Astrocloud

Okay so nobody should go completely off and talk about some gemini archetype. Rather I just some things in the movie Gattaca and I want to verify that others see them too.

First off there is Vincent (Ethen Hawk)



Vincent has a dream to become an astronaut, only these jobs are reserved for genetically modified superior human beings. Thus he needs to borrow a 'helix' off of one of the genetically superior who has fallen on bad times... Enter Jerome




Vincent has to masquerade as Jerome (also known as Eugene) in order to achieve his dream of getting off the planet. Obviously when one character becomes another, there is some sort of dual nature brewing within the identity.




There are huge similarities between Jerome and Vincent. Vincent's boyhood was spent in Swimming Competitions with his brother. Since Vincent's brother was genetically superior... he almost always lost these.


Similarly Jerome had a silver medal for swimming. Jerome couldn't quite get over the fact that it was silver (rather than gold). One difference between the two is that where Jerome just accepted his fate of "being one down on the podium" -Vincent eventually beat his brother in a swimming contest.


Has anyone else noticed this? Don't even get me started on the Doctor

The resident hotty, Irene (Uma)

Idunno Does anyone like this movie?

phukraut

i'm not really sure what you are asking for here.. do you want us to confirm that the brothers are similar? or do you see something in these screenshots we should be spotting?

in either case, yeah i love this movie. the ending is happy and sad at the same time. and i think it has something for everyone to relate to.

Spartak

Very very underated imo. I was pretty much glued to my screen when I watched it.

Raises a lot of issues certainly, human nature vs perfection, etc. Also I question the decision of the parents to have Vincent the "natural" way, when they obviously knew he would be disadvantaged and discriminated against.

Also, Uma Thurman is hot

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phredgreen

chalk me up as confused to the point of this thread, but i'll make a wild stab in the dark for conversation's sake.


so ethan (easier to remember real than character names) has this grudge against his brother because ethan always lost, but jude is okay with his position in life as a second-place winner. so when ethan takes over jude's place, he reignites the competition that jude had let die, and acheived the dream of jude's personae finally coming out ahead while acheiving ethan's own goals, so both of them win, in a way.


is that where you were going?

i loved the movie, it was one of the few that i ran to buy as soon as it hit dvd.

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rogue49

very deep
very profound

one of the best movies ever.
it will be coming to a future near you.

Astrocloud

Okay -small confession, I wrote the thread really really late at night... drinking and smoking. I apologize for being a mumbling idiot but I had just cleared the qhost virus off and I had access to google again.... I own this movie and this thread has been brewing for a while so I'll try to be a little more clear.

The screen shots are just for fun.

Identity has a dual nature. One part is the ability provided by one's genes (as represented by Jerome). The other part is the will (Vincent). The movie illustrates why the will is the stronger part.

Jerome could not get over the fact that he got second place in the olympics. That's why he stepped in front of the car. That's possibly why he killed himself in the end. For a suicide note -he gave Vincent a card with a lock of his hair.

Vincent gives the secret to his success after racing his brother in the end:

(from the script at http://www.dailyscript.com/scripts/gattaca_early.html)

I don't know if anyone here has read Kierkegaard's Fear and Trembling. This attitude of 'just swimming forward' smacks of Kierkegaard's faith. You move on and keep swimming because faith in the future renders fears insignificant.

But wait a minute, I'm drifting. The title here is about duality. Okay so how about the duality between Vincent's life as a janitor at Gattaca and that as an Astronaut.

Does anyone see a resemblence between his two bosses?



It seems that Vince's old boss Caeser (Ernest Borgnine), liked him so much that he's trying to cover for him. (Remember when he was caught trying to remove the trash with Vincent's DNA from the crime scene?) Is this paralleled by Directer Josef's (Gore Vidal) crime of killing the other director because he was going to cancel the mission?

I'm just throwing these suggestions out. I could be wrong, I don't care. I guess this is more of an appreciation thread more than anything. (Insert smoke and drink here.)

CSflim

Gattaca is one of the VERY VERY few films that I would consider REAL science fiction.
It creates a world which is absolutely believable as a possible future of our own society.

Gatta is amazing, and ranks as one of my all time favourites.

Definately under-rated...at least in the sense that not everyone has heard of it...as far as I can tell, most people who have seen it, loved it.

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Sledge

Yeah. A great film.

The duality's definitely there. Since the movie is very much about people 1) having or not having goals 2) having or not having the means to achieve them 3) having or not having the tenacity to try despite the odds, the characters' lives all answer those questions differently. When Jerome dies, I think it's because he recognizes that he's already redeemed himself from his selfish, perfectionist past by helping Vincent get what he wants, and with that done there doesn't seem to be anything left for him. Not so much a suicide as a checkout.

rogue49

Jerome dies because he is a spoiled brat who can't stand not being the best.
Vincent is the ultimate symbol of fighting to be the best despite your limitations.

Best "no fear" t-shirt I have has this quote.
"Know your limits, then BREAK them!"

This is what the movie means.
Who is better those who are given it by default.
Or those who FIGHT for it.

I admire those who fight for it, who keep pushing.

phukraut

i like how both go on a journey at the same time, jerome returns to the soil (dies) and vincent goes into space. great contrast.