Hidden Figures tells
the little-known story of the African-American women who worked at NASA during
the 1960s as “computers” – that is, undertaking all the complex calculations which
helped to put the first American into space. In a working environment dominated
by men, being a woman at NASA was a tough job, let alone being a black woman
having to struggle with not only intricate mathematics and sexism, but also
deeply-embedded racism. The film follows the stories of three real-life
geniuses: Katherine Johnson (who is still alive today at 98, and played by
Taraji P. Henson), Dorothy Vaughn (Octavia Spencer) and Mary Jackson (played by
Janelle Monáe). All the characters proved to be pioneers in their respective
careers and, although each is given a sketch of a backstory outside their
working lives, it is Katherine Johnson who is the centre of the film.
Katherine Johnson, it is no exaggeration to say, was
fundamental to John Glenn becoming the first American to orbit the Earth,
dealing with very difficult maths in an age when computers had about as much
power as Tamagotchi. A successful Russian launch of a man into space increases
the pressure on NASA to follow suit, and Katherine is moved to the Space Task
Group to help with their work, under the supervision of Al Harrison, played
engagingly by Kevin Costner. Meanwhile, Dorothy Vaughn is trying for promotion
to supervisor level – a role she already does but for which she is not
recognised – and Mary Jackson is attempting to become NASA’s first female
engineer.
These individual stories have a common thread in the shape
of race relations and American civil rights, and the science and broader issues
of equality are nicely intertwined in the script. Although some scenes do
sacrifice believability for theatricality (a barnstorming monologue by
Katherine decrying the fact that her white male colleagues refuse to use the
same coffee pot as her is pleasing to watch but rather unrealistic), the general
message of women doing it for themselves and the slow movement towards racial
equality in the US is a feel-good one.
There are plenty of comedic moments throughout, and the
performances are impressive across the board. Octavia Spencer, perhaps
best-known for her work in the equally moving race-relations story The Help, shines with warmth and humour,
as does Janelle Monáe, taking her fight to become a NASA engineer all the way
to the courts. The experiences of these three women are all underscored and
shaped by the staggering levels of inequality: a motif in the film sees
Katherine having to run halfway across the NASA campus to use toilets
designated for black employees, as there are none in her new Space Task Group
offices. The forty minute round-trip doesn’t go unnoticed by Kevin Costner’s
character, who literally smashes down the “colored bathroom” sign before
observing “Here at NASA, we all pee the same colour”. Although his actions are
motivated by a desire for productivity, rather than any concerns for civil
rights, the moment is still a rousing one. One can’t help thinking that more than a touch of artistic
licence has been exercised here, but the warmth of the film as a whole does a
lot to soften the less believable moments.
The casual (and, often, highly
intentional) racism on display in Hidden
Figures is most apparent in the character of Paul Stafford (played by The Big Bang Theory’s Jim Parsons), a
colleague of Katherine’s with a refusal to believe that a woman (let alone a
black woman) could out-perform him on the number-crunching front. Kirsten
Dunst, too, plays a woman imbued with a degree of prejudice that she wishes to
ignore: a powerful encounter with Dorothy Vaughn in the now unsegregated ladies
toilet does much to dispel that impression. The discrimination experienced by
the three central characters may, at times, seem to have been written into the
screenplay for dramatic effect. Unhappily, however, it is probably a wholly-accurate
portrayal of what black men and women suffered in even the most elevated of
jobs in 1960s America.
Hidden Figures combines
themes of science, complex maths, race, and sexism into an engaging and
likeable film. It is, perhaps, a little unsubtle and superficial at times, but
the characters (and their real-life counterparts) tell a story of importance
and triumph, without ever losing sight of what makes a good film. Assured
direction from Theodore Melfi, combined with a screenplay which balances wit
with message, creates a film which is deserving of its Oscar nominations. It
does more than merely put to bed the demons of #OscarsSoWhite.
Clapperboard Rating: * * * *
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