With HIDDEN FIGURES, Shetterly enacts a revolution no less crucial and pivotal as her subjects. This is no accident, but a continuation of the very injustice and erasure that Shetterly confronts and combats with her work. When we think of the aeronautical boom today, we speak instead of the astronauts, we conceive of gawky, brilliant, skinny white boys. I think the history of these women has been hidden, insofar as it has been deliberately kept out of textbooks and, consequently, popular lexicon. To some extent - and with all due respect, which is a sizable sum - I disagree. This line comes tucked into the very end of Margot Lee Shetterly's HIDDEN FIGURES, opening her acknowledgements, but I think it serves as a crucial frame. The history that has come together in these pages wasn't so much hidden as unseen - fragments patiently biding their time in footnotes and family anecdotes and musty folders before returning to view." Hidden Figures is a movie that is easy to consume, engaging, intelligent and really deserves to be seen."The title of this book is something of a misnomer. Sure, at times there is a touch too much sugar, only the slightest touch, but it is never to the detriment of the movie as a whole. A key character in the film that you never see is the score and soundtrack, delicate and precise and, while it won’t go down as a classic, is perfect thanks to Hans Zimmer’s handiwork and Pharell Williams’ '60’s-inspired infusion. There is not one person on screen that doesn’t cut through and deliver something that is in some way affecting, dramatically or through gentle humor. They are supported by a cast who all also give excellent performances, regardless of how small they are, including Kirsten Dunst as the boss of the barrier-smashing trio, Jim Parsons as Paul Stafford – who is a delight as a man with a chip on his shoulder and an aversion to change, the always brilliant and deservedly Hollywood-hot Mahershala Ali, Aldis Hodge as Levi Jackson and Glen Powell as space legend John Glenn. The real stars of the film are Henson, Spencer, and Monáe who all deserve recognition for excellent performances that show breadth and depth and humanity and humility as well as grace and gravitas – they turn in some of the most effortlessly watchable performances of the year and deliver exactly what is called for, and then some. Hidden Figures does all three in abundance. This is a Hollywood studio film that is meant to educate, enlighten and entertain. This is a drama, based on a true story, not an exact reconstruction of specific events. Costner gives it all something rich, a uniqueness that makes you realize that he’s doing this movie, this role, because he wants to and not because he has too. A prime example of this is Al Harrison, Kevin Costner’s character, who is the combination of three different people. However, those in no way detract from the sincerity or credibility of the film as a talking point and a hugely enjoyable piece of cinema. There are, and the film and the people behind it are honest and upfront about them, elements of Hidden Figures that have been tweaked to make this work as a film. Sure, there are moments that are a touch Hollywood rather than this being a borderline biopic, perhaps even twee, but they feel sassy and nuanced rather than jarring and synthetic. All three are excellent in different ways, delivering stunning performances that will impress and engage. Henson, Octavia Spencer, and Janelle Monáe play Johnson, Vaughan, and Jackson respectively with a frank and touching authenticity that avoids the temptation to overplay any element of their characters, ensuring they don’t become caricatures, and never giving in to the temptation to play clichés. Together they crossed a number of significant boundaries, including gender and race lines but it’s something that isn’t talked about enough, and certainly not loudly enough, for people to hear. Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan and Mary Jackson who are three brilliant African-American women that worked at NASA and were the brains behind one of the greatest operations in history: the launch of astronaut John Glenn into orbit. Hidden Figures tells the story of Katherine G.
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