'Gattaca' notes John Schwartz from Swinburne Uni 1997 production, directed by Andrew Niccol – a New Zealander. Niccol is an outsider who wrote the script and directed the film too. He also wrote and directed The Truman Show. Both protagonists are heroes trapped in a world where every move is under surveillance. Both trapped in a world they hate. Vincent Everyman and Truman. 'Gattaca' is currently on the year 12 text list. The biggest and most common mistake reported by the assessors is that students write about the film as if it is a novel, instead of focusing on the medium of film. The film techniques utilised (music, sound effects, camera angles/shots etc) need to be commented on. These comments should be woven into paragraphs rather than contained in a separate paragraph. Use of colour Blue Filter Inside Gattaca or in Eugene’s place everything is blue – especially in shower. Blue – fluorescent light blue when filmed. Blue also indicates the sterility, a clinical environment, a cold, emotionless world. Also inside 'Gattaca' it highlights the conformity and lack of individuality by making everyone look the same colour Yellow Filter Use for outdoor scenes. Yellow – sun shining? Future so pollution is high therefore the yellow is dirty. The sun rise is the reflection of the sun rather than the real sun. Green Filter Used for indoors later in the film and also for Jerome’s apartment. It shows the combination of the two environments; the sterile blue world and the unnatural, tainted yellow world coming together as Vincent and Eugene attempt to defeat the system. Camera work Close-Up Is used extensively throughout the film to emphasize an image/look. It’s significance is highlighted through the use of a close-up. Examples: Fingernail in opening credits landing with crashing thuds because it is so close up. The single hair and the skin flakes are also shown in extreme close-up. Used to show emphasis on DNA testing. Effect to emphasize the danger of any body part being found can destroy him and the emphasis the society places on DNA. Also used when Vincent and Irene exchange hairs to allow the sequencing to be carried out. Point of view shot (POV) Used to put the viewer inside the eyes of the character so we can experience their emotion. Example: When crossing the road to see the ‘sunset’ we get Vincent’s POV. No one is talking but the camera shows Vincent squinting and then we see through Vincent’s POV. The lights from the cars are blurred and doubled which is how he sees them without his contact lenses in. He uses hearing to cross the road which is why we get the sound effects of the cars so loudly. Music Haunting. Needs to be included in any discussion/analysis on film. Talk about music in own words. The music can create a mood when no one is talking. Examples: Crescendo in music, used when Vincent starts to clean at Gattaca. Music is used to show the dream, the rocket, Vincent’s ambitions. During fantasy when Vincent plays on the computer, the music starts to play again. Music is used to effect when Vincent is crossing the road without his contacts in. Once he manages to cross the road there is silence. The music changes for one of the first time in the film to romantic music after he has crossed. Music used for car/stair case. No voice, the editing and music makes the tension, car is fast, stairs are slow. Cuts at least 8 times between the two. Eugene wins the race in the last 2 seconds as he makes himself perfect. Characters Vincent Freeman Vincent is the narrator of the film and this is used particularly in flashbacks. Notice the irony in his name – he is anything but ‘free’ however, it is also reflecting the goal that he is working so hard to achieve. The ‘everyman’ – he represents us, humanity – male and female. Truman/freeman/everyman. Vincent Freeman. He is so meticulous that the shower is also a furnace; indicating he is a perfectionist. No trace of him can be found if house is raided. Everyone gives up on Vincent, not even his mother has faith in him. Vincent is generally ignored by his family. When choosing the second child – the weaknesses are commented on by the geneticist; there is a close-up of Marie and then the cut goes straight to Vincent emphasizing that he is damaged goods. As a invalid Vincent lives in poverty and squalor, he cannot afford anything better. His flat is small, dark and cluttered as shown when German visits him. Vincent goes to an exclusive dry-cleaner so that he can get the confidentiality guaranteed. Vincent only cares about number one. He is self-centred and selfish individual for most of the film. He doesn't listen when Eugene confesses to his suicide attempts. Eugene Eugene is alcoholic, glazed. Supposed to be so brave, smart and perfect, but in fact he is an alcoholic and looks pathetic and vulnerable. Eugene couldn’t cope with being second; he is bred for perfection and should have attained gold. The silver medal in swimming was so painful to him that he attempted suicide by throwing himself in front of a car. He is bitter that he cannot even succeed at committing suicide. Irene Irene is honest with Vincent but he is not with her initially. She tells him about her heart defects. She raves about the development of the 12 fingered pianist – she does not find it revolting or questionable. Irene’s face in ‘two Jeromes’ scene tells the story. She shows surprise in the result. She is in shock, she is furious. She is probably also revolted and sickened by the fact that she has been so intimate with a man she feels she no longer knows. She reveals her anger once the cop goes. Anton Anton is favoured by parents. There is a sub-plot. Anton fancies Irene but she fancies the inferior brother. This is extremely confronting to Anton who has always seen himself as the ‘superior being’ and can't understand/tolerate Vincent being preferred. Lamar Job interview – Lamar knows right from the beginning that Vincent is a criminal. Vincent uses the wrong hand when he is providing a urine sample – remember that he has to become right handed to be Jerome and practices his signature when he has the broken legs. His own son is a valid but he is flawed in some way. Lamar drops hints about his son and his knowledge of Vincent’s true identity throughout the film. German Gene Broker – he is a criminal- cannot be found through legal sources. Final showdown between brothers Vincent questions whether they are really brothers because Anton wouldn’t be his blood brother. Anton is on the attack initially, the valid is used to being on the attack. Vincent circles him and then attacks back, explains that he doesn't need rescuing unlike Anton during their last chicken swim. The final goodbye Eugene has provided Vincent with a life time of supplies – Jerome Morrow can live forever. He doesn't reveal his suicide plans to Vincent. Vincent doesn't understand the significance of being given a dream because he has always had one. Now that the dream has been achieved he can go in peace. Lamar says, ‘You don't want to miss your flight Vincent’. He has known all along. He has covered for Vincent because he needs to live with the hope that it is possible for his own son to achieve and beat the system. Fire starts the final journey. Two Jeromes in two final capsules. Both ready for take-off. The close-up of the fire could be from either the rocket or the furnace. His silver medal represents the failure of coming second when he is meant to be perfect. There is a cut to furnace from rocket it shows the wheel chair and the medal. The medal is now gold; symbolizing Eugene’s success, he has achieved his final goal. He is now the hero. Close-up of Vincent as he goes into space reveals that finally he gets the whole thing, he understands the sacrifices Eugene made for him and how he has needed the dream. Vincent now knows that all the valids helped him and he needed their help to achieve his goal, without them he would not have made it. Lots of people let him get away with it: Irene, Anton, Lamar, Director Joseph and Caesar the cleaner. The final comment from Niccol is that the world in 'Gattaca' is a disgusting, horrible world and that is the direction we are moving in. He is arguing that we have lost faith in the spiritual side of life; trust is now placed in science and medicine rather than in humanity. The outcome of this is tragedy and inhumanity. Symbols used in the film Water Used as a means of escape. Vincent escapes earth via water. Religion Opening quote indicates that God’s creations are not meant to be straightened if crooked. Niccol’s perspective is revealed in this quote – that medical intervention has gone too far. In the second quote Mother Nature is feminised. God is not mentioned – instead the religious component has been taken away. The two initial quotes show the huge argument which is the basis of the film. The Director Joseph becomes a surrogate father for Vincent. His mother is Marie. Vincent is the god-child, the faith birth. There is a connotation of the god-child being revolting or unworthy. All modern children in 'Gattaca' are conceived via IVF. The identity screens for Invalids have no names, just an image and a cross. Crucifix and rosary beads are shown on the bed for the birth of the god child. Drunken Eugene after they go out to celebrate. He makes the shape of the crucifix when lying on his bed and then talks of his own death. He is the one making the sacrifices for Vincent, he is living his life through him and ultimately sacrifices his life too. Faces Faces are no longer considered significant to human beings. This is replaced by scrutiny of DNA. Cameras are no longer used in surveillance because more detailed info can be attained through DNA. The face shown on the identity card for Jerome could be either Vincent or Eugene; no one ever scrutinizes closely because it is almost irrelevant. The face of the 12 fingered pianist is not shown – particularly obvious in the promotional poster where his fingers are covering his face. 1950s 5 symbols of the 1950s are used in the film. 1. The cutthroat razor 2. The cars 3. The building style –particularly Jerome’s apartment. 4. the cops hats; standard issue FBI style 5. the nicknames for the cops; J Edgars and Hoovers. (John Edgar Hoover was the Head of FBI in the 1950s nasty man who dobbed people in for being un-American.) Items from the 1950s are used to represent the link with the past in terms of destruction of individual rights and freedom. In the 1950s individuals who dared to speak out against the majority were publicly exposed, the same thing is occurring in the ‘not too distant future’ but it is all much more subtle. Themes There is a comment being made about the loss of freedom and privacy and life in a surveillance society. Niccol is saying science and medicine has gone too far. We are interfering with nature; we have become post-human, less like humans and more like machines. Machines talk to us. The converse of this is that humans are becoming more like machines. Components can be replaced if they break down - just like a machine. No longer Science Fiction it is now part of our world. It is happening with animals in our world today. Main theme of the film is that genetic engineering has gone too far. Five key swim scenes 3 are chicken swims between Vincent and Anton 1. Anton 8 and Vincent is 10. Anton: younger but taller and stronger, brave, clever etc. Anton always wins. Blood brother bonding, Vincent is prepared to do this but Anton won't do it because Vincent is inferior to him- ashamed of him, dumb, doesn't want to be associated with him. Later in life he learns who his true blood brother is; Eugene gives him blood every day. They are connected spiritually because they both know what it is like to come second. 2. Teenagers. Vincent keeps challenging Anton. Anton is bored with it because he wins all the time. Vincent wins – the whole film changes. It shouldn’t happen because he is invalid. Vincent learns that he can beat the system because he just beat Anton and he is the system – he is a valid. V knows he can take on the system. 3. Anton is now chief police officer, he is in an indoor pool, freestyle racing himself using a stop watch. He has never recovered from Vincent beating him. He now practises every day just in case it recurs. Vincent never swims or trains. 4. The most important swim scene in film. The one without water. Eugene swims up the stairs – this is the action he uses. He is trying to beat the car. Action between car and swim up stairs – a race to see who wins. 5. The showdown. The final race. The murderer has been caught. He killed to allow Vincent to go on the flight. The director Joseph is Vincent’s surrogate father. Vincent says he saved Anton in the race where he nearly drowned. Sibling rivalry is another swim race. Skin, nails and hair There are numerous close-ups and extreme close-ups on skin, nails and hair throughout the film. This can first be seen during the opening credits at the very beginning of the film. Here, the background is a sterile blue. While the cast member's names appear on screen, a microscpoic extreme-close up of nails, skin and hair occurs. First, the tips of finger nails fall from above. They are so large that they take up the width of the screen, and fall with a deafening thud. After this, eyelash follicles are dropped, slowly falling and settling on the table. They are so big that they look like ropes. Next, skin flakes sprinkle down, appearing like snow flakes. This immediately foreshadows the film's exploration of scientific ideas and the society's obsession with DNA and genetic material. The camera pans to an extremecloseup of Vincent shaving his face and the hair follicles and skin cells that fall when he does this. There is then a close-up of him rigorously and throughly scrubbing his skin with a course brush, before burning the accumulated particles in an incinerator. This image appears numerous times throughout the film, as these small pieces of genetic material represent Vincent's inferiority and status as 'in-valid'. The film also contains numerous close-ups of Jerome's skin and hair follicles, for example, in the scene where Vincent scatters them around his workplace area to make it further seem that he is Jerome. Through these intense images of small, genetic particles, the film challenges the notion that humanity is determined by its DNA. Rather than portraying individuals as a sum of their collective parts, 'Gattaca' shows that it is determination and drive, rather than genetic standing, that makes an individual great. Spiral staircase The staircase in Vincent and Jerome's apartment is spiral-shaped, representing the shape of the double-helix model of DNA. This is a focal point of many scenes, as it symbolises the society founded upon genetics and scientific ideals. It is also a powerful symbol for life and humanity, key themes explored in the film. As well as this, the spiral staircase in the mise-en-scene of Jerome's appartment symbolically represents the parallel between Vincent and Jerome. This is most clearly seen towards the end of the film, when Vincent stands at the top of the stairs and Jerome is placed at the bottom. This illustrates that the two have essentially 'become' each other - while Vincent adopted Jerome's identity, Jerome fell further into disrepute. The image of the spiral staircase is so central to the film that it was used in promotional posters and is now on the DVD cover. The staircase also represents human drive and determination. This can be seen when Jerome has to climb the staircase. He has to pull himself up slowly, which is incredibly difficult as he is paralysed from the waist down, nonetheless he manages to do so. This is the first moment in the film where Jerome strives to achieve something, as he is typically characterised as jaded and cynical. Water Images of water appear throughout the film. These include the shower in the opening scene, the beach where Vincent and Irene fall in love, and the ocean where the swimming scenes take place, as well as numerous close-ups on glasses of water throughout the film. Water symbolizes transition and transformation, and hence is suitable for a film focusing on the protaganists' journey from oppression to success. It also represents Vincent's transition in social status, from 'invalid' to 'valid' when he adopts the identity of Jerome. Water is emphasized during crucial moments of change throughout the film. In the initial shower scene, there is a panning shot of running water while Vincent scrubs hurriedly at his skin. This represents his attempts to rid himself of any traces of his inferior DNA, so that he can better 'transform' into Jerome. The flashbacks to the swimming competition between Vincent and Anton are key moments in the film. While the first flashback illustrates Vincent's inferiority, as he does not beat his brother, Vincent's success in the second flashback encouraged him to pursue his dreams, as he realized that even the impossible is attainable through determination and willpower. Finally, the beach scene represents the transition in Vincent and Irene's relationship, as they go from strangers to lovers.
