Gattaca

Elegantly accompanied by an award-winning soundtrack, this "mood piece" utilizes a futuristic and stylized setting to reveal a universal tale of human struggle. Gattaca's cerebral tone comes off more dramatic than science fiction-oriented, manifesting explorations of both the human psyche and the human soul through the moral clashing of the characters. Jude Law portrays the wheelchair-bound Jerome Morrow with signature intensity, bringing forth themes of the pain of a failed perfectionist. In fact, the Vincent character (Ethan Hawke) is solitary in his convictions to make his own goals and decide his own level of perfection. While the onscreen romance between Vincent and Irene (Uma Thurman) seems less than ebullient at times, the film makes a case for placing emphasis on individuality over love story. Stylistically enthralling, the elaborate sets are complemented by the strange yellow tint of the film to complete the feel of existing in another time, and also earned the movie two Academy Award nominations for best set design in 1997. Gattaca explores relationships, values, and family issues, all through the eyes of a character who has clearly defined for himself what his life should be like, regardless of the values imposed on him by others. The box office proved ungracious towards this psychological treasure, although its writer (Andrew Niccol) would be better received with The Truman Show (1998), which explored similar thematic realms.