A cautionary, but ultimately optimistic tale of what would happen if we started engineering genetically perfect human beings, this is an engaging and satisfying yarn. It's also a very slow moving story that fortunately has just enough suspenseful scenes in it to occasionally perk things up. The sci-fi element -- that's initially quite interesting -- only fuels the plot so far.
Yet, what a fascinating dilemma the main character creates for himself. With any cell of his possibly be his downfall and considering that he sheds, oh, several hundred million of them each day creates quite a predicament. This is visually presented in a wonderfully symbolic opening that has magnified cells floating down like heavy snow and hair stubble loudly hitting the floor like metal pipes. All of that shows the "evidence" Vincent must hide, while its quantity and the sound of those hairs striking the floor show that hiding it won't be easy.
Of course, you wonder why in this technically enhanced future they couldn't just alter his DNA, or inject dye into his irises, or any number of things to make his deception a little easier. While that would make sense, it would unfortunately eliminate most of his problems and there would essentially be no story. Thus, those minor objections are nullified for sake of the plot.
While that plot is slow moving, one must remember this is a thinking person's sci-fi tale. There are no wild special effects or laser guns, for this is the not so distant future (and with the latest genetic discoveries and experiments headlining today's news, something like this might not be that far off).
Not wanting to fall under the often goofy futuristic clothing and set pieces commonly found in sci-fi films, costume designer Colleen Atwood and production designer Jan Roelfs have given the film a sterile, retro look. Despite the film's setting, these people, especially actor Jude Law, appear to be right out of a 1940's or 1950's film noir feature. If you imagine such people outfitted like that walking around in George Orwell's "1984," then you have the look and feel of this picture.
The performances are great, with Law ("A.I." "Enemy at the Gates") delivering an outstanding take as the paralyzed, but still genetically superior being. Essentially his first American film, Law is mesmerizing on screen and as said above has seemingly been yanked out of an older film and pasted into this one.
Uma Thurman ("Tape," "Pulp Fiction") is also perfectly cast as a near-perfect woman of the future. Her initial cold, sterile demeanor not only partially hides her beauty, but also her character's invisible imperfection that makes her only that much more human. Ethan Hawke ("Snow Falling on Cedars," "Reality Bites") as the lead character is a good choice as he doesn't appear to be a perfectly constructed specimen (like Law, Thurman or Loren Dean). As such, however, he's nearly overshadowed by the other performers and their characters, but that's part of the way his character should be played, so it's not too much of a problem.
The film's first reel is filled with Hawke's voice over narration, which is something we usually despise because it's often used as an easy way out to impart information or character motivations and emotions. For this sort of film, however, we excuse its use because we need to learn the entire back-story to understand what's going on, and because they essentially get rid of it after that introduction.
Writer/director Andrew Niccol (who went on to write "The Truman Show") creates a fascinating story filled with such elaborate details -- a drop of a newborn's blood immediately identifies that person's life from birth to exact death, and a perfect lab specimen is all you need to pass a job interview -- that you can't help but be fascinated by the plot.
After the sci-fi element has worn away, Niccol manages to hold our interest by then turning the movie into a story of the human spirit surviving despite science, and the efforts of others that might topple the main character's precariously stacked house of deception. Throwing in a little romance with some non-traditional, but highly effective suspense scenes, this film is sure to entertain audiences looking for a more mature, thought-provoking science fiction film.
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