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Why was Irene confused/surprised in the scene where she saw both Jerome and Vincent together?

posted 4 years ago by orangep (1)
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In the scene where Anton comes to Jerome's house with Irene and samples blood from Jerome, Irene realizes that Jerome is not the person she knew (e.g. Vincent).

But didn't she already know Vincent was not Jerome before this? For example, in the scene where they run away from the detectives and hide in the alley, Anton shouts "Vincent!", and Irene whispers "Who's Vincent?". Also from subsequent scenes (bed scene, or when she helps Vincent by sending him back home from Gattaca), it's pretty clear she knows something is not right and Vincent is probably not the Jerome she knows.

Given all this, why does she act so surprised later when she finds out Jerome is actually someone else. Wouldn't she have expected that?

[–] Fandango (535) 4 years ago

I believe Irene is much less confused and surprised in this scene as she is shocked that her entire worldview has been shattered. When Anton realizes that the superlative engineer at Gattaca is not the perfect, enhanced, and valid individual everyone thinks he is; he, alongside Irene and Eugene, must confront the fact that it is Vincent who is the superior human being, as he is able to overcome his "physical and social limitations despite his built-in flaws."

The following passage from David Kirby's Essay: The New Eugenics in Cinema: Genetic Determinism and Gene Therapy in GATTACA, is interesting:

According to screenwriter/director Niccol, Irene is "somebody who would lie down and die at the allotted minute because she would feel guilty if she lived a minute longer than her [genetic] profile prescribed" (Production Notes 2). During the course of the film, Irene realizes that Vincent has overcome his genetic flaws, and that she has the ability to overcome hers. As Uma Thurman, who plays Irene, states, "her fate isn’t sealed the way she thinks it is, and the realization transforms her" (Production Notes 3).