The best sci-fi thriller of the 1990s is lost to time
By Robert Scucci | Published: 2025-11-03 23:18:00 | Source: GIANT FREAKIN ROBOT
Written by Robert Scocchi | Published
When life’s barriers tell you that you will never be the best version of yourself, it’s natural to want to fight back and prove everyone wrong. 1997 Gattaca Playing with this idea, using eugenics as a vehicle for it while laughing in the face of predetermined outcomes of fate. Aside from box office success, Gattaca It risks wasting time despite having an 82 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes. However, its message remains timeless and more important than ever.
An obsessive study of identity and ambition, Gattaca It is one of those films that not only makes you believe in yourself, but also shows that becoming your best self is not something that is learned. It’s something you have to fight for.
Good vs good
The film’s events take place in a dystopian future, where genetics determine social class. Gattaca The film revolves around Vincent Freeman (Ethan Hawke), a misfit who is only expected to live until the age of thirty due to his genetic inferiority. He is stripped of every opportunity in life, while his younger brother Anton (Lauren Dean) is groomed for success by their parents, Antonio and Marie (Jane Brooke). Dreaming of traveling into space, Vincent begins training his little one, pushing his body and mind to the limits to prove he can do more than his DNA suggests.
Knowing that he has been mistreated in life, Vincent stacks the deck by assuming the identity of Jerome Moreau (Jude Law), a genetically superior athlete who is paralyzed after a car accident. Jerome, who has kept his accident a secret, agrees to let Vincent use his identity in exchange for room and board. With Jerome supplying blood, urine, and hair samples, Vincent gets a job at Gattaca Aerospace Corporation, but pretending to be someone else isn’t as easy as appearing.
Gattaca performs daily DNA tests, forcing Vincent to develop a meticulous routine to hide his identity. He constantly exfoliates, hides blood under artificial fingerprints, and regularly exchanges urine samples. Every day is a gamble. If he is exposed as unfit, everything he has built will collapse, and even he does not know the full consequences.
A murder mystery that could destroy everything
Matters become more complicated when the director of Gattaca is found murdered, and an unrecorded eyelash is discovered at the crime scene. Meanwhile, Vincent, still weeks away from fulfilling his lifelong dream of traveling to Saturn, begins a romance with Irene Cassini (Uma Thurman), a high-stakes suitor who’s also been told she’ll never amount to much. Their relationship relies on deception, as Irene suspects Vincent is not who he claims to be, but she cannot resist seeing how far he will go.
Anton, now a detective investigating the murder, suspects that a bad person is responsible for the murder but does not realize that it may be his brother. As the Saturn mission approaches, Vincent must choose between his old life and his new life; The identity he was born into and the identity he built. Desperate to prove that “in-valid” is just a label, Vincent’s mission becomes bigger than himself.
An excellent examination of eugenics
Gattaca The basic idea is simple: individuals, not society, determine their outcomes. Vincent was told he was weak, so he made himself strong. He was told that he would not live past the age of 30, so he focused on his health. Told he would never work for Gattaca, he did it anyway through skill and perseverance. The irony is that if his secret is revealed, his accomplishments will be viewed as a fraud, no matter how hard he works.
This tension between what we are told we can be and what we prove ourselves to be Gattaca Endlessly relevant. The film criticizes a world obsessed with perfection while defending the human spirit that refuses to conform. Strange, Gattaca The limited availability on streaming platforms reflects its theme of exclusion. It’s as if this critically acclaimed modern classic should also prove its value to audiences through on-demand rentals rather than have a proper place in the spotlight.
An intelligent and haunting meditation on eugenics and self-determination, Gattaca It remains essential viewing for anyone who has ever doubted its potential. If you’re willing to push yourself to the limits without saving energy for the way back, Gattaca Only available for rental upon request through Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV+, YouTubeand Fandango at home As of this writing.
(tags for translation) Dystopian Sci-Fi
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