Review: Hidden Figures

As its title suggests, Hidden Figures shines a spotlight on those who deserve to be known and remembered rather than remain historical footnotes. In particular, three African-American women who were key contributors in NASA's early efforts in the space race: Katherine Gobel (later Johnson), Dorothy Vaughan, and Mary Jackson. The film may be especially timely due to the recent death of astronaut John Glenn, whose 1962 orbit was made possible by the efforts of these three women, but it also serves as a bracing reminder of the racial segregation that pervaded the country in the relatively recent past and the injustices that still exist today.

Yet this is no somber history lesson, which may draw the ire of those who prefer their biopics served with more dimension and less gloss. Hidden Figures is an unabashed crowd-pleaser with many moments that will rouse you to stand up and cheer for the victories, minor and major, that each of the women achieve. Director Theodore Melfi, who adapted Margot Lee Shetterly's book with Allison Schroeder, necessarily condenses the women's lives into a fairly simplistic narrative but the film never feels rushed or lacking thanks to his lively pacing and the engaging performances of his three lead actresses.

Taraji P. Henson portrays Katherine, whose knack for analytic geometry gets her assigned to the Space Task Group, which is being pressured by NASA's bigwigs and the Kennedy administration to get their calculations locked down so they can match and surpass what the Soviets have already done. Katherine is barely acknowledged by the predominantly male team upon her arrival - one even mistakes her for the cleaning lady - but all eyes are soon on her when they realise that a coloured woman has joined their ranks. Project director Al Harrison (Kevin Costner) may be a little less belligerent than lead engineer Paul Stafford (Jim Parsons) in his treatment of Katherine, but his condescension is off-set by his grudging respect of her mathematical skills.

Meanwhile, Dorothy (Octavia Spencer) has to contend with supervisor Vivian Mitchell (Kirsten Dunst), who continually ignores her requests for a promotion to supervisor even though she's already performing a supervisor's duties. Vivian doesn't even afford Dorothy the basic sign of respect by addressing her as "Mrs. Vaughan." The feisty Mary (Janelle Monáe) is encouraged by the chief design engineer to apply for an engineer training program, but she dismisses his suggestion, "I'm a black woman, I'm not going to entertain the impossible." When he points out that they are already living the impossible by attempting to put a man on the moon, she reconsiders only to encounter discouraging comments from her husband and the criteria for applicants suddenly revised.

That these women, and many more like them, had to deal with such absurdities is a testament to their will and determination. Mary presents a persuasive argument to a judge to allow her to attend an all-white university in order to qualify for the training program. Dorothy, keenly sensing that the new IBM machines are a threat to their jobs as human calculators, trains herself and her team in computer programming. Katherine always got the job done, despite the fact that she had to dash across the Langley campus in high heels in order to use the coloured bathrooms. When an exasperated Harrison confronts her with her frequent absences, Henson's indignation - "There is no bathroom for me here" - is stunning in its fury and dignity.

Mention should be made of the polished cinematography by Mandy Walker, vibrant costume design by Renee Ehrlich Kalfus, and the number of ear-catching original songs provided by Pharrell Williams, who is also one of the film's co-producers. Hidden Figures may be full of predictable beats and many may wish for more than the glancing insight provided of the women's personal lives, but this is nevertheless a completely rewarding film that will motivate one to know more about these incredible women.

Hidden Figures

Directed by: Theodore Melfi

Written by: Allison Schroeder, Theodore Melfi; based on the book by Margot Lee Shetterly

Starring: Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer, Janelle Monáe, Kevin Costner, Kirsten Dunst, Jim Parsons, Glen Powell, Mahershala Ali, Aldis Hodge