Scenes 18 – 21: Vincent/Jerome and Irene’s second date (“The cup was definitely used since the original sweep?” to “That’s not true Irene")
Anton is interrupted during his workout to be told that another sample of the suspect's has been found. Detective Hugo thinks the suspect may be a borrowed ladder at Gattaca. Detective Hugo insists that they test all the Gattaca employees with blood from the vein. Once again, Vincent manages to dodge being found out by switching his own blood sample with Jerome's; he does this by pretending Dr. Lamar has hurt him with the needle. As he jumps up in pain, he switches the vials. And so no match is found.
Seeing Irene after the testing, Vincent tells her he's off in two days. He wants to spend time with her before he goes. Their second date marks a dramatic change in Irene’s attitudes: her hair is down and she is wearing a gold dress, a departure from her previous slick bun and black attire. The music at the dance venue is loud and playful, and the place is ornately decorated with chandeliers.
Their date is interrupted when the police investigators arrive. The detectives are convinced that if they find Vincent Freeman, they will have solved the murder. When Vincent sees them, he flees with Irene, beating up an officer in the process. Suspenseful music plays as they run down back alleys. As they hide away from the investigators, Vincent begins to reveal the truth to Irene, and the two kiss passionately.
The scene then cuts to the beach. The camera zooms in to crashing blue waves, continuing the water motif that echoes throughout the film. The camera then pans up to a room with glass walls, where the two are lying next to each other, asleep. A strong sense of peace and tranquillity is evoked. In the morning, Vincent notices a stray strand of his own hair on the pillow; this prompts him to clean himself and out he goes to the beach, using sand and rocks to rub the excess skin from his body, while Irene washes all makeup off her face. There is a deliberate parallel between the two lovers.
Scenes 21 – 23: Investigator visits Jerome’s apartment (“Isn't that the man from last night?” to “It is possible")
Back at Gattaca, Anton believes the man he is after is Jerome Morrow; we see him comparing his information with Vincent's (presumably suspecting that Vincent is posing as him) and he decides to test Jerome again. Overhearing their intention, Irene warns Vincent to go home. She then tells the detectives that Jerome is at home, feeling nauseous, which is "quite common before a mission." Vincent, aware that they will go to his house and test the blood of whoever they find there, calls Jerome and asks him "to be himself for the day." And so Jerome climbs the staircase before the detectives arrive. He throws himself out of his wheelchair and, with upper body strength alone, drags himself up the stairs, arriving just as the doorbell goes. He only then has moments to compose himself in a seated position before Anton and Irene enter. This scene is full of dramatic action, as the investigator, convinced that the man who has been passing himself off as Jerome is the invalid Vincent Freeman in disguise, arrives at Jerome’s apartment to test his blood and analyze his DNA.
This scene portrays the first moment where the "real" Jerome displays determination and willpower. Vincent calls Jerome and explains that the detectives will head to his apartment. He pleads with Jerome that “I need you to be yourself for the day,” to which the latter cynically replies “I was never very good at that, remember?” In this exchange, Vincent and Jerome’s positions are almost reversed. Before the phone call, Vincent was gazing out a window while Jerome was hurriedly scrubbing his arms to collect his skin cells. The fact that typically Jerome gazes out of windows while Vincent scrubs indicates that the situations have been reversed.
A key scene occurs when Jerome realizes that he has to climb the stairs and act like he had never been in the paralyzing car accident. With great effort and strain, Jerome pulls himself up the spiral staircase. Close ups of his face indicate that he is in great pain. A series of shot-reverse-shots show that just as Jerome is near the top of the stairs, the investigator is seconds away from the apartment. After the doorbell is rung many times, he is just able to reach the button to invite the investigator in. He then positions himself upright on the lounge and composes himself so as to not draw suspicion. This scene illustrates that, beneath his cynical side, Jerome is a caring man who will put in effort for something that really matters.
The investigator, thinking that Jerome is Vincent, is surprised when the blood test shows him to in fact be ‘Jerome Morrow: VALID’. Irene, who witnesses the scene, is horrified; she now realizes that she doesn't know anything about the man she's been falling in love with. Vincent confesses all to her: that he is a 'faith birth'. The only reason Anton doesn't search the rest of the property for the invalid he is after is because he's called away by Detective Hugo who announces that they've "found their man." Seconds after Anton leaves, Vincent walks up the stairs. In a humorous exchange where Vincent and Jerome call each other “Jerome,” the parallel between the two is at its greatest. At this moment, Jerome has proved that he, much like Vincent, also shares great determination and an ability to defy the odds and achieve what appears to be impossible.
Analysis
When two more samples of the invalid suspect's DNA are found at Gattaca, Detective Hugo is adamant that the man they're looking for is working there in disguise. Anton won't accept that a 'borrowed ladder' could have made his or her way into Gattaca—"he wouldn't have the mental faculty or the physical stamina," he protests. The rules in this society seem to be set up to so that quick assessments can be confidently made. Of course Anton would find it hard to imagine a degenerate being able to perform to the standard of the other valid Gattaca employees. And yet, Anton, of all people, should be open to this possibility, should be aware that quick assessments aren't always accurate. After all, his brother, an invalid, once saved his life as they raced each other in the sea. This is testament to how embedded discrimination of invalids is in this society. Anton doesn't suggest it's impossible for a 'borrowed ladder' to have made it to Gattaca in order to be spiteful; he just genuinely doesn't believe it could be possible. Detective Hugo is more realistic: he thinks Anton is underestimating the suspect and asks that they carry out the next tests intravenously, adding, "I hope I'm not out of line."
The shot then cuts to the line of employees waiting to have their blood tested. This line is made up of valids, of exceptional men and women working at Gattaca. There is one man, Vincent, who doesn't fall into that category—he is 'out of line'. As Vincent goes for the blood test and manages to replace the vial with Jerome's sample, his own blood spatters on the inspector standing in the room. It spatters all over his shoes. There is something apt about Jerome leaving his blood, the key to all his genetic information, right there on the other man's shoes. After all, his genetic information has made him bottom of the pile his whole life. And yet he, able to manipulate the system, walks away with no one knowing. He walks free while his blood lies across the man's shoes and across the floor: symbolically Jerome has managed to separate himself from the burden that has been with him his whole life; he leaves it lying on the floor where it belongs.
For the first time, out on her second date with Vincent, we see Irene with her hair down—she's relaxed, less formal. Irene discusses her 'heart problem' unaware that it's something they share. Despite the problems each have with their hearts, theirs is the only love story in the film, as though this shared defect allows them to be more human, more feeling, more real. Jerome isn't interested in having Irene sequenced, he just likes her as she is. There is huge respect shown in this film for peoples' imperfections. Let's look at which characters the film is really interested in: Irene, who has a heart condition; Vincent, an invalid; and Jerome, who fights his mental demons throughout. These characters are worth following because they are imperfect, because they feel and because they suffer and because they know what it means to survive and know what it costs. Vincent's drive and his passion to go to space has in part been to do with trying to escape. While dancing with Irene however he says, "it's funny, you work so hard to get away from a place, and when you finally get your chance to leave, you find a reason to stay." His passion now has another focus, and quite contrary to escaping, it wants him to stay exactly where he is, with Irene.
So ingrained in her understanding of herself is her heart condition, that Irene pleads with Vincent as they run away from the detectives, "don't you understand, I can't do that!" His response is to the point: "you just did." When you are treated as though you are weak and as though you are a victim, you start to believe it yourself; it stops you from exploring the idea that anything is possible. It shuts you down, it keeps you in your box, it keeps you in line. As with many forms of discrimination, be it race or gender, Gattaca demonstrates that once you have been told who you are, it is very difficult to break that image, either to yourself or to others. But faking his identity, Vincent proves that only he can determine his destiny, no one else has the right to tell him who he is.
Despite their night together and the intimacy they share, Vincent leaves Irene's side early to clean himself. He finds a strand on the bed and realizes he could be found out: Irene could realize he's been lying about who he is. As he scrubs himself on the beach, it is a pitiful sight: he looks pained, the activity feels like monkish self-flagellation. The contrast of the sea, that vast, natural element, serves as a juxtaposing backdrop. It naturally ebbs and flows while Jerome painfully goes about his activity in order to try and undo nature.
Anton—having got wind of the fact that his older brother Vincent may be posing as Jerome Morrow—goes to Jerome's house to give him a blood test on the spot and find out the truth. As Irene gets into the car with Anton to go and find Jerome at home, the escalator behind her is descending: this does not bode well. Back at home, Jerome pulls himself up the stairs, ready to meet Anton. The effort it takes him to pull himself up this double helix structure is significant. His suicide attempt has stripped him of the qualities that meant he was once at the top of the DNA ladder. When Jerome's blood is read and the test comes back positive for Jerome Morrow, Irene is shocked. Confused and hurt that she's been lied to, Irene leaves Vincent. He grabs her and says "I'm the same as I was yesterday." He's asking her to judge him on their connection, not on statistics that anybody could have access to. He wants to be seen for who he is not what his genes say he is not. He points out that they "have one thing in common": their heart defects. Vincent tells Irene that she is "the authority on what is not possible," illustrating that there is no such thing as not possible unless you believe in it. He is proof that anything is possible. "They've got you looking so hard for any flaw that after a while that's all you see...I'm here to tell you that it is possible." This film celebrates the will of man, fighting against all the odds to be the best he can be. Vincent is that hero.
