Gattaca (1997)

Gattaca is a 1997 American science fiction film written and directed by Andrew Niccol. It stars Ethan Hawke and Uma Thurman, with Jude Law, Loren Dean, Ernest Borgnine, Gore Vidal, and Alan Arkin appearing in supporting roles. The film presents a biopunk vision of a future society driven by eugenics where potential children are conceived through genetic selection to ensure they possess the best hereditary traits of their parents.

Plot
In the not-too-distant future, a genetically inferior man assumes the identity of a superior one in order to pursue his lifelong dream of space travel.

Why It Rocks

 * 1) It is prolific, stylish, thought-provoking, and one of the few recent science fiction movies that totally foregoes special effects and does it well.
 * 2) The soundtrack is phenomenal with a haunting technological/sci-fi-esque score.
 * 3) Technology (the core element of science fiction) is only the backdrop for the story of a man who goes against all odds, including his brother, and overcomes those odds.
 * 4) The sets are noir and stylistic, and (thankfully) instead of trying to present a realistic physical future Niccol instead vies for the FEELING of the future: constrained, restricted, and patterned.
 * 5) It being a science fiction film helps make it more effective by allowing us to feel the emotions of the characters with little of our own history getting in the way.
 * 6) Ethan Hawke as Vincent does a fine job showing the pain of someone whose life is limited before he even tries. But just as interesting were the supposedly superior characters; Vincent's girlfriend, brother and double who suffer from the lie that genetics can perfectly predict a person's life.
 * 7) Jude Law as Jerome Morrow does a fantastic job as a physical and emotional wreck with clever lines and working as a handicapped man attached to a wheelchair.
 * 8) It is not afraid to address important issues that are truly current in modern day society, and do it with great thought and heart.
 * 9) It wisely stresses the subtle theological questions of whether man ought to tamper with God's work, and whether the result would be a better society, or a better humanity.
 * 10) The ending is pretty emotional that is accompanied by yet another haunting score.
 * 11) The message of the film that can easily be summed up by the film's tagline: "There is no gene for the human spirit".

Bad Qualities

 * 1) The film flopped miserably at the box office, even though it received generally positive reviews and has gained a cult following.
 * 2) Even if the ending was thoughtful and emotional, it might leave some viewers confused.

Trivia

 * In 2011, NASA named the film as the most scientifically plausible science fiction movie.
 * One of the actors who played the twelve fingered pianist is youtuber Ryan Dorin known as "Ratboy Genius" who was famously known for "Potato Knishes" in which became viral plus other Ratboy Genius episodes.