Starring Ethan Hawke, Uma Thurman, Jude Law Directed by Andrew Niccol Rated PG-13, with profanity, mild violence. Running time 112 minutes Jack gives this film a rating of 7 out of 10

(Oct. 24, 1997) -- "We used to think our future was in the stars," said Nobel Prize-winning geneticist James Watson. "Now we know it is in our genes."

With that oft-quoted remark as inspiration, first-time filmmaker Andrew Niccol has fashioned Gattaca, a smart and stylish cautionary fable. Niccol imagines a brave new world in which a person's DNA determines his or her place in the social structure.

It is a future of minimalist architecture, cooled-down emotions and soft-spoken terror, in which the world's leaders and achievers have been genetically engineered as test-tube babies to be "the best that they can be."

Natural-born people are called "In-Valids," because they are more likely to carry imperfections, weaknesses and diseases. They're second-class citizens, shut out of meaningful society. And whenever there are haves and have-nots, there is dramatic conflict.

Ethan Hawke stars as Vincent Freeman, who has long dreamed of being chosen as part of his nation's elite corps of space pilots. But he's an In-Valid, with bad eyesight and a heart defect.

But Vincent takes his cause underground, into the lucrative black market of false identities. Meanwhile, a genetically engineered man with a bright future, Jerome (Jude Law), has suffered a serious accident and been left paralyzed. Jerome agrees to sell his identity to Vincent.

That's not as easy as it sounds. Vincent must implant Jerome's fingerprints over his own; he must have surgically lengthened legs, to match Jerome's height; he must carry hidden pouches of Jerome's urine and blood to pass the many tests that are now a routine part of life.

He also must vigorously brush his hair and scrape his skin before leaving the house; he wants to lose as few excess cells as possible. After all, one misplaced hair follicle or skin cell can disclose his scam.

Despite the challenges, Vincent makes it into Gattaca, the space-port corporation where he'll train as an astronaut, preparing for a spot on a flight to Titan.

But only days before the blast-off, Vincent's bogus world threatens to come undone. The director of Gattaca has been murdered, and an In-Valid's eyelash has been found near the scene of the crime.

As Vincent, Ethan Hawke projects intelligence and the burning ambition of a dreamer; it's a moving performance. But even more impressive is newcomer Law, conveying the anguish and disillusion of Jerome, a young man who once had everything but now watches another assume his golden identity.

Uma Thurman, though billed above the title, gets to do very little in the vastly underwritten role of Vincent's girlfriend. And the casting of writer Gore Vidal as the Gattaca director seems more gimmicky than effective.

The real drama revolves around Jerome and Vincent, the one-time genetic prince and the pretender to the throne.

The result is engrossing science fiction about a world gone wrong in a test tube.