Movie: HIdden Figures

Hidden Figures:  the largely untold story of three African-American women who were instrumental in NASA’s early success.  The three women are Katherine Johnson (Taraji Henson), who is still alive at age 98, Dorothy Vaughan (Octavia Spencer) and Mary Jackson (Janelle Monae).  We meet the women when their car stalls on the way to work.  This scene, presented with a sense of humor, sets the tone of the film and reveals the women’s individual characteristics.  It also touches on the theme of sex discrimination, which is present throughout the film.  One of the more memorable scenes is that of Katherine Johnson, a brilliant mathematician, being denied attendance at a NASA meeting for purely misogynistic reasons.  Johnson is the person who, at the specific request of John Glenn (Glen Powell), did the final calculation checks prior to Glenn’s launch into space.  He wanted the “smart one” to verify the IBM calculations before boarding the ship.  Glenn is presented in an extremely positive light.  Dorothy Vaughan is the individual who headed the “colored computer” (mathematicians crunching numbers) section but was denied the supervisory title due to her race and gender.  Vaughn is instrumental in getting the IBM machine operating and is also the one who knows what the people under her supervision have to do to retain their positions at NASA in the new age of IBM technology.  Mary Jackson, a member of the engineering team, plays a key role in developing the ship’s heat shield.  Part of the reason this NASA based film works is that it is placed in the context of 1960 American society where sexism and Jim Crow laws were alive and well.   Further, the movie presents the well established home lives these three brilliant women lived.   Margot Lee Shetterly wrote the book upon which the film is based.  The screenplay was written by Allison Schroeder and Theodore Melfi and it is Oscar quality.   Melfi also directed this excellent 127 minute movie.  It’s the small scenes that make this film work particularly well.  For example, Melfi’s handling of the race-based bathroom issue shows his skills as a writer and as a director.  Kevin Costner, as Al Harrison, is also excellent.  Harrison is the director of the Space Task Group and is someone who focuses on completing the task at hand and not an employee’s skin color or sex.  The only weak character is Jim Parsons as Paul Stafford.  He is the only person who comes across as stereotypic.  Mahershala Ali from Moonlight has a small role as Johnson’s suitor and eventual husband.  The contrast between his two movie roles is astonishing.  This film speaks of the blatant racism and sexism in 1960’s American society, however, when you leave the cinema, you do so with an optimistic view that hurdles can be overcome.  Hidden Figures is quite entertaining and one of the best movies of 2016.