Hidden Figures

Score:  ****1/2 out of ***** (A)

Directed by Theodore Melfi
Starring Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer, Janelle Monae, Kevin Costner, et. al.
Running time:  127 minutes
Rated PG

Long Story Short:  Hidden Figures tells the true story of the vital work done by three black women at NASA in the crucial early days of the Cold War space race.  The film has a fantastic foundation to work from, with Henson, Spencer, and Monae skillfully portraying the incredible women.  It's a crowd-pleaser in tone, yet it's also made with the quality and care of the best Hollywood has to offer. Come not just for an important piece of our national history, but also for an extremely entertaining tale.  A must-see.


The front line of the Cold War in the early 1960s was the race to space and, having been the first to do so, the Soviet Union sent shock waves through millions of stunned Americans.  At NASA bases across the country, including Hampton, VA, many people were hard at work to catch up to and surpass their rival.  Part of this effort, but tucked out of sight, included a group of African American women such as computer Katherine Goble (Henson), engineer Mary Jackson (Monae), and the unofficial head of the group, Dorothy Vaughan (Spencer).  Pressured to accelerate his Space Task Group's progress in putting a man into orbit around the Earth, Al Harrison (Costner) reaches out for another "computer", to check and correct the incredible amount and complexity of calculations being done by his team, all white men.  Katherine is called upon, leaving her group for the exciting yet daunting opportunity.  Meanwhile, Jackson attempts to join another team as engineer and struggles as barriers are thrust before her.  And Dorothy continues to fight for her work family; denied the actual position that she does anyway, she takes it upon herself to learn about a new kind of computer - a kind made by IBM - and make her team valuable to the space race in a brand new way.  The clock is ticking, and as John Glenn prepares to take a leap of faith on NASA's efforts, his success depends on the talents and efforts of the three incredible women in Virginia.

Hidden Figures has quite a cast of popular and talented actors which is crucial in driving the drama and essence of the film.  The cast is led by the impressive trio of NASA employees: Katherine, Mary, and Dorothy.  Each woman is a distinguished, intriguing character, thanks to the work of the actresses.  Katherine, if any, is the primary lead due to her role working on John Glenn's flight trajectory.  She has a sort of middle of the road personality, from her nervousness in joining the big shots to her occasional outburst of frustration at her treatment; from her intense dedication to her work to her gentle and loving care of her children.  Katherine is a very well-rounded and developed character, thanks to both Henson and the script (and, of course, the woman herself).  While Spencer's Vaughan and Monae's Jackson don't receive quite the depth of attention, again the performances and character's themselves are impressive.  Vaughan is the dignified emotional leader; also perhaps the most oppressed, she quietly moves forward undaunted, providing a foundation for all the rest.  And Jackson is perhaps the most impassioned one, determined to live on her own terms yet also using a calm and focused mind to get there; a court scene in which she argues for her own right to education is one of the best dramatic scenes I've witnessed in a long time.  There are some notable supporting roles, including Costner's team leader Harrison, an arrogant engineer played by Jim Parsons, a romantic interest for Katherine in Mahershala Ali's Jim Johnson and even a tiny but nice John Glenn part.  But make no mistake: this is Katherine, Mary, and Dorothy's movie.

Hidden Figures is one of those rare films combining a crowd-pleasing style with a top-notch level of filmmaking from its performances to its script and design - oh, and it tells an important, inspiring true story with care and respect.  The overall tone and style of the film has the unmistakable scent of Hollywood drama (from the type of dialogue to the score); sometimes this can be a nauseous odor, but here it is fresh and warm.  And the main reasons this turns out alright - make that fantastic - is the quality and care of execution, and the amazing nature of the true story and its characters.  There are frequent reminders of the racism that the main characters dealt with every day - from a policeman's stopping when he sees their car pulled over, to having to run half a mile across the NASA campus just to get to a bathroom.  But these are not heavy-handed, rather they are both powerful and thoughtfully done.  On the other side of the coin, the white characters do not simply move from ignorant and hateful at the beginning to redeemed and loving at the end.  Each starts at different levels and some make progress while others don't.  In short, for a crowd-pleaser, this film is remarkably complex in its social narrative.

Hidden Figures is not primarily about race relations, however; its main goal is illustrating its remarkable protagonists.  Sure, a large part of that is the women's work (most of this is Katherine's, both the everyday grind as well as a few moments where her mathematical genius gets to shine before a stunned audience) and the racial barriers they face.  But there are also important scenes with family and friends, primarily dealing with single mother Katherine's efforts raising her daughters and being courted by an Army officer.  And despite the seriousness of the story, the script and actors manage to produce some great humor, too (this is where the crowd-pleasing nature comes back in).  Finally, the film is quite historically accurate - Parsons' and Dunst's characters are fictional composites, and some details are swapped around - with little of the dramatic embellishment that can go way overboard in lesser-skilled hands.  Glenn himself trusted Katherine - when he wanted his calculations checked, he specifically asked for her to do it, not the machines or anything/anyone else.

***

Hidden Figures is a great film, and caps what has been an incredible winter season of films - to go along with Manchester by the Sea, Fences, and La La Land.  Speaking of which, I'll be delaying my year-end movie post a bit this year - both so that it comes closer to the Oscars, and so I can see a few more movies on Netflix that I didn't get to see in theaters.  I find it interesting that, in this space for my La La Land, I hoped for more films like it - i.e., strong films that entertain and reach a large audience, while harnessing the talent of Hollywood (not just acting but writing, etc.) on good ideas.  Well, if Hidden Figures doesn't fit the bill, I don't know what does.  It's been a great start to 2017 in movie terms, and hopefully it will continue.  Make sure to get out to see this one!



By Source (WP:NFCC#4), Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=51342178