In the not-too-distant future, an individual’s prospects are determined by their genetic profile. So whilst Vincent (Ethan Hawke) dreams of joining the Gattaca space program, his myopia and risk of heart failure means all he can do is work as a janitor for the company. Then genetically “superior” – but paraplegic – former athlete Jerome (Jude Law) agrees to sell Vincent his DNA samples so Vincent can join the space program under an assumed identity. Just as Vincent is scheduled for a space mission, his program director (Gore Vidal) is killed and the police investigation threatens to uncover his ruse.

Although Gattaca was released 25 years ago, the film’s themes and questions about how much genes can predict our success have become even more relevant today.

Fun fact: The name ‘Gattaca’ is made entirely of the four letters that stand for each of the four nucleotide bases of DNA – G, A, T, C