Movie Review: Hidden Figures is a salute to Nasa’s female heroes
At first glance, this comes across as an Oscar bait movie. Real-life people getting the big-screen treatment.
Stirring story about underdogs from a minority - and women too - rising to the occasion.
An epic milestone in American history.
All the boxes have been checked. And Hidden Figures snagged three Oscar nominations, including Best Picture and Best Supporting Actress for Spencer.
Fortunately, this biopic offers more, thanks to the strong performances by Henson, Spencer and Monae.
Spencer may be the cast member with the Oscar nod, but it is Henson who is the star of the show. Her character Katherine is no pushover but a very smart, determined and strong single mum trying to make her American dream come true.
It is nice to note how our heroines remain optimistic and supportive in spite of their circumstances. They just want opportunities for their brilliant minds to shine.
It is hard to imagine how bad the segregation must have been for African-Americans, let alone the fairer sex, back then.
Director Melfi shows us the taunting, bullying and second-class treatment - scenes we have seen before. But it is the bathroom scene that nails how horrible it could get.
Hidden Figures serves as a timely reminder that racial segregation is still rampant around the world, particularly in the US now.
STARRING: Taraji P Henson, Octavia Spencer, Janelle Monae, Kevin Costner
DIRECTOR: Theodore Melfi
THE SKINNY: An inspiring account of three African-American women in the 1960s working at NASA - Katherine Johnson (Henson), Dorothy Vaughan (Spencer) and Mary Jackson (Monae) - who were instrumental in helping launch the first US astronaut into space.
RATING: PG
3.5/5
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