DVD Review: Gattaca (Special Edition)

DVD Reviews

By Jeff Swindoll Mar 19, 2008, 15:17 GMT

No this is not about “Attica” (cue Al Pacino to start yelling) but a science fiction tale of what happens in our brave new world when we can genetically engineer the people in it. Looking at the papers today you might wonder if it is science fact.

Set in the distant future, Vincent Freeman (Ethan Hawke) was born at a disadvantage. He was conceived the old fashioned way with his genetic makeup left to chance (most definitely the old fashioned way since he was conceived in the back of a car). In this future, every little thing can be decided in the genetic makeup of your newborn. Even trivial things like which hand you write with can be engineered genetically. This creates a separate class of people that are looked down upon by society and given menial labor while the choice jobs go to the genetically manufactured. Vincent has always dreamed about being an astronaut and joining Gattaca (think NASA). To accomplish his dreams he has to climb a ladder, that ladder being Jerome Morrow (Jude Law). A ladder is when you take some of the genetic indicators of a pure bred and pass yourself off as them. Jerome was crippled in an accident and is now wheelchair bound. So now Vincent effectively becomes Jerome and Jerome has to provide hair, blood, and other bodily fluids so that Vincent can pass the genetic testing to be employed by Gattaca. Things are going swimmingly for Vincent and he’s scheduled to be on a flight to explore one of the moons of Jupiter when a murder at Gattaca threatens to sabotage the whole plan. The dogged detective Hugo (Alan Arkin) finds an eyelash that belongs to an “in-valid” (or genetically impure person) and fingers that culprit for the killer. Now Vincent/Jerome must deal with this investigation as well as the fact that he’s falling in love with Irene (Uma Thurman), one of his coworkers. Oh brave new world that we’ve manufactured such creatures for it, to unmercifully steal from and murder the bard. We may well be on our way there as we continue to crack the genetic code and speak of cloning in the media. I can see how a new social structure, like the one in this film, could come to be as we aim for perfection in the species (sounds like the Nazis doesn’t it?). The problem is that humans can be flawed even if they’re physically perfect specimens or that the perfection can be mentally destructive. Take Jerome for example, he was bred in the test tube to be in first place so when he achieves a silver (second place) medal he loses it and tries to off himself only to come in second again and be confined to a wheelchair. Even the murderer, when revealed, should’ve not had such tendencies bred into this code but still goes to an animalistic level to extract a bit of vengeance against those that he feels have done him wrong. Vincent embodies the best about the human race, even if he is an “in-valid.” He has infirmities, one being a bad heart that the geneticists say will kill him before he’s thirty (a prediction that he doesn’t fulfill, guess they aren’t bred to perfection either) but he struggles to overcome them and live out his dream. Gattaca is Grade A science fiction and a film that may well make you think. Gattaca is presented in anamorphic widescreen (2.40:1) and is enhanced for 16x9 televisions. Special features include 10 minutes of deleted scenes (in VHS quality) that includes the film’s original coda that goes through some of the famous faces that might not existed in this brave new world since they suffered from various diseases (Abe Lincoln, Albert Einstein, John F. Kennedy, etc.). It’s a nice touch. You also get a bit more of Ernest Borgnine’s character. Next is the 6-minute “Original Featurette” from 1997 (basically a long commercial/trailer). The first brand new addition is the 22-minute “Welcome to Gattaca” that has new interviews with Jude Law and Ethan Hawke amongst others. Another new addition is the 15-minute “Do Not Alter?” featurette about genetic engineering and is narrated by Gore Vidal. There’s also a 36 second “substance test” outtake that’s really funny. Finally there are previews for other Sony DVDs, but no trailer for the film. Gattaca is a fine piece of science fiction filmmaking that may hit somewhat close to home considering that we may be inching closer to the subject matter. It’s a great film that certainly falls into place with the classics of the genre. Gattaca (Special Edition) is now available at Amazon. As of yet, there is not a release date for this version of the DVD in the UK. Visit the DVD database for more information.