In some ways the slightest of the films to get a best picture nomination at the Oscars, Hidden Figures is actually a real gem of a film. It is a feel good movie that should have wide appeal that also delivers an important, and for me at least, a previously unknown story.
Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer and Janelle Monáe star as Katherine, Dorothy and Mary, three black women who are friends and who work together in the computing team at NASA in the early 1960s. Each one of them contributes to sending the first American into space, whilst also advancing the cause of equality for both their gender and their race.
Stories about the space race of that era are usually a winner with me. Hidden Figures may not reach the heights of The Right Stuff, but it can discussed alongside something like Apollo 13. In fact, like that film, it shares the ability of keeping the story thrilling even though veryone watching it must surely know how it pans out.
Writers Allison Schroeder and Theodore Melfi pepper the screenplay with a lot of funny, and telling but mostly understated moments. There isn’t a bad performance with all three leads doing great work, especially Henson, and I also liked the supporting contributions from Kevin Costner and Kirsten Dunst.
Some of the scenes didn’t totally ring true, such as Costner’s reaction to ‘finding out’ there were segregated toilets. He is the boss, so I didn’t buy that he didn’t know. Also, there is a little too much about Katherine’s private life, when you find out virtually nothing about Dorothy’s, and Mary’s seems to be both more interesting and more relevant to the story.
However, this is a fun and engaging watch.
Rating: 8.5 out of 10