Cast: Ethan Hawke, Uma Thurman, Elias Koates, Loren Dean, Alan Arkin, Jude Law, Blair Underwood, Gore Vidal, Xander Berkley, Maya Rudolph, Mason Gamble, William Lee Scott, Ernest Borgnine, Tony Shaloub, Ken Marino,
Written & Directed By: Andrew Niccol
Cinematography By: Slawomir Idziak
Editor: Lisa Zeno Churgin
Original Music By: Michal Nyman
Production Design: Jan RoelfsThe Scary thing about this movie is the thought that the film’s world is coming closer to being a reality. In the search for our planet to become a utopia instead of leaving things natural and up to chance or nature we constantly find ourselves wanting to control everything in our life and world. This film explores a world with those choices available and what it can do to people who strive for more then what has been decided for them.
The film is a eye opener just from a art direction stand point everything is post modern and clean. Nothing is out of place. The acting is phenomenal it is the film Uma Thurman and Ethan Hawke fell in love on. Uma with her statuesque beauty was a natural for this film. This is one of the first times Ethan Hawke really impressed me as a actor it is also the first time I saw Jude law act. And it reminds me of what a wonderful actor he can be.
This is Andrew Niccol’s first film he wrote the Truman show and followed this film with the film S1mone and just like that film he is attracted to cold surreal images devoid of too much color very precise and very clean and clear. While having vivid ides and creativity and unforgettable surreal images like paintings
The film is one that is very unappreciated over time I would have hoped it would have become more popular but it is still a undiscovered gem. I like it as a sci-fi story that says more about the human spirit and humanity then it does about actual science. Then it also involves a murder mystery detective storyline. It does keep the story moving but it could have been dropped and still been a interesting film.
This is a film more for you to discover then me tell you too much about it just trust me see it I’m sure you will enjoy it. I could complain about the lack of minorities in this future but hey you have to pick and choose your battles and I don’t feel this film is overtly racist it just is what it is and as usual forgets about that component totally.
The story follows Ethan Hawke’s character who is deemed a genetic failure since he was born the natural way whose parents decide there next child will be designed. In his teens he runs away from home and ends up a janitor his future decided for him but he wants to become a astronaut so he goes underground and buys someone else’s identity and cells so that he can achieve this dream even going through painful and time consuming plastic surgery just to achieve it. He has the smarts for it but not the physical aspects and stamina says science and while he is going through preparations for his launch a murder happens at the facility and into his life a pair of detectives investigating it. It’s almost like CSI Where anything biological can give you away a spare hair, skin, Sweat. The enemy in this film that will betray you is your DNA
GRADE: A-
