Gattaca
...idescreen compositions by Polish cinematographer Slavomir Idziak. Idziak brings to the project his trademark naturalistic imagery distorted by colour filters, familiar to anyone who has admired his work since Kieslowski's A Short Film about Killing. Many of the frames are reminiscent of the paintings of Hooper or Conroy, with the depiction of a totalitarian state filled with dehumanisation owing a great debt to both Fritz Lang's Metropolis and George Orwell's nineteen-eighty-four... we also have architectural structures designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. Combine this to retro-fifties fashion, cars and cityscapes and the echo of Terry Gilliam and Brazil becomes very clear. All of this goes to show Niccol's ability to utilize his references and inspirations so that they complement, rather than detract from the film's overall appeal. The director always manages to keep our focus on his characters... with the central trio comprising of Ethan Hawk's Vincent, Uma Thurman's co-worker/love interest Irene, and Jude Law's paralysed genius Jerome. Ultimately the plot boils down to Vincent and Jerome's reliance on each other... also picking up on notions of loyalty, brotherhoo...