We know from its bizzare opening credit sequence, in which nail clippings and stubble drift dreamily against a wall of neon blue, that we're in store for unusual Hollywood fare. But as with many directorial debuts (Andrew Niccol was given a chance to helm based on the originality and visual quality of his screenplay), Gattaca falls short not on ambition but in execution.

It is "the not so distant future." The delightful Ethan Hawke stars as Vincent, a custodian who dreams of becoming an astronaut. High hopes, indeed, for in this world science assists in the manipulation of embryos to create "perfect" children, and our naturally conceived hero suffers from both myopia and a heart condition, preventing him from becoming anything more than a second-class citizen. "In the future, discrimination has come down to a science," he intones in (seemingly endless) narration.

Enter Jerome (Jude Law), a "valid" citizen recently left paralyzed by a car accident. He'll assist Vincent by donating his identity (as well as perfect blood and urine) for a price that the desperate janitor eagerly accepts. A few months later, Vincent, now calling himself Jerome, is an eager executive of the Gattaca Aerospace Corporation, welcome in the rooms he was once only allowed to sweep. But when the Mission Director's murder coincides with "Jerome"'s promotion to astronaut, Vincent worries in the act of investigation that his true identity may be uncovered.

To his credit, Niccol sets about telling his complex story with an emphasis on emotion. But Gattaca gets bogged down by repetition and clichees, and the romantic subplot between Vincent and Irene (Uma Thurman) oddly lacks eroticism considering the Calvin Klein heat that the two stars individually generate. (It doesn't help that Uma is weightless as an actress, upstaged by her own beauty.) The most effective performance comes from Law, a newcomer to American screens who, in a few broad strokes, creates a realistic, sympathetic, tragic figure worthy of a less obvious film.

And while no plot string is left untied, there are too many endings. More often than not lately I find myself wishing a film would finish twenty minutes before it actually does, and Gattaca is no exception. Though I will have fond memories of Michael Nyman's lovely score, the Orwellian production design, and the performances of Ethan Hawke and Jude Law, I will always recall Gattaca as, like its main character, too flawed to be a contender.-Bill Chambers