Siraj Syed reviews Hidden Figures: US-Russia space race & black women’s amazing grace

Did you know that three black women played crucial roles in NASA’s space programme, and without them, John Glenn would not be remembered as the first American astronaut to make it back to earth, but as a young man who got burnt to cinders, along with his spacecraft, by the heat generated on his vehicle’s re-entry into earth’s orbit? This is the true story of the rather unimaginatively titled film, Hidden Figures. It would be a worthwhile experience if you sought out the movie at the first opportunity.

If you are unaware of the extent of apartheid in the USA of the 60s, you are in for some shocks. On the other hand, if you have American history of the 19^th and 20^th century on your fingertips, you might still be in for some jolting revelations. In case you missed it, let me reiterate: this is the story of coloured persons in America, not of apartheid South Africa. Separate toilets for blacks, separate coffee machines and mugs for blacks, separate recreation areas for blacks, and more. It is a must watch film, a timely (Obama to Trump), scathing flashback of American insensitivity that has taken 200 years to wane, and is still to be eradicated, if that is possible at all.

Hidden Figures is the incredible untold story of Katherine G. Johnson (Taraji P. Henson), Dorothy Vaughan (Octavia Spencer) and Mary Jackson (Janelle Monáe)—highly gifted and high-IQ African-American women, working at NASA, who served as the brains behind one of the greatest operations in history: the launch of astronaut John Glenn into orbit, a stunning achievement that restored the nation's confidence, turned around the Russia v/s America Race (Russia had beaten America to it by launching a man and a dog into space and got them back safely).

First documented as Hidden Figures: The Story of the African-American Women Who Helped Win the Space Race (2016), by Margot Lee Shetterly, the film rights of the true story were sold even before it was published. Screenplay by Theodore Melfi (third outing as writer-director, after Winding Roads and St. Vincent; he worked as a cook and a security guard at a strip club, before getting film breaks) and Allison Schroeder (Side Effects, Mean Girls 2) takes huge liberties with both time and characters, shifting events forward and backwards, between the 40s and the 60s. No surprise that some characters are amalgamated and some are invented, tools of the trade for any film in the bio-pic/docu-feature genre.

Quite often, it becomes apparent that scenes have been worked backwards, to lead them on to the story-point. Playing with technique, Melfi often builds the punch backwards, as in the scene where the doors of rooms have to be broken down in order to carry the gargantuan IBM machines in. Cleverly, the three black women have been juxtaposed against three whites, one of them being a woman. The boss (Kevin Costner) is a workaholic who sees practical sense in ending segregation based on colour when he finds the black woman who has just joined his department is a genius; his second in command (Jim Parsons) is an egotistic, establishment bound proudie; the woman is a hardliner too, but softens her stand slightly towards the end, though her apparent sympathy meets with a sarcastic retort by Spencer.

Theodore Melfi relies heavily on the characterisations of his entire cast, and the grace with which the three lead actresses plunge into manifestations of physical traits and looks, gestures and postures. Always in perspective, the liberties he has taken do sometimes appear convenient and devised—take the case of the showing John Glen much younger than he was, and the climax that he and Goble-Johnson are part of. Sure cinematic build-up, but at the cost of historical fact. Another indulgence by the co-writer and director is the development of the three women’s family lives, which endear them to the viewer ever so more. He can’t do much with the anticipated climax, but he sure knows how to begin a film. The first 3-4 scenes of the movie sow the right seeds for the plot to grow.

Taraji P. Henson (Hustle & Flow, The Curious case of Benjamin Button, The Karate Kid) as Katherine Goble-Johnson, the mathematics wizard who gives the machines a run for their artificial intelligence, gets the meatiest part, and makes the most of it. Octavia Spencer (Black or White, with Kevin Costner, Divergent series: Insurgent, Allegiant) as Dorothy Vaughan, mathematician and acting supervisor, is the least glamorous of the trio, and exudes a stoic dignity in every scene. Janelle Monáe (Rio 2, Moonlight) as Mary Jackson, who becomes an engineer, continues to surprise by her sheer élan and adaptability. Coming on the heels (pun intended; Hidden Figures has a lot of heels in it), of Moonlight, this is a shining performance.

Kevin Costner as Al Harrison, director of the Space Task Group, on his feet all the time, carries of the fictitious role with the poise and flow of the veteran he is. Kirsten Dunst (Spiderman 1-2-3, Melancholia) as Vivian Mitchell has an unsympathetic character that stops short of being a villain tanks to some careful writing and ‘taking it on the chin’ enactment. Jim Parsons (Big Year, Muppets, Home) as Paul Stafford, head engineer in STG is the real villain of the piece, yet you do realise that he is a victim of the circumstances—a black woman assistant coming in out of nowhere and solving complex equations with disarming equanimity, feats that show him in poor light.

Glen Powell (The Expendables 2, The Dark Knight Rises, Everybody Wants Some!!) as John Glenn, the astronaut (died 2016, aged 95) has one n less than his space hero counterpart, and the name and surname are interchanged. Powell makes a handsome, honest and approachable hero in the making, too smooth to be credible. Mahershala Ali (Moonlight) as Jim Johnson, the military officer who marries Katherine, a widow with three daughters (well-essayed roles) is suitably awkward and self-conscious, a far cry from the drug-peddler he plays so convincingly in Moonlight. Modelled on Whoopi Goldberg, Donna Biscoe as Joylette Coleman has a small role Katherine's mother, who helps care for her children, is quite a bundle.

Mathematics, trigonometry and equations are the cornerstone of the tale, and do occur in good measure. The good part is that you can just sit back and look, admiringly, if possible, for they never get dense enough to put you off. In 1961, when human beings were called computers and computers were called IBMs, three African-American women needed more than brains, guts and gumption—just that bit of luck and one bit of support at the top, to set their footprints on the sands of space travel. And look what they achieved. See it for yourself.

Rating: *** ½

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bFPWbPmBsKc

January 06, 2017, PRNewswire release from New York

‘African-American business leaders, in partnership with 20th Century Fox, Google, Facebook, Infor and AT&T, have launched an initiative to offer free admission to the critically-acclaimed feature, Hidden Figures, for over 25,000 students in New York. New York schools are the first to benefit from the project. Like the 2015 project to screen Oscar-winner Selma - which reached 300,000 students across the country - the expectation is that other cities will join this important program as it rolls out in theaters nationwide.’

The film's principal actors (Henson, Spencer, Monáe and Parsons), director (Melfi), producer/musical creator (Williams), and other non-profit outside groups, offered free screenings to Hidden Figures at several cinema locations around the world. Some of the screenings are open to all-comers, while others have been arranged to benefit girls, women and the under-privileged. The campaign began as an individual bit of activism by Spencer, and made a total of more than 1,500 seats for Hidden Figures available, free of charge, to poor individuals and families.

India’s Nehru Science Centre could join the movement. We do not have a major white v/s black discrimination issue here, at least not anywhere like the scale it was in the US, but minorities of all manners have been discriminate against all over the world, over centuries, if not millennia. Plus, the film has high educational and scientific value.