"Gattaca" came under wide criticism for being too serious. I can't argue. This film is one of the slowest, most ponderous sci-fi movies I've ever seen, but it possesses the necessary tools (an interesting plot, compelling characterizations) to do so.
Ethan Hawke plays a guy playing "against his hand" in a world where your genes determine everything about you. Hawke is qualified to do nothing but janitorial work, but shoots for the stars, literally. So, he enlists the help of futuristic Mafioso Tony Shalhoub, and hooks up with Jude Law, a guy whose identity he will borrow.
This borrowed identity gets his a job at the Gattaca Corp, where the best staff members get to fly interplanetary missions. A co-worker, and eventually love interest, is played by Uma Thurman.
Very consistently, "Gattaca" is interesting, and quite thought- provoking. While it sometimes makes the mistake of telling the viewer what to think (like Oliver Stone without the creativity), what we are told to think is interesting of itself.
Grade: B