I thought GATTACA was a good movie, but it had a really low energy to it.  Even during the more suspenseful parts of the movie that involved committing felonies and space travel, I didn’t really get that excited.  One of the major characteristics of the society in the movie is its pragmatism.  So while some parts were slow, it all seemed to add to this sort of business-oriented model of living.  In this world, job interviews consist of genome sequencing to analytically hire the most genetically favorable applicants.  By choosing the “best” applicant for a job, firms avoid follies and optimize efficiency in the workplace.  That’s sort of how the story-telling felt to me: straightforward and fairly unemotional, especially considering some of the subplots that were being told.

I do enjoy underdog stories, so it was nice to see the main character end up where he wanted to be.  Though as someone already pointed out, nothing major changed for the society.  This did seem anticlimactic as much of the movie was spent seeing how different businesses function and how individuals of different genetic castes live their lives.  At the same time though, it seemed more realistic and also more tragic to see just a small snapshot of this future world in the form of one person’s story.  The movie does investigate the world, but its main focus, the main character’s triumph, is small and personal.  The lead character’s own concern does not seem to be in line with the concern of the audience.  Instead of worrying about how to completely override the system, Ethan Hawke’s character simply wishes to cheat the system so that he may personally benefit.  In this way, his character is relatable.  His character already has to spend a great amount of time physically and mentally sharpening himself so that he might be accepted into a space program, so the audience can imagine what it would be like to start a full blown revolution.  Still, I wanted to see more of a hint of change for the world that was presented.