The Guardian interviews the impending future

Directed by Marc Silver out of Annex Films, Recode examines the ethics of the reality that science will swiftly bring to bear.

Recode demonstrates a deliberate and tacit understanding of the world surrounding us. Scientists are the makers of science fiction and the reality that Recode embodies is not too far off at all. The story is documentary-style, a youngish journalist following the scientist who has pioneered genetic recoding for the modern era. The film explains the pitfalls of the future, explores the capitalistic structures that render science and healthcare inaccessible. 

In soft focus, taking time to flesh out the lonely, bucolic retreat of the maverick scientist, the film goes through the benefits and pitfalls of a world where parents can edit out the gene for dementia and add in the gene for green eyes. There’s a world of issues raised by these procedures, and instead of focusing on the possibility of a genetically perfect child, Recode looks at ethics, the failures, the systemic imbalance of the world where those who can afford it will ensure their progeny continually rise above the rest of the world. 

Written with The Guardian’s sharp eye for storytelling and knowing what questions people will ask, Recode is a clear, singular look at a thorny subject that most people still don’t know much about. The world is still changing, and the science behind these shifts is often impenetrable and misunderstood. Recode doesn’t muddy the waters, but instead holds them up, asking if this is the future we want.