Autotelik

I've been interested in seeing this for a long time, and I finally got around to it tonight. It was a refreshing and provocative science-fiction flick, and I enjoyed it immensely. I'm glad I purchased the DVD as well.

A couple of questions:

Also, he says that although he gave Vincent (Ethan Hawke) his body, Vincent gave him his dream. What does that mean? Also at the end of the movie, why did the lab technician/urine analysis guy let Vincent pass?

I guess some of these questions will only have interpretations, not necessarily the "right" answer. Any thoughts are welcome.


Great movie.

fmian

kenny79

I don't think the doctor's son is an invalid -- he says his son isn't all they said he'd be, implying that he was a "made man." I think his son was the product of genetic engineering but is a disappointment along those lines, so Vincent is sort of a role model of overcoming those obstacles.

theneobez

The doctor's son was an invalid I believe, I've seen the film 4 times or so, one of my favorites. I think his son was concieved the good ol natural way just like Ethan Hawke's character was, or what Kenny said, a dissapointment in genetic engineering, either way he had many of the same obstacles that Ethan faced. The doctor had this respect for Ethan then, he was perhaps one of the only people who really understood, besides Law's character. I remember I saw this movie in the theatre when I was 10 or so, first mature movie I attended, heh.

jfoobar

I added a spoiler warning to the thread title so I think we can now dispense with the use of spoiler tags.

I certainly did not get the sense that Jude Law's injuries were the result of a previous suicide attempt. I also got the impression that the doctor's son was genetically engineered but that he was not as perfect as he was supposed to be.

Autotelik

I had to take another look at that last urine analysis scene just before he boards the shuttle (this time with subtitles).

Lamar: I never told you about my son, did I? He's a big fan of yours.

Vincent: Just remember.... I was as good as any and better than most

Lamar: He wants to apply here

Vincent (thinking that Lamar will expose his true identity after the urine analysis): I could've gone up and back and nobody would've been the wiser

Lamar: Unfortunately, my son's not all that they promised. But then, who knows what he could do?



Hmm... I'm inclined to think that Lamar's son was engineered, but not a perfect production (kind of like Uma Thurman's character). Regardless of whether Lamar's son was an invalid or not, I guess the point is that Vincent has inspired others to overcome the obstacles in a society where genetics supposedly predetermines class, employment, livelihood, and fate. Being a "valid" does not make you flawless- as seen in Anton's losses to Vincent in their swimming challenges, and in Jerome's (Jude Law) disability. Equally, being an "invalid" and bearing the burdens of genetic and health imperfections does not automatically preclude a life of hope and success. There is only so much that the genetic code can determine, and what we become is just as dependent on environmental influences. That "there is no gene for the human spirit" aptly sums up the movie.

BassDude

Just another comment...

The doctor knew all along that Ethan's character was posing as a "Valid." Something about left handed guys don't hold it with their right... (or vice versa) And the fact that the doctor's son was " a fan" of his, implying that the doctor had told his son about Ethan's character and his accomplishments. So...letting him go at the end was nothing more than he had been doing all along. (Although, the doctor was never given a reason to blatantly let him go and tip his hand until the final scene.)

IMHO

mikehunt

guess there's something wrong with me. I'm right handed and when I take a leak I hold it with my left hand

Scot1458

a 4 star film, just like DARK CITY released the same year.

Pitty they both failed at the BO.

NavinJohnson

Actually, Jerome did try to end his life. Go to chapter 11, timecode 0:42:00.
A very well written movie and a favorite of mine.

hipnerd

I like movies where they slip subtle hints about the charactors into their names. (My favorite being "Heathers" which featured "Veronica Sawyer" and Betty Finn" Sawyer/Finn and Betty & Veronica.)

Gattaca has a little of that, I think.

Vincent Freeman - He's a "free" man. Not bound by the prison of his genetic code.

Jerome Eugene Morrow - Jerome - close to "genome". Eugene - genetics, eugenics. Morrow - The man of tomorrow.

Gattaca - I kept asking myself what the name meant. I came up with it's similarity in sound to Attica, the prison. The "G" could stand for "Genetics", thus we have: a Genetic prison.

What do you think? Too much of a stretch?

Autotelik

Interesting. I always thought there was nothing more to the name Gattaca than the fact that it's made of letters used for the genetic code. I felt there was something to "Morrow" though, as the word is used differently in the soundtrack's titles.

mcarver

- Irene Cassini. Cassini is the surname of the 17th century French-Italian astronomer, Jean Dominique Cassini, who discovered the prominent gap in Saturn's main rings, as well as the icy moons, Iapetus, Dione, Rhea, and Tethys. The space mission in Gattaca is destined for Saturn.

- Jude Law's character asks to be called by his middle name, Eugene. "Eugene" comes from the Greek for "well born," which Jerome is. "Eugenics" (the science of improving the hereditary qualities of a race or breed) is the central theme of the film.

- The winding stairs in Jerome's apartment have a helical structure, like DNA.

[from imdb.com]

kenny79

Not at all. Also, "Vincent" is roughly "the conqueror" in Latin.

It's worth mentioning, for those who didn't know, that this was Andrew Niccol's debut for both writing and directing a major feature film. Un-frickin-believable.

Giantrobo

I loved this movie too....

But here's my question....what was in space? They were all going there in suits like buiseness men.

Or did space represent something else?

Scot1458

I thought the interior of the ship and the suits was just the idea of a more sophisticated space program. Class and decency were all that was required for space instead of bulky outfits.

I loved that part.

hahn

GATTACA is (as someone mentioned above) simply a pronounceable word that is made of the 4 nucleic acids (A)denosine, (T)hymine, (C)ytosine, (G)uanine. It's the 'alphabet' of the human genome.

moneypenny

I'm also a big fan of the film. It's funny, becaue the way I interpreted the ending was that the doctor who let Jerome/Vincent (Ethan Hawke) go at the end was really HIS father.

Sure, Vincent wasn't able to recognize his own dad, but remember in Gattaca, nobody looks at the face anymore...

And when the doctor talks about his son being a big fan of Jerome the astronaut, he's talking about Vincent. Because he knew that Vincent grew up wanting to go into space, but couldn't because he was an invalid

When he mentions that his son was not all that he was supposed to be, he means Vincent's brother, Anton. Anton was made the proper way, and worthy of his father's name. But it was Vincent who became the prosperous child.

The ending is really cool. Vincent thought that everyone in Gattaca was out to get him, and he was all alone, but his father was watching out for him the whole time, and he didn't even know until the very end.

At least that's what I saw...

hahn

But they showed Vincent's father in the beginning when his parents were trying to conceive. NOT the same guy.

chanster

Definitely not his father. I took it to think his son was genetically engineered, but didn't live up to his promises. Dark City and Gattaca are two of my favorite movies...excellent.

figureskater

Well, to really answer the question, when i watched this movie for school, i believe that Jerome killed himself at the end becuase he was tired of second place and because he gave everything to Vincent already. and if you notice that he was wearing his silver medal when he went in, you should think back when he said that he wanted to die having a gold medal or something along that line. so, he went in to burn himself, wearing the medal, because the silver turns gold in the fire. hope i helped.

edstein

Nice 6 year thread bump. Welcome to the forum. Your use of the search feature means you will be appreciated here.

OldBoy

i just saw this and all i have to say is that this was so fantastic. i think i had seen the beginning in the past and for one reason or another shut it off. finally stuck with it and was riveted throughout. just really loved it as a great sci-fi movie and crime thriller. really surprised i had missed this for so long!

fmian

If you enjoyed the look and feel of this movie, then check out the trailer for Daybreakers.



It has nothing to do with Gattaca apart from Ethan Hawke, but it still reminded me of Gattaca when I saw the trailer.

newginafets

i was thinking the same way.