Hidden Figures

You know how sometimes you say, they don’t make ‘em like that any more?    Hidden Figures ranks up there in that near-perfect category.  

It’s a whopper, a winner, a top-notch story not to be missed. 

OK, now that I’ve exhausted most of the hyperbole, let me come down to earth and say a few words about this most remarkable piece of work.

Never the spoiler, I’ll simply repeat what most folks know:  It’s about three extraordinary African-American women, who, because of their unique skills in math and engineering, are hired by NASA at a time when few women, and fewer women of color, worked at the government establishment.

The film takes us back to the early 60s, the dawn of the Kennedy years, when racism and institutionalized segregation in many states were the norm.  The first part of the film is a painful, bitter reminder of how white America mistreated and abused fellow Americans of color.

You’ll no doubt squirm, then feel like vomiting, when you are reminded of the state of our country for African Americans back then.   But the first part of the film is important:  For it is against this background of oppression that the emergence of three bright, brave women is all the more extraordinary.  Also in the mix: the incredible prejudice back then against women.  

What really grabs our attention, however, is the backdrop against which the race drama plays out:  Will America get a manned spaceship off the ground and catch up with the Russians?  After all, Yuri Gagarin has just circled the earth and returned safely and the Russians are celebrating in the streets!  Can Kennedy's dynamic young America prove its mettle?

Acting:  Wow!   Let’s start with Kevin Costner.  As the leader of the NASA space team, he is fantastic as a man deeply committed to making the program a success.   He wins our hearts when he works to counter the biases against women of color.   In this movie, he reminds me of the Costner I liked so much in Field of Dreams.

Octavia Spencer:  She’s ALL that, as the saying goes.  What a performer!  Remember her in The Help?  She is full of pride, courage, and tenacity, and she speaks with such gentle eloquence that everyone listens.  She’s at her best when she quietly stands up to her bigoted boss.

Taraji P Henson plays a role as strong as Octavia’s, and she does so with equal aplomb.  As the math genius who shows the other mathematicians how to calculate space vectors, she excels for her wit, charm, and strong determination. She has few prior films to her credit, so this role will no doubt catapult her to stardom.

Kirsten Dunst:  What a bitch!  Haha.  Yes, she’s awful.  But as an actress, awful is good.  It’s not easy to play a villainess, but Kirsten does it with style and edginess.  We come to hate her, so she does her job well!  Hats off to the actress who got her start as a kid in Jumanji and later landed so many key roles.

I think you get the idea.  This is a quality film.  I usually temper my compliments with at least one critical observation.  So just one comment:  I think the third woman, played by the singer Janelle Monae, was the weakest portrait of the three.  We never really got to know her.

Overall, I cannot suggest how the film could be better!  It's a gem.

RUN out and see this one!   You will think about it for a long time afterward.