GATTACA Movie Review: A rich reflection of the human spirit in the 20th Century

Gattaca is a classy reflection on the mindset of the mid to late 20th Century. It contains futuristic "Brutal" architecture from the '30's. Portions are narrated by the main character, much like you'd see in detective thrillers of the mid 20th Century. Nearly every scene in the movie---the ballroom scene (with Irene's hair down and the saxophone playing in the background) , the piano concert scene, the romantic beach scene, the dress of the characters (very easy to distinguish between the gumshoe, the white collar, and the blue collar), the use of words like "Hoover", and "flatfoot"---and the fact that a guy whose trying to pose as a picture of perfect health is smoking, all this gives us the sense of the past, yet in a timeless sort of way.

This movie came out in about the '97-8 time period and served as an end cap commentary to the century. The three Star Wars prequels would begin in '99, and that sort of dominated the movies for a while and 9/11/01 would profoundly our change our thoughts about the 20th Century. But the themes in this movie capture timelessly something about the human spirit, and especially that in the context of the 20th century.

Faith versus rational, determinism is the major theme. Faith is seen as irrational and faulty. Perfectionism is the future--perfection down to the DNA. The movie begins with Vincent's strict, morning hygiene rituals. We see in him a person conceived in random passion ("The Detroit Riviera") and having several physical flaws both obvious and hidden. Vincent's brother Anton was conceived in the "rational, reasonable" way, with a professional engineering the genes, refining them to remove any defects, diseases, and other undesirable conditions.

The whole plot rests upon the maxim that there is no gene for the human spirit nor is there any gene to prevent fate. Even the names of the characters: Vincent "Freeman" (as in, "I am a free man! I can do what I want.") and Jerome Eugene "Morrow" ( as in "I am the man of tomorrow. The perfectly engineered man of the future!" and "Eu", Greek for good + "gene") serve as subtle echos of the theme.

This movie is very balanced, and with many layers of complexity. In the beginning of the movie, for example, Anton refuses to do a blood-rite ritual with Vincent. Later in the movie, Anton asks Vincent why he doesn't recognize his brother, to which Vincent replies with the question "Are you my brother?" In the first meeting of Vincent and Jerome, Vincent asks "Who lives up there?" to which Eugene replies "Certainly not me." Later we see Eugene forcing himself up the "DNA staircase" to pose as just that, the guy who lives upstairs. There is irony in the investigation too. For most of the movie, Detective Hugo (Alan Arkin's character) is dead wrong about the murder, and Anton is right to keep looking for suspects. Yet he is right for the wrong reasons, and Arkin's character senses it. Detective Hugo eventually discovers the true murderer--Director Joseph, whose motives were ambition to see a once in a lifetime launch--Anton then, and only then, shows a strong desire to pursue the prime suspect, the invalid whom he now knows is his brother.

There is an element of romance in the film too. Irene (Uma Thurman) takes an interest in Vincent, enough to have him "sequenced" (gotta love dating in the world of Gattaca!) Who would've thought that the dropping of someone's hair could be a symbol of unconditional love. And when Vincent confronts Irene, telling her "They've got you so busy looking for faults..." and ends with "...It is possible." what he is really saying is "I love you passionately".

This movie is so rich in symbolism and theme! The symbol for a "faith-birth" is a cross. The infinity symbol is for an engineered "made man". Swimming and water, and the struggle for human life cannot be ignored in this movie! We all begin life as swimmers--at least that is true for "faith births". The turning point in Vincent's life is the first time he beats his brother in a game of "chicken" as they swim out on rough waters, and Vincent's spirit takes the day, and he must then be "his brother's keeper" which means being his lifeguard. We return to the second round of this game of chicken at the end of the movie, this time on a foggy night. As history repeats itself, moving forward, yet cycling as a strand of DNA, we see Vincent the "faith man" on life guard duty again, and as he looks up at the sky from his back stroke, we see his goal: the stars, which are as numerous as the grains of sand on the beach. This gave us one of the most famous quotes from the movie:

I know this movie is not considered in the genre of an athletic movie, but this movie is a perfect movie for inspiration for tri-athletes, marathoners, etc. Personally, it helped to inspire me to run my first marathon, and later a 50K Ultra. And just to let you know, I am not an athletic person, me being in need of corrective lenses too, and just tall enough to be in the range of average height, and certainly not the lean, or mean, or musclebound type. It brings the issues of athletics back to a matter of soul and spirit.

Photo of me, a "faith-birther" (left) running my first marathon (26.2 miles of rough trail).

Even the one grain of humor in the movie was very classy, as Vincent is lying there with braces bolted into his legs, and Eugene is in his wheelchair, and Vincent asks Eugene "Would you like to dance?"

What struck me the most about the movie, though, that many people miss is the concept of the borrowed dream. This is the heart of the movie in my opinion. This is a kind of sacred communion between the two men, and the essence of any inspirational story, but here this borrowed dream/communion is very strong.

There is a turning point in the film when Vincent's eyelash is discovered, and he's seeing his face posted on every monitor, and all seems lost. It is at this point that Eugene grows most in character. The playboy becomes at that moment Vincent's coach, telling him, "When they see you they don't see you anymore; they see ME!" As a believer, a true "faith-er" a Christian it struck me as a parallel between Christ and myself at the throne of G-d. It is a picture of grace, albeit a twisted one.

It made me also look at the religious duty of communion in a new light. When I saw the cold storage, walk-in freezers filled with two years worth of Eugene's "bread and wine" which would be there whenever Vincent needed it, I couldn't help but draw some parallels between that, and what Christ symbolically offered his disciples when he said in John 6:54, "Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day." In this sense all believers are "borrowed ladders".

Like I said, there are many rich layers to this movie. I won't pretend like this review does them all justice.

Anyway, in the end Eugene loses his arrogance, and greatly admires Vincent. It is at that point he says something profound; he says "I just lent you my body. You, you lent me your dream." This is the heart of any inspirational movie, and put so eloquently. If you look back at the movie you see all the people that Vincent 'lent his dream' to; Dr. Lamar and his son, Irene, and hopefully to the movie audience too.

.

Guys, I put my heart in this review. Please give it an UPVOTE and/or a RESTEEM if it struck a chord! Thanks!