Gattaca
Short description
Gattaca is set in a future society where genetic engineering determines a person's standing from birth. Those conceived naturally are classed as invalids and steered toward menial work, while the genetically enhanced enjoy the best opportunities. Vincent Freeman is one of the former, but he dreams of joining the Gattaca Aerospace Corporation and travelling into space. To get around the screening that would disqualify him, he takes on the identity of Jerome Eugene Morrow, a genetically superior man whose own prospects were ended by an accident. Vincent adopts Jerome's blood, urine and tissue samples, undergoing painful preparations so that everyday checks will not expose him. He rises through the corporation and grows close to a colleague, Irene Cassini, while a murder investigation at Gattaca threatens to uncover his secret.
Andrew Niccol wrote and directed the film, his first turn in the director's chair; his later features as director include S1m0ne, Lord of War, In Time, The Host, Good Kill, Anon and I, Object. Ethan Hawke plays Vincent, with Uma Thurman as Irene and Jude Law as Jerome. Alan Arkin, Loren Dean and Gore Vidal appear in supporting roles, and Danny DeVito, Michael Shamberg and Stacey Sher produced. Made for a sizable budget, the film earned considerably less than that at the worldwide box office, though its reputation has grown since. On IMDb it holds 7.7/10 from roughly 345,000 votes and on TMDB 7.6/10 from over 7,000 votes, while critics gave it 7.4/10 across 68 reviews, placing it in similar territory to its audiences.
What's left behind the scenes
- Many of the 'futuristic' buildings in the film are actually quite old. Most of them are built in an architectural style called 'Brutalism,' which was popular in the 1950s. The two giant arches visible in the background during the conversation between Jerome and Irene are actually the spillway of the Sepulveda Dam in Los Angeles, built in the 1930s.
- The film was shot under the working title “The Eighth Day,” which is a reference to the biblical myth of creation. The original title implies human intervention in the nature created by the Creator, and “The Eighth Day” is also the name of a center where children are created using genetic engineering methods (according to one of the cut scenes). However, after frequent shifts in the film’s release date, this title was used by the Belgian film “The Eighth Day.” In this connection, the screenwriter and director Andrew Niccol was forced to choose a new title for his film.
- As part of the film's promotional campaign, people were encouraged to call a phone number listed in the advertisement to apply genetic engineering technologies to their children. Thousands of calls were received from parents wanting to 'improve' their offspring.
- The film features cars from the 1960s: a police Rover P6 and a Citroën DS driven by Irene.
- Uma Thurman's character is named after the Italian astronomer Cassini. In the year of the film's release, a probe of the same name was launched to Saturn, and in 2005 it reached Titan – Vincent's main goal.
- The total length of the 35mm film print of “Gattaca” is 2918 meters.
- Announcements within the Gattaca building are made in the artificial language Esperanto.
- Jude Law's character asks to be called by his middle name, Eugene. The name "Eugene" (Evgeniy) means "noble" in Greek, but literally it can be translated as "with good genes." Eugenics (the science of improving the inherited traits of a race or breed) is a central theme of the film.
- The film is the directorial debut of Andrew Niccol.
- This was Maya Rudolph's debut film role.
- In the restaurant scene, as Vincent blows cigarette smoke into a glass of wine while describing the atmosphere of Titan being shrouded in dense clouds, a composition titled “Nuages” (“Clouds”) plays in the background.
- Vincent says he was conceived on the Riviera, but not the French one, but in Detroit. This refers to the 1971 Buick Riviera car model.
- The car Vincent Freeman drove was a 1963 Studebaker Avanti.
- The Marin County Civic Center in San Rafael, which depicts the headquarters of the Gattaca Corporation in the film, was also used in George Lucas's THX 1138.
- During the filming of the movie, Uma Thurman and Ethan Hawke began dating, and a year later she gave birth to their child, after which they got married.
- In the opening and closing credits, the first letters of the names and surnames of the participants highlight the names of nitrogenous bases found in DNA molecules (A - adenine, C - cytosine, G - guanine, T - thymine). The film's title is also composed solely of these four letters, like a fragment of DNA.
- All the cars used in the film are electric vehicles. The wireless charger used in the film was taken from the EV1 electric car.
- The symbols denoting the statuses of “Valid” or “Invalid” are significant. On the scanners, next to the name of a Valid, an infinity symbol appears, signifying their “infinite potential.” Next to the name of an Invalid, a dagger appears. In taxonomy, a dagger next to a taxon signifies extinction. Furthermore, the dagger symbol resembles a cross – a reference to the fact that “Invalids” are also called “Children of God” (Irene addresses Vincent this way after he reveals his true identity).
- In 2011, NASA scientists named 'Gattaca' the most scientifically accurate science fiction film of all time.
- In order to undergo the final “transformation” into Jerome, Vincent (standing at 5 feet 11 inches) opts for leg-lengthening surgery to reach Jerome’s recorded height of 6 feet 1 inch. In reality, Jude Law and Ethan Hawke are both approximately 5 feet 11 inches tall (178 and 180 cm respectively).
- The staircase in Jerome's apartment is styled after a DNA spiral.
Similar movies
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
