Gattaca

Gattaca is a 1997 science-fiction suspense film starring Ethan Hawke, Uma Thurman, and Jude Law. It was written and directed by Andrew Niccol, in his feature film debut. It was produced by Danny DeVito, Michael Shamberg, and Stacey Sher.

Despite mostly positive reviews, the film only grossed $12.5 million during its United States theatrical run.http://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=gattaca.htm It was nominated for Best Dramatic Presentation at the 1998 Hugo Awards, given to works of science-fiction and fantasy. Art director Jan Roelfs and set decorator Nancy Nye received a joint Academy Award nomination for their work. Composer Michael Nyman received a Golden Globe nomination for his score.http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0119177/awards

The letters that compose the title – GATC – are the letter abbreviations of the nitrogenous bases that compose DNA, reflecting the film's genetics-based premise: in the "not-too-distant future," society is segregated into two groups, the genetically-engineered "Valids" and the natural-born "In-valids."

Ethan Hawke plays Vincent, an In-valid man who aspires to fly into space for the Gattaca Corporation, but is relegated to janitorial work because of a genetic heart disorder and a life expectancy of 30 years. In order to subvert Gattaca's constant DNA checks, Vincent teams up with Jerome Morrow (Jude Law), a genetically perfect Olympic swimmer who is paralyzed from the waist down due to an automobile accident.

The ruse works, and Vincent is a week away from spaceflight when a Gattaca mission director is murdered. The ensuing police investigation threatens to undermine Vincent's dreams of space and his burgeoning relationship another Gattaca employee, Irene (Uma Thurman).

• Ethan Hawke as Vincent Freeman
• Jude Law as Jerome Morrow
• Uma Thurman as Irene Cassini
• Loren Dean as the Investigator
• Alan Arkin as Detective Hugo
• Xander Berkeley as Lamar
• Tony Shalhoub as German
• Ernest Borgnine as Caesar

This is one of the smartest and most provocative of science fiction films, a thriller with ideas."—Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Timeshttp://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19971024/REVIEWS/710240303/1023

The average thriller, even if it's set in a faraway or futuristic world, tends to offer visceral, ephemeral excitement, and not much else. However, while Gattaca has the energy and tautness to compare with the best of those, its thought-provoking script and thematic richness elevate it to the next level."—James Berardinelli of Reel Viewshttp://www.reelviews.net/php_review_template.php?identifier=363http://www.reelviews.net/php_review_template.php?identifier=363

No aliens. No firefights in space. No robots. Just an eerily attractive, sleekly costumed cast in a stylish, cooly intelligent throwback to the Twilight Zone era of deeply serious science fiction."—Maitland McDonagh of TV Guidehttp://movies.tvguide.com/gattaca/review/131571http://movies.tvguide.com/gattaca/review/131571http://movies.tvguide.com/gattaca/review/131571http://movies.tvguide.com/gattaca/review/131571

An intelligent and timely sci-fi thriller that, with the exception of some illogical plot contrivances, is emotionally engaging almost up to the end."—Emanuel Levy of Varietyhttp://www.variety.com/review/VE1117906416.html?categoryid=31&cs=1