leaves, he kills himself as a result of losing his only motive to stay alive and hoping Vincent to replace him totally. Others think that he suicides because of his silver medal, which he hangs when he goes to kill himself.

Jude Law gives us a realistic performing of an individual with a very moody behaviour as an intelligent and a smart person. Those ideas are evidenced in Jerome´s very expressive nature, his always imposing presence, his astute comments, the way he deal with others (sometimes politely, such as the policeman who visits him at home and, sometimes, angry, like in the a detective´s inquiring at night or the phone call with the person he buys the hair dye).

Anton Freeman (Loren Dean), younger Vincent´s brother, is the “favourite” child of Vincent´s parents -you can see it in, for example, when Vincent´s father decides not to name Vincent as “Anton”, but then, with his second son, he gives him this beautiful name- and he is an important element in the evolution of his brother because he gives him the first presage of his succeed during their childhood, and recognises Vincent´s efforts many years later.

Although Anton role is obviously necessary in the film, it would have been better extending Vincent and himself´s childhood passage with more competition moments against themselves to praise Vincent´s efforts later in a more evident way, giving Vincent an strong reason to fight later.

The director Josef of Gattaca (Gore Vidal) is the main supporter of Vincent´s trip to Titan. He is an old man, respectful, polite and hard-working, but he spoils his image after being discovered to be the murderer of his partner, to ensure Vincent´s travel (the definitive evidence of his support). It is interesting to say that the director told the researcher of the murder that there was no violence in his genes, before we knew his is guilty and the first person believed to be the murderer was Vincent with his in-valid identity -although he is not discovered- and, after an analysis of substances of the dead body, the director is finally caught. It was because not everything is in the genes as he does not claims.

Irene Cassini (Uma Thurman) is a special partner of Vincent in the space agency Gattaca. She fancies Vincent and he too, but this close relation becomes a problem that disturbs Vincent´s daily work to be another person because she is too near from him, so it causes many troubles to hide Vincent´s identity .

Uma Thurman performs as Irene, a formal high genetic profile person. This role has some difficulties, as simulating not to know really Vincent´s identity and the later discovering of it, so there is an important change, which has to be accepted in a civilized way -not becoming hysterical or violent- that the actress achieves as a professional.

Finally, the doctor of Gattaca, the doctor Lamar (Xander Berkeley) whose most remarkable input in the film is hiding real Vincent´s identity, despite he had known it for a long time. It is possible that he did it because of his own son, who is said not to have been created so well as the doctor wanted, so the father is generous with Vincent, who is identified as his child.

Analysis of essential elements.

It appears that the main idea and the most general one is destiny of people since they are born, but it is expressed in a different society which is a result of the actual world the viewer could suppose if he keeps in mind that the development of genetic engineering is happening now.

As we have said, this future society is based on genetic profile status system, with valid people and in-valid people. As the reader should remember, the situation described presents Vincent, the star, as an in-valid person that denies this system. These ideas are crucial to make a substantial story, because there would no be interest in looking at a wealthy valid person´s life.

The first cause of the conflict, the motor of the film as well, is the application of engineering techniques in humans and, in this case, Niccol makes an fictional experiment in Gattaca whose results are a modern and organised society with a great default: the discrimination caused by Science.

The social structure of Gattaca consists in a great number of people born and modified genetically, who are normal people, and a minority formed by natural born ones, who are discriminated by companies and turned away to access to the same jobs as valid people. Gattaca makes contrast between Jerome and Vincent as complete opposite examples of members of this society.

Some ethical conflicts show up. On the one hand, the viewer wonders if genetic manipulating and determining in humans are correct or not, and the film says it is not at all, because it is clear that, as Vincent proves, humans are not determined only by their genes; they are a result of their own actions, ambitions, environment, relatives, etc. However, on the other hand, there is no doubt that this advanced society is really successful because people in Gattaca (as space agency), at least, are really polite and hard-working (they shows a civilized behaviour). In addition, technology advances evidence these progresses in genetic engineering in their citizens.

Then, despite some disadvantages, this future world looks really convenient and productive.

Synthesis.

As we have just study, Andrew Niccol has taken many tricky concepts and very creative ideas that are not usual to think about. Then, he has organised them into the next way.

The main cause of the conflict is genetic discrimination, which should have been presented with more dramatic elements of “apartheid” to Vincent and to in-valids because we have already mentioned, although the director preferred showing in it in a softer way, which is evidenced in the secrecy of Vincent, using the trick of the “lent-step”, silenced acts, and the lack of revolution interest of the rest of the in-valids that appear in the film, even Vincent, because he only wants to leave.

As a result of that discrimination a new social structure appears.

It is fine remembering Jerome´s evolution in the film, explained before. But, on the other hand, Vincent, who is not so well equipped as Eugene because he is a natural born guy, is rejected everywhere he goes, but learns that he is able to do something in his life despite his bad genes. He trains and study to get the conditions required to be a space pilot, but he notices that there are no possibilities for him unless he had the right genetic profile.

They both are hopeless because of their destiny because they need something to achieve their objectives, but they meet and, in an illegal way, Vincent begins to use Jerome´s identity, so he achieves his goal of working in Gattaca to travel to space some day; and Jerome works as well giving Vincent the necessary to replace him and he is influenced as well, realising of his partner´s dreams. As a result of that, they get a “complementary” situation.

After overcoming many troubles, the two characters reach their highest achievement at the final part of the film, when Vincent finally goes to space and Jerome leaves him a card for saying him goodbye and Vincent reflects in the rocket about it. The film concludes in an absolutely fantastic reflective way, telling us that they are no differences between humans with different DNA or anything, because as Vincent says, “all of us are made of the same atoms the stars are made of too”.

General meaning.

After the previous analysis and the reflections done, we now understand why the main topic of Gattaca is the destiny of humans since they have born -keep in mind that it is the cause of Vincent problems, it has created all the new society, etc-. Although Andrew Niccol does not communicate only that; he believes that Humanity is not determined by their genes at all, absolutely no, and the clear proof is Vincent.

The story Gattaca is also linked with present time, when Science is often doing new genetic manipulating progresses. Then, there is also a cause-effect relation between recent time and nearby future of Gattaca: We are not really conscious, but Human Genome Project, for example, or genetic modified food which are so common today are probably the precursors a genetically designed humans.

To sum up, the author wants to tell us that, despite possible genetic determining in the future -or nowadays simple discriminations, if we understand the film in a close way-, humans will not be humans only by their genes because they have an overcoming spirit, are nonconformist and are always ready to face the troubles of life with their efforts. A tricky exposed, but extremely valious lesson because of his possible real applications and moral contain, that is as great as the quality of Gattaca. We are not only biological machines; we are humans is the definitive lesson because “there is no gen for human spirit”.