``Gattaca'' Destiny transcends genes. A masterpiece science fiction filled with sadness

Supporting characters responsible for "empathy", "rejection", "past" and "future"

The most common emotion that comes and goes while watching ``Gattaca'' is ``painful.'' This work features four people who influence Vincent. They are Jerome, his colleague Irene (Uma Thurman), his proper brother Anton (Lauren Dean), and doctor Raymer (Xander Berkeley). Every episode with them has a different tone of ``sadness'' attached to it.

First, about Jerome. The "dream" depicted in this work is not for one person. Jerome, whose dream of becoming a gold medalist was cut short due to an accident that left him in a wheelchair, was also given meaning to life by Vincent.

Although our goals are different, our desire for our dreams is the same. They lack each other, so playing one person makes them perfect. The second half, in which the secret feelings of Jerome, who continues to support Vincent as the only person who understands him, is revealed is one of the highlights of the film. The ``true friendship that transcends genetic disparity'' that Ethan and Jude embody is clear and beautiful every time I watch it.

"Gattaca" (c)Photofest / Getty Images

Vincent and Irene's love story is rather complicated. Vincent is attracted to Irene, but he believes that the love she returns is from the "proper" one. The final conversation between the two is one of the most famous lines in the series, but it is also the emotion that Vincent has always wanted to express to all the right people. Irene and Jerome are paired, each with their own responsibilities of "empathy" and "rejection." The reason why this work is famous as a bromance is due to this structure.

The people in charge of Vincent's ``past'' and ``future'' are Anton, who is always ahead of his brother, and Reimer, who assesses Vincent as a doctor. The long-distance swimming competition between Vincent and Anton, which is depicted many times in the movie, can be said to express the ``superiority of genes.'' The ocean is a metaphor for the womb. It is obvious that the superior sperm = Anton will reach the egg = goal first. However, Vincent overturns that theory one day. The reason he decided to live his dream, even erasing his identity, was because he was able to surpass Anton, who he would never have been able to defeat, just once. Together, Anton and Reimer remind Vincent that nothing is impossible.

``Empathy'', ``rejection'', ``past'', ``future''...What awaits us beyond all of this is a dream that has only been a dream. My heart is now freed from the gravity of being an ``inappropriate person.''

You can't control fate.

I am me.

Text: SYO

Born in 1987. After The Graduate from Tokyo Gakugei University, he worked at a film magazine editorial production site and a film information site before becoming a film writer. Works on a wide range of topics including interviews, reviews, columns, event appearances, and recommendation comments. Contributed to ``CINEMORE'', ``FRIDAY Digital'', ``Fan's Voice'', ``Eiga.com'', etc. Twitter「syocinema」

Watch now

View work information

(c) Photofest / Getty Images