Gattaca

In the not-too-distant future, parents are able to choose their offspring's precise genetic makeup. Vincent (Hawke) was one of the last "natural"-born individuals, with all his defects, including poor eyesight and a heart problem that carries a high probability he will not survive past 30. He yearns to travel into space, but his genotype will not allow that. So he finances a scheme to buy another man's identity: that of a former athlete (Law) with top genetic background who has been crippled after a car accident. With his new credentials and the system-cheating methods to back them up, he gets positioned to join a crew to Titan, one of Saturn's moons, but the director of his section is murdered and a police investigation, led by a dogged Columbo-type detective (Arkin) closes in on him, just as a sleek coworker (Thurman) becomes attracted to him -- days before the flight. Low key, visually sumptuous, with a mostly lush and languid score by Michael Nyman, "Gattaca" is a thoughtful, mentally provoking film rather than an exhilarating thriller. Except for a silly recurring swimming duel theme, it was a very impressive 1997 debut by New Zealand-born writer-director Andrew Niccol, who