RETRO REWIND: GATTACA

GATTACA: The big one, the movie I refer to as my all time favorite.  It’s currently fourth quarter 2019, which means I saw this movie twenty two years ago.

I saw it on a rainy Saturday afternoon at the Timberlyne theater, back when they were an Eastern Federal location, years before Regal.  

I was eleven years old back then, when I first saw this movie, and I must admit I fully didn’t understand it then.  That was a mighty big appeal though, room to grow.  Finally I had found a movie I could discuss and theorize about.  Remember I was eleven, not many people my own age were into such movies.  After all this was the same year as the Star Wars Rerelease, Liar Liar, and The Lost World: Jurassic Park.  

One of the things I fell in love with this movie was the look of the movie.  It’s the first movie that I noticed the technical skill behind making movies.

The story also sucked in an eleven year old version of myself, and twenty two years later it still hasn’t released my attention.  When I was eleven NASA, outer space, the Mars Rover all interested me and contributed to my love of this movie.  

As my interests changed over the years I found myself relating to different aspects of the movie.  The puberty stricken teenage version of myself saw Uma Thurman in a new light.  My first Hollywood crush.  As cloning technologies became a fascination of mine, while it dominated the news, the genetic mutation story line of the film became a fascinating plot point.  By the time I was in my mid twenties I discovered horror and mystery films.  Of course the murder aspect of the plot came from and center.  

Of course I skipped over the diagnosis of my heart disorder and watching Ethan Hawke’s character come to terms with his heart disorder became all to real of a relatable plot point.  I love an underdog story and that is at the heart of Gattaca.  

I’m excited to see how this movie continues to change for me as my life does.  

One major things the movie did for me was make the sci-fi genre human.  It taught me that laser swords, aliens, or films on Mars don’t have to dominate the genre.  It’s a lesson I’ve taken with me into other genres and aspects of movies.