Hidden Figures

Rounding out my first movie weekend of 2017 is again catching up with an Oscar contender, Hidden Figures. 

Once more, this is one I've been interested in for a little while now. For a historical drama, it has had some excellent, fun trailers that circle around a really interesting and remarkable story. 

I won't keep you in suspense, the film is just like you'd expect from the trailers and in this case, that's a very good thing. I had a blast with it (pun somewhat intended) and I'm very happy to hear that it's doing bonkers at the box office thus far. It deserves to. 

As we all know, America is a little...racially charged...right now. I won't delve into the politics of it all as I've certainly explained or alluded to my position in previous posts, but Hidden Figures does a superb job at showing the time in which it exists and the hardships and injustices that people of color and women had to endure. In this sense it actually reminded me a lot of Remember the Titans in retrospect in terms of its display of race relations and approach to its overall filmmaking. It's fun, but it's still serious and filled with earned dramatic moments. 

In part this success is owned by not only the three awesome leads, but the rest of the cast too. I think one of my favorite things about this film is the overall casting as each person brings something unique to the table with their character. Taraji P Henson, who I've come to love from binge-watching Person of Interest (about the only CBS show I've ever enjoyed) is at her very best here and I hope this film is the catalyst to her getting more big-time roles. She deserves it. Janelle Monae makes waves here and it appears to me that she can act as well as she can sing which, in case you're unaware, is pretty f**king great. Octavia Spencer, as always, is a rock and about as dependable as you can get these days. From a supporting role, I was happy with all the casting choices, but Kevin Costner most of all. His approach to being the "boss" at NASA is a no-nonsense one and his character is really endearing. They have one mission: put a man into space. So when things like segregation and discrimination surrounding both color and sex get in the way of that happening, he immediately sets the precedent for everyone else by basically doing away with it. They are some powerful scenes and speak volumes to what we should be doing today -- asking ourselves: "Does this person's gender/color/orientation affect anything that I do? No? Okay then who the hell cares?". It proves that you'll always get further without the roadblocks of discrimination of any kind and it does so in a subtle but powerful way. 

I would have some caption for this picture but I can't take my eyes of Janelle Monae

"So the tornado came down and I rescued the
dog. I told my son to not save me.
Now I'm here."

The rest of the film is a delight in a similar fashion. My only significant complaint is there is a pretty unnecessary and desperately shoehorned love story into the whole proceedings. It detracts from everything else and, trying my best to explain this, doesn't fit with the timeline of the film at all. It's weird and the film would have been better without it. Aside from that though, it's paced really well and is continually moving forward toward sending John Glenn into space to orbit the planet. Many of the other subplots feed into this one and the overall organization and structure should be applauded. There are a lot of moving pieces here and I always had a good grasp of everything. It's even better because I knew absolutely nothing about it and it's true, which, after you see the film, is utterly remarkable. Not just the fact that these three women at NASA were downright brilliant, but that they were able to stick to their mission despite the injustices thrown their way. Historically, it's one of the most interesting and fantastic stories I've seen at the movies recently. 

As a whole, the film is impressive. The cinematography was never anything that blew me away but the editing is solid and I particularly enjoyed the original music and the soundtrack (also mostly original). That shouldn't surprise me at all given that both were created primarily by Hans Zimmer and Pharrell. Interesting combination aside, their work here is neither of their best work, but it does work well together -- very well in some instances. 

It would be fun to see them work together again!

Hidden Figures is a really fun movie that will teach a lot to a lot of people. It's got all the hallmarks of a great historical drama: strong performances, good original score, untold true story, etc. I imagine though that, aside from just learning about these three incredible women and their contribution to the history of our country and its space program, some people will walk away thinking about their own discriminations, no matter what they may be, and how useless they are. Especially when you consider all the areas of your life that you're working with other humans toward one purpose. 

CONS: 

• Love story is completely unnecessary, shoehorned in, and actually doesn't even fit with the timeline
• Sometimes the Pharrell songs come across louder than they need to and they don't particularly fit the moment
• A few scenes are a bit repetitive. Could have used a 10 minute trimming

PROS:

• Very interesting untold story. I found it remarkable both as a graduated engineer and as a human being. These women played a significant role in the history of our nation
• Taraji, Octavia, and Janelle own the screen each in unique ways. Octavia already does but Janelle and especially Taraji should get far more significant roles after this
• Awesome and well chosen supporting cast too. Kevin Costner is the best of that bunch and his character is written very well
• Approaches racism and sexism directly and with powerful examples. These women had to endure a lot simply just to do their jobs
• Well paced and organized
• Excellent original score and music
• Historically captivating and just a fun movie with a message. It deserves your time and money

Rath's Review Score | 8.5/10