Estrelas Além do Tempo

In the opinion of this reviewer, an extraordinary achievement.

The characters on which the film is based were special and unique on their own, and well deserving of the sort of semi-documentary films that Hollywood likes to serve up.

However, to take that story and bump it up to a major "feel-good film" that engages the viewer from the getgo and does not let up until the very end of its 2 hour and 5 minute running time, THAT is what elevates this project to greatness.

I want to be clear on this because it is important. There are two ways to do a feel-good film. One is (ironically!) by the numbers, using proved plot arcs and other script devices to make it work. An example of this for example is the latest Disney release MOANA which has taken some heat from critics for being derivative and not original. But that, you see, is the tried and true method to achieve the effect that the producers wanted. And it works.

The other way to make a film engaging and fun is to use your instincts and your actors to get the most from each scene. No rule book, no fixed way of doing a scene, just doing what works. This is, I believe the way that writer/director Theodore Melfi set out to do Hidden Figures, and boy did he pull it off! The acting is stellar. Costner has matured in his latest film roles and his work here is as far from the nonsense he used to do (like the dreaded Robin Hood) as the earth is from the sun.

Taraji P. Henson finally lands a great role, the kind of role she was looking for when she left the hit series Person of Interest a tad early.

And every good film or TV series needs a character who is "the glue" or a reference point that the viewer can use, like a compass needle, to see where we are in the main story. Here Octavia Spencer gives the performance of her life as that "glue" and helps the director to pace the film.

Highly recommended.

There was a world not long ago where lines were drawn, where demarcation was defined when you were born, opportunities were withheld, life's ambitions cruelly quelled, aspirations, dreams, desires could not be formed. Although the ladies down at NASA had some fight, and to complement their toughness they were bright, conjuring numbers, equations, to prevent Russian invasions, as they conquered syntax, these girls had some byte. Now because of this great film they are recalled, it will leave you captivated and enthralled, the meaning of the great space race, exacted with finesse and grace, although at times you may just feel, slightly appalled.

The Americans are desperate to beat The Russians to get the first man into space, NASA plans to send John Glenn up, this film charts the role three African American women played in launching the rocket.

I watched it when it first landed, and I enjoyed it just as much on a second viewing. It's uplifting, moving, and a hugely important story.

I have always been fascinated by space travel, and by the key role that NASA played, but even the great organisation itself had its flaws.

It highlights the significant level of racism that people ensured at the time, the segregation, the white and black amenities and facilities, it's sickening to watch now, but this is how people lived.

The acting is terrific, every single performance is on point, every character matters, and has an important part to play. Octavia Spencer however, I think she steals the show, a performance that is genuinely captivating.

It's a fascinating story, and a beautifully well made film, one that inspires and uplifts.

8/10.

"Hidden Figures" came out several months ago and there are already quite a few reviews for it. Because of this, I don't plan on saying a lot.

The film is the story of some inspiring black women who worked in the space program during an era when black women were highly marginalized. The acting is terrific and the production all around is well made and enjoyable. Not surprisingly, the movie did well in the box office and no doubt you'll have a nice time if you see the film.

Do I have any quibbles? Well, a few details here and there were changed to make the story more cinematic...which is the norm for Hollywood films and something I can look past since the story is essentially true.

We baby boomers remember the intensity of the space program very well, and it's brought home in "Hidden Figures," a 2016 film starring Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spancer, Janelle Monae, Kevin Costner, Kirsten Dunst, and Jim Parsons.

The acting in this inspiring story is excellent, natural, and low key.

Based on a non-fiction book by Margot Lee Shetterly, the film is about three black women who entered the space program as mathematicians. At NASA they had a dual fight - not only were they black, but they were women in a man's world.

The film shows the segregation and prejudice they encountered. It also shows a world just before computers came in, with space trajectories figured out in pencil. Totally amazing. The story culminates with - what else - John Glenn's historic orbiting of the earth.

Fortunately for these brilliant, ambitious, and determined women, the prejudice shown in the film was actually overdone to make the story of their accomplishments stronger. Their accomplishments were pretty darned impressive anyway.

In the film, Katherine (Henson) has to walk 40 minutes to the "colored" bathroom until her supervisor, Harrison (Costner) finds out about it.

In truth, though this is something Mary (Monae) did encounter, Katherine didn't know about a segregated bathroom and used the regular one for years. Katharine, in fact, when interviewed, said that while prejudice existed underneath, in truth, everybody was concentrated on their work.

Costner's character is a mixture of different people, as is often done in films. He didn't really allow Katherine into an important meeting - she started pushing to attend them, and did, beginning in 1958.

When Mary goes to court so she can attend a white school at night, this didn't happen, though the school was segregated. She requested and received an exemption. You can see that would have looked pretty unexciting on film.

I don't think embellishing incidents and creating new ones that don't hurt the true story is a bad thing - the screenwriters wanted to make a point and more importantly, since it is film, do something visually. I think they could have done it without every character so totally against these women.

I'm white, and having worked in many offices, I can promise you there's a Jim Parsons character in every one no matter a woman's color. Back then men resented women in positions of authority. Probably many of them still do.

The purpose of true stories told in film, I feel, is to get you interested in the topic and read about it. Anyone looking for complete accuracy is going to be sadly disappointed, as I think some of the reviewers on this board were.

But in the end, we still had three amazing women working in the space program - and John Glenn did in fact ask Katherine to verify the IBM calculations before his launch. Pretty darned impressive.