What parent would want their children to have any imperfections of life threatening diseases Genetic Engineering gives parents a sense of security by being able to have the perfect infant. The overall message that the director Andrew Niccol portrays through Gattaca is to ask ourselves if humans are taking genetic engineering too far, tampering with things they shouldnt be and also trying to play the role of God.
In Gattaca, which is set in the not too distant future, DNA manipulation is helping create the perfect specimen with very minimal or no imperfections at all. Conceiving naturally is no longer common and everything about a person can be told with a single strand of hair, skin follicle, drop of blood or a swab or saliva.
Gattaca is a smartly planned out film because it targets an aspect of discrimination that is usually accepted in society today. It is not based on age, sex, skin colour, or culture but the discrimination of genes. An example of this is when Vincents parents decide to put his brother in the hands of a local geneticist. , to enable their offspring (Anton) to be counted as a valid. The director has highlighted the possible faults of where our future is heading to and is helping us realise what our society has turned into.
The use of props achieved the directors aim to show the sterile environment of Gattaca. The props used are of a high standard and emphasis the cleanliness of the movie. An example of this is when Vincent uses a mini-vacuum to clean his work station. This prop shows the importance of cleanliness in the movie as one loose skin follicle could end Vincents dream of going to space.
Also the set design helps show how pristine Gattaca is. This compliments the directors intentions of a flawless setting. Gattaca is very high-tech and no object was ever out of place ??“ this was extremely convincing. Although, the director is at fault for making the characters just as sterile. Leading actors Ethan Hawke (Vincent) and Uma Thurman (Irene) both show minimal emotion and this made them totally unrelateable. The final take-off scene shows Vincents lack of emotion. This was not understandable after his maximal efforts of a massive achievement.
Gattaca had its ups and definitely some downs too. The pace of the move was unacceptable especially for its chosen genre of a sci-fi movie. Scenes transcended and went on for too long, making the audience bored. We could all agree that Gattaca was repetitive and needed something to keep the viewers interests. This could have come in the form of an unexpected twist or a new profound character.
The flaws of Gattaca usually go unrecognised until the end of the film when the viewer analysis the movie afterwards. For example, the security entrance into Gattaca uses a little pin that pricks ones finger for blood that is instantaneously analysed. This enables the computer to allow or deny entrance into Gattaca based on their DNA. Vincent easily gets past this device but I can think of many other ways that are more conventional and less painful.Gattaca is a very well intended film that falls because of its length, exceptionally slow pace, sterile performances and some use of idiocy. For an audience expecting to see some heavy sci-fi and special effects, you will walk out extremely disappointed. Gattaca is a drama that is simply wrapped around a sci-fi premises.
???There is no gene for the human spirit.???
