History Film / Gattaca

* AllegedLookalikes: The fact that DNA samples are more noticed than faces is mentioned. Vincent is initially skeptical, as he and Jerome look almost nothing alike, but is convinced that nobody looks at ID photos anymore. The photo on Jerome that comes up on the ID is actually a blend of Ethan Hawke and Jude Law's faces, making both of them using it at one point slightly more believable. The only person who notices that Ethan Hawke and Jude Law look nothing alike is the LoveInterest.

* ShownTheirWork: The device used to lengthen Vincent's legs is pretty much completely accurate.

* {{Zeerust}}: The movie focuses its future speculation on genetic engineering, so it's natural that other aspects of the film's future would be less well thought out. Still, it can be a bit odd watching the movie and wondering why the televisions and computer monitors look like they're stuck in TheNineties, why Pluto is still a planet, and why nobody knows [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huygens_probe what Titan's surface looks like.]] The aesthetics of the film also deliberately invoke this. The fashion and cars look like they're out of the 50s.

* ZeroPercentApprovalRating: The younger detective [[spoiler:(who is later revealed to be Vincent's younger, "valid" brother Anton)]] investigating the murder of the Mission Director advises his older colleague to keep an open mind in regards to suspects, noting that he sees "a lot of dry eyes" around the place.

* AlwaysSomeoneBetter: The reason Jerome is so disillusioned with himself.

* BackAlleyDoctor. Tony Shalhoub's character in addition to dealing in genetic profiles, also seems a skilled surgeon, dentist and optician to make the identity swaps to work. Justified due to likely being one of the genetically perfect elite himself.

-->'''Eugene:''' You still don't understand. When people look at you, they don't see you any more. They only see ''me''.

* BookEnds: There's quite a few mostly-inconsequential moments early in the film that are paralleled during and around the climax in ways more meaningful to the plot. Vincent and Anton's swimming races, the urine test, "Oops, the wind caught it"...

* BrokenAesop: Despite the movies message against discrimination, Vincent's poor eyesight and heart defect are both legitimate reasons to disqualify him from serving as an astronaut.

* ProperlyParanoid: Vincent has to gather up any hair and skin particles. Fortunately there's a whole industry in maintaining your privacy, so this doesn't stand out.

[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/l_19832_0119177_ba6772aa_4006.jpg]]

''Gattaca'' is a 1997 ScienceFiction film written and directed by Andrew Niccol, in his filmmaking debut, which presents a biopunk vision of a futuristic society driven by genetic engineering. The film stars Creator/EthanHawke and Creator/UmaThurman, with Creator/JudeLaw, Creator/LorenDean, Creator/ErnestBorgnine, Creator/GoreVidal, and Creator/AlanArkin in supporting roles.

->''"I not only think that we will tamper with Mother Nature, I think Mother wants us to."''
-->-- '''Willard Gaylin'''

* ZeroPercentApprovalRating: The younger detective [[spoiler: (who is later revealed to be Vincent's younger, "valid" brother Anton)]] investigating the murder of the Mission Director advises his older colleague to keep an open mind in regards to suspects, noting that he sees "a lot of dry eyes" around the place.

* ZeroPercentApprovalRating: The younger detective investigating the murder of the Mission Director [[spoiler: (who is later revealed to be Vincent's younger, "valid" brother Anton)]] advises his older colleague to keep an open mind in regards to suspects, noting that he sees "a lot of dry eyes" around the place.

->''"I not only think that we will tamper with Mother Nature, I think Mother wants us to."''
-->-- '''Willard Gaylin'''

* BadassBoast: "If the glass is clean it'll be easier for you to see me on the other side of it."

** [[spoiler:The doctor who tests Vincent for his genes has a son who "Wasn't everything they promised."]]

* ExtraDigits: Vincent and Irene attend a concert by a twelve-fingered pianist during one of their dates. Said pianist was genetically designed to have those extra digits because he plays pieces that nobody with only ten fingers would be capable of; his parents decided he would be a pianist before he was even born. (Interesting fact: the pianist in this scene is played by the creator of WebAnimation/RatboyGenius.)

** Additionally, the photo itself is actually a blend of Vincent's and Jerome's faces which is close enough that both of them could use it if necessary. (This is confirmed in the screenplay.)

* FantasticRacism: The entire point of the film. Although discrimination based on genetics is supposed to be illegal, Vincent says "no one takes the law seriously," because they can easily check your DNA to find out, thus it's nevertheless present from birth, preventing him from getting into a good school and finding a good job despite his hard work and intelligence. Which is why he decides to impersonate someone else to work at Gattaca.

** Cassini from the Cassini Space Probe (or its namesake Giovanni Cassini, a 17th century Italian astronomer known for his studies of Saturn.)

* IWantMyJetPack: Now that the scientists have finished the Human Genome Project, no one knows what exactly to do with it. We still don't have DesignerBabies yet, though we're a lot closer to being able to do a lot of what was done in the movie,[[http://www.cracked.com/article_19850_5-absurd-sci-fi-scenarios-science-actually-working-on_p2.html with medical technology having come as far as it has now.]] In-vitro fertilization already uses the technique of identifying the most optimal embryos as candidates for uterine implantation and it is already possible (for an exorbitant sum of money) to clone your favorite cat for the next generation. Ethics, of course, are heavily involved in all this, which may explain why we don't live in Gattaca yet.

* EverybodySmokes: Which seems strange given the vision of the future presented. Perhaps justified in that in a world where you are (or believe you are) always and forever in perfect health, you could indulge in unhealthy habits without consequence.
** Or, in some cases, a subtle hint to us that they've let themselves go to seed. Jerome is depressed that all his perfect genes still don't make him the best of the best, Vincent is not too worried about his health (and has already beaten the odds in more ways than one, so why not one more?), and Irene's own genetic situation and alleged heart condition mean she's not going to space so she's rather apathetic about taking care of herself too.
** Or perhaps it is because, once the genetic predisposition to lung carcinoma has been taken out of the equation, smoking is no more harmful than eating eggs for breakfast.
** Or they genetically engineered tobacco to be non-carcinogenic.

* BadassBoast: "If the glass is clean it'll be easier for you to see me on the other side of it".

* BadassBoast: "If the glass is clean it'll be easier for you to see me on the other side of it."

-->-- '''[[Literature/BookOfEcclesiastes Ecclesiastes 7:13]]'''

-->-- '''[[Literature/TheBible Ecclesiastes 7:13]]'''

[[caption-width-right:300:There's no gene for the human spirit. ]]

''Gattaca'' is a 1997 ScienceFiction film by Andrew Niccol which presents a society driven by genetic engineering.

The story centers on Vincent Freeman (Creator/EthanHawke), who was born naturally but has a [[SiblingRivalry younger brother]] who was optimized. Vincent has poor eyesight and a heart defect, but wants to work on the space program at the eponymous agency. He joins forces with Jerome Eugene Morrow (Creator/JudeLaw), who has perfect genes but was crippled after being struck by a car. Using contact lenses and copious amounts of Eugene's hair and blood while being careful not to lose a trace of his own genetic material, Vincent manages to pass himself off as a Valid and get a job at Gattaca, where he succeeds by hard work and determination despite his inferior genes.

However, a week before Vincent is scheduled to leave Earth on a mission to Saturn's moon Titan, the Mission Director is murdered in his office and one of Vincent's In-Valid eyelashes is found on the scene. He must now avoid being discovered despite intense police scrutiny and his progressing relationship with his LoveInterest Irene Cassini (Creator/UmaThurman), while discovering who the real killer is.

* SecondPlaceIsForLosers: Played with. [[spoiler:The reason for Jerome's attempted suicide and paralysis is that when he placed second in a swim meet, he jumped in front of a car. However, by the end of the movie Jerome finally "accepts" second place, so to speak, by committing suicide and allowing Vincent to live on under his name. This is symbolically represented by Jerome's silver swimming medal appearing to turn gold as he burns in the incinerator]].

** The title is made from the four nitrogen bases "letters" [=(GCAT)=]. The complementary strand would be [=CTAATGT=]. The [=mRNA=] strand would be [=CUAAUGU=].

--> '''Eugene''': You still don't understand. When people look at you, they don't see you any more. They only see ''me''.

--> '''Vincent''': Who lives up there?
--> '''Eugene''': Well I certainly don't.
--> '''Vincent''': How tall are you?
--> '''Eugene''': Four foot six.
--> '''Vincent''': How tall were you ''before'' the accident?

** Also subverted [[spoiler: by the doctor. He knew full well that Vincent wasn't Jerome, he just didn't care. His own son wasn't everything the clinic promised.]]

-->'''Vincent''': ''I belonged to a new underclass, no longer determined by social status or the color of your skin. No, we now have discrimination down to a science.''

---> '''Irene:''' ''[handing Vincent a piece of her hair for a DNA test]'' Here. If you're still interested [after finding out the truth], let me know.
---> '''Vincent:''' ''[drops hair]'' Oops. The wind caught it.

---> '''Vincent:''' ''[hands Irene a strand of hair]'' Here. If you're still interested, let me know.
---> '''Irene:''' ''[drops hair]'' Oops. The wind caught it.

* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Jerome. Even though he's a jerk to Vincent at times, he still comes through for him when needed [[spoiler: and leaves enough genetic samples to last Vincent a lifetime before committing suicide]].

* NoNewFashionsInTheFuture: This movie is a GenreThrowback to FilmNoir movies of the 1940s 50s, so everyone has old-timey cars and clothes despite being TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture.

** The young detective is really [[spoiler: Vincent's brother, Anton.]]

* SecondActBreakup: {{Downplayed}}, both in terms of breakup and reconciliation. Vincent's romantic relationship with Irene falls through when she visits his home and pieces together his identity scheme with Jerome. She forgives him before the end, but he leaves for outer space and it's unlikely they'll be able to see each other again.

* SymbolicBaptism: The protagonist competes routinely with his genetically superior younger brother in swimming races out to the furthest possible point. A pivotal moment in his childhood and resolving to lie about his genetic status comes when he finally wins a race against his brother, proving that he could do anything he set his mind to, genetics be damned. When the stunt is repeated late in life and he once again triumphs, he reveals his secret to success with his brother [[spoiler: he never planned to make the return trip and was determined to swim out as far as he could, return trip be damned. He was counting on his brother calculating for the return trip.]]

* BigBad: The killer of the Mission Director, whom Vincent is trying to find to [[ClearMyName clear his name]] of the murder. They are revealed to be [[spoiler:Director Josef, head of the space program that Vincent infiltrated, who killed the Mission Director for holding the mission back with constant cutbacks]].

** Lamar, the person that runs background checks, [[spoiler:actually knew Vincent was an In-Valid the whole time and didn't rat him out because he inspired his son, who was genetically selected but "not all that they promised"]].

* SecondActBreakup: {{Downplayed}}, both in terms of breakup and reconciliation. Vincent's romantic relationship with Irene falls through when she visits his home and pieces together his identity scheme with Jerome. She forgives him before the end, but he leaves for space and it's unlikely they'll be able to see each other again.

* BrokenAesop: The movie is clearly very against disability discrimination... focused on a main character who's able-bodied by ''our'' standards, while the one character who isn't is subject to BuryYourDisabled. Granted, said disability was a result of a traffic collision, not any genetic defect. Also, bad eyesight is grounds for disqualification of a pilot even today, as the job requires good eyesight.

* HardWorkHardlyWorks: Averted, which is probably the point.
* HatedByAll: Absolutely no one seems to have liked or respected The Mission Director.

* HolographicTerminal

* PassFail: Vincent is an In-Valid passing himself as a Valid with the help of Jerome. There is in fact an entire black market in "borrowed ladders" such as Vicnent.

* SymbolicBaptism: The protagonist competes routinely with his genetically superior younger brother in swimming races out to the furthest possible point. A pivotal moment in his childhood and resolving to lie about his genetic status comes when he finally wins a race against his brother, proving that he could do anything he set his mind too, genetics be damned. When the stunt is repeated late in life and he once again triumphs, he reveals his secret to success with his brother [[spoiler: he never planned to make the return trip and was determined to swim out as far as he could, return trip be damned. He was counting on his brother calculating for the return trip.]]

* BrokenAesop: The movie is clearly very against disability discrimination... focused on a main character who's able-bodied by ''our'' standards, while the one character who isn't is subject to BuryYourDisabled. Granted, said disability was a result of a traffic collission, not any genetic defect. Also, bad eyesight is grounds for disqualification of a pilot even today, as the job requires good eyesight.

However, a week before Vincent is scheduled to leave Earth on a mission to Saturn's moon Titan, the Mission Director is murdered in his office and one of Vincent's In-Valid eyelashes is found on the scene. He must now avoid being discovered despite intense police scrutiny and his progressing relationship with his LoveInterest Irene Cassini (Creator/UmaThurman).

* AntiVillain: The actual killer. [[spoiler:While he is a believer in the Genetic caste system, he's a BenevolentBoss towards Vincent, has a sympathetic motive -the Mission Director was looking to kill a project he'd been waiting most of his life for and was too old to have another chance at- and he's willing to confess once the success of the mission has been assured]].