In just one week, Amazon Prime Video will be losing several films while cycling in a fresh lineup of movies. But if there’s one great Amazon Prime Video movie that you have to watch before it leaves, then our pick for June is Gattaca.
Writer and director Andrew Niccol envisioned Gattaca as a sci-fi drama centered around the idea that in the future, humans are separated by two castes: genetically engineered to perfection or “in-valids” who were naturally conceived.
Gattaca was released in 1997 with a disappointing $12.5 million domestic take, but the film’s reputation has only grown over the last three decades. It’s more than just a box-office disappointment, and Gattaca may be more timely in 2025 than it was at the time of its premiere.
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Ethan Hawke and Jude Law Give Fantastic Performances
Ethan Hawke stars in the film as Vincent Freeman, an in-valid who refuses to let his genetic profile hold him back. Vincent has grand dreams of becoming an astronaut, all of which would be undone if anyone ever discovered his true genetic lineage.
Uma Thurman appears as Irene Cassini, the love interest of Hawke’s Vincent. She’s very good in the role, and she ultimately went on to marry Hawke in real life before they divorced in 2005. However, the primary relationship in this film isn’t between Vincent and Irene or even Vincent and his estranged brother, Anton Freeman (Loren Dean). Instead, it’s between Vincent and Jerome Eugene Morrow (Jude Law).
Vincent needs Jerome because he’s a “valid,” and that opens the door for the former to pursue his ambition of going to space. Because Jerome’s body has been crippled after an accident, he provides his genetic samples and his identity for Vincent to use. He also has to live with the idea that his name will always be associated with Vincent’s accomplishments and not his own. Hawke and Law’s scenes are fueled by that undercurrent of resentment, and they play off each other well.
There’s a bitter edge to Law’s performance that makes his character seethe with anger towards himself and the entire world. And yet he’s also dedicated to preserving the illusion that Vincent has created, even when it risks exposing both of them to prosecution.
Hawke carries a good deal of the movie on his shoulders as well, and he convincingly portrays Vincent’s desire to achieve a feat that everyone else felt was impossible. He also conveys Vincent’s terror when a stray eyelash he leaves behind makes him the a potential murder suspect.
Even the Small Roles Are Filled With Stars
Gattaca already had a strong trio in Hawke, Thurman and Law. But even the supporting characters in this film are played by actors who were either already stars or on their way up in the industry. Some of the performers, including Breaking Bad‘s Dean Norris, SNL veteran Maya Rudolph and L.A. Law‘s Blair Underwood, don’t even get character names in the film.
Ernest Borgnine, Xander Berkeley, Tony Shalhoub and Alan Arkin have minor roles as well. But perhaps the movie’s biggest surprise among the cast is writer Gore Vidal as Josef, the director of the space program. Vidal didn’t have too many acting credits to his name, but he was perfectly suited for the role of a man who was obsessed with his mission. Collectively, all of these performers added to Gattaca‘s impact.
Our Future Looks More and More Like ‘Gattaca’
Most of the genetic engineering in Gattaca was theoretical in 1997. In 2025, a lot of that tech is no longer as far-fetched as it once was. Genetic engineering hasn’t yet reached its full potential in reality in the same way it did in the film, but that future may be a lot closer to happening now than ever before.
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Vincent’s journey in Gattaca offers a more hopeful outcome than we may get in real life. He has everything he needs inside of him to surpass his so-called genetic limitations. Vincent’s final scenes demonstrate that his example isn’t lost on the people like him, and there’s still a chance that the in-valids won’t be second-class citizens forever. It may be years or even decades before we see how genetic engineering will affect us in the real world. For now, we can only hope for a better outcome.
Gattaca is streaming on Prime Video until June 30.
