Written by: Kevin Berge
This movie looks and feels like it should have been made 10 years ago probably because it should have been. (Image Courtesy of: complex.com)
Quick Take: Hidden Figures tells a unique and powerful story of racial inclusion and division with three strong lead performances, but it neither dramatizes the events enough nor keeps close enough to the original historical events and information to make the movie engaging through its entire run time.
***This is a review for Hidden Figures which was released in 2017. As it was only recently released, the reader is not expected to have seen the movie; therefore, this review will be entirely spoiler-free beyond the basic set-up of the plot.***
Biographic films are a dime-a-dozen in Hollywood. There are multiple every month, and many dominate award shows. People want to know about history, and they rely on these movies to entertain them through the topics rather than looking at the true history which can often be hard to study.
Hidden Figures may be most surprising in that it took so long to be made. This story follows three African American women, Katherine Johnson (Taraji P. Henson), Dorothy Vaughn (Octavia Spencer), and Mary Jackson (Janelle Monae), as they become integral members at Langley Research Center in 1961.
This is a valuable and important subject to explore that only recently came to light through the acclaimed 2016 book Hidden Figures by Margot Shetterly. Not only does this subject readdress systemic racial issues America must continue to fight, it also gives a new generation particularly women of color a story to find inspiration from.
I have never been the biggest fan of biopics as they often fail to strike the right balance between information and drama, feeling like a poor replacement for a documentary or the historical book. I can appreciate movies like The Imitation Game and The King's Speech, but, beyond the acting, they don't excite me. However, there have been exceptions driven by their craft including The Social Network and Schindler's List.
While Hidden Figures has a trio of great performances at the forefront, this is a movie that fails to balance its story well enough to make it engaging beyond the powerful history behind it. In a volatile time in history, this movie feels like it too often throws softballs at its era.
Hidden Figures is a story balancing so many fascinating idea at the height of the civil rights movement with these women trying to promote the power of a political structure that is subjugating them. Jim Parsons (Big Bang Theory) plays the supporting character meant to represent all racism of the time and becomes a caricature while everyone else blends into the background.
Biographic films are a dime-a-dozen in Hollywood. There are multiple every month, and many dominate award shows. People want to know about history, and they rely on these movies to entertain them through the topics rather than looking at the true history which can often be hard to study.
Hidden Figures may be most surprising in that it took so long to be made. This story follows three African American women, Katherine Johnson (Taraji P. Henson), Dorothy Vaughn (Octavia Spencer), and Mary Jackson (Janelle Monae), as they become integral members at Langley Research Center in 1961.
This is a valuable and important subject to explore that only recently came to light through the acclaimed 2016 book Hidden Figures by Margot Shetterly. Not only does this subject readdress systemic racial issues America must continue to fight, it also gives a new generation particularly women of color a story to find inspiration from.
I have never been the biggest fan of biopics as they often fail to strike the right balance between information and drama, feeling like a poor replacement for a documentary or the historical book. I can appreciate movies like The Imitation Game and The King's Speech, but, beyond the acting, they don't excite me. However, there have been exceptions driven by their craft including The Social Network and Schindler's List.
While Hidden Figures has a trio of great performances at the forefront, this is a movie that fails to balance its story well enough to make it engaging beyond the powerful history behind it. In a volatile time in history, this movie feels like it too often throws softballs at its era.
Hidden Figures is a story balancing so many fascinating idea at the height of the civil rights movement with these women trying to promote the power of a political structure that is subjugating them. Jim Parsons (Big Bang Theory) plays the supporting character meant to represent all racism of the time and becomes a caricature while everyone else blends into the background.
Looks like a pretty normal corporate demographic to me. (Image Courtesy of: hollywoodreporter.com)
Taraji P. Henson (Empire) leads the pack in this film with a fantastic performance, primarily showcased by a few emotional outbursts from her character built up throughout the movie. Octavia Spencer (The Help) is solid as the defiant leader, waiting to be given the title she deserves. Janelle Monae (Moonlight) is a charismatic standout who makes every line count especially the funnier quips.
Theodore Melfi (St. Vincent) directs this movie as well as writing the screenplay alongside Allison Schroeder (Mean Girls 2). Beyond the performance he gets from his leads, the direction does not really stand out, moving at a fairly straight pace with shots that are rarely more than wide shots of the characters. The writing has great dialogue between the trio even if it never takes too strong a shot at any side of this history.
Much of this film mirrors Kevin Costner's (Dances With Wolves) performance in the movie. It is fine and uplifting, but there's no weight behind it. The technology and mathematics that these women are working with are ignored as are the intense racial and sexist issues, making this story feel like any other biopic.
Both in race and gender these women were breaking barriers, and both their struggle and their hardship is underrepresented. The math behind what they are doing (an integral focus of the book) feels almost completely ignored which may be the most depressing because it takes away from just how incredible the three were.
By trying to appeal to the widest audience, this movie just becomes an uplifting tale of a few smart women of color making an impact, not characterizing them as uniquely interesting or selling the times through a more complex portrayal of the supporting characters.
While it is great that this film exists to introduce people to this subject, the film does not do much more than drive home the importance of its subject. It is endearing but often a bit unmemorable which is a shame because the subject matter had the potential to truly spark a fascinating conversation with a powerful film behind it.
Theodore Melfi (St. Vincent) directs this movie as well as writing the screenplay alongside Allison Schroeder (Mean Girls 2). Beyond the performance he gets from his leads, the direction does not really stand out, moving at a fairly straight pace with shots that are rarely more than wide shots of the characters. The writing has great dialogue between the trio even if it never takes too strong a shot at any side of this history.
Much of this film mirrors Kevin Costner's (Dances With Wolves) performance in the movie. It is fine and uplifting, but there's no weight behind it. The technology and mathematics that these women are working with are ignored as are the intense racial and sexist issues, making this story feel like any other biopic.
Both in race and gender these women were breaking barriers, and both their struggle and their hardship is underrepresented. The math behind what they are doing (an integral focus of the book) feels almost completely ignored which may be the most depressing because it takes away from just how incredible the three were.
By trying to appeal to the widest audience, this movie just becomes an uplifting tale of a few smart women of color making an impact, not characterizing them as uniquely interesting or selling the times through a more complex portrayal of the supporting characters.
While it is great that this film exists to introduce people to this subject, the film does not do much more than drive home the importance of its subject. It is endearing but often a bit unmemorable which is a shame because the subject matter had the potential to truly spark a fascinating conversation with a powerful film behind it.