In the near future, humanity has mastered his own genetic code. So thorough is this knowledge, in fact, that the majority of modern conceptions are performed in a petri dish, on an embryo with the lowest number of negative hereditary traits. Against the backdrop of this fanatically eugenic-conscious future, discrimination has reached new levels, as jobs and relationships are won and lost with a simple blood sample and naturally conceived children are second-rate citizens. It seems like there's always a persistent, rebellious figure when confronted with such an oppressive system, and in Gattaca's case that role is filled by Ethan Hawke as the physically modest, daydreaming genius Vincent. The bevy of hoops Hawke jumps through to maintain the illusion that he's a top-tier genetic example make up most of the film's substance, with an ongoing murder investigation pressing the matter in a few hairy new directions. Somewhere along the way Vincent stumbles into a hollow, affection-free relationship with Uma Thurman that seems to spawn more from boredom than passion. Quite slow and methodical in nature, it's still a bright rumination on a future that already seems within grasp. Could have used a more flavorful tone, and the cast is almost universally glazed-over and dry.