HIDDEN FIGURES REVIEW

*MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS*

​John Glenn's (Glen Powell) journey into space turned into a historical event for America as he became the first man to orbit the Earth. It's a famous event we all know and have heard about in history books and in the news but what about the people behind the scenes who worked out his launch and landing? Hidden Figures tells the true inspirational story of the three African-American women who successfully calculated Glenn's flight trajectories. 

As the United States raced against Russia to put a man in space, NASA found untapped talent in a group of African-American female mathematicians that served as the brains behind one of the greatest operations in U.S. history. Based on the unbelievably true life stories of three of these women, known as "human computers", we follow these women as they quickly rose the ranks of NASA alongside many of history's greatest minds specifically tasked with calculating the momentous launch of astronaut John Glenn into orbit, and guaranteeing his safe return. Dorothy Vaughan (Octavia Spencer), Mary Jackson (Janelle Monáe) and Katherine Johnson (Taraji P. Henson) crossed all gender, race, and professional lines while their brilliance and desire to dream big, beyond anything ever accomplished before by the human race, firmly cemented them in U.S. history as true American heroes.

Hidden Figures is one of those rare dramas that has a feel-good atmosphere surrounding it. Throughout the film, we see all three women overcoming major issues including racism and sexism which is what makes them admirable. Spencer, Monáe and Henson all give outstanding performances. Spencer portrays Vaughan as a strong-minded individual and went on to become the first black female supervisor of the Programming Department. It's a successful performance that earned her a second Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Performance. In her second feature film (the first being Moonlight), Monáe gives a solid performance as Jackson. Despite judgement, Jackson attended night classes in order to become the first black female engineer. Of all the three performances, it's Henson's portrayal of Johnson that stands out the most. It's because of her and her quick-thinking that Glenn had a safe landing back on Earth. It's unfortunate that Henson was overlooked for an Academy Award nomination as she gave the best performance of the three. Hidden Figures also features a strong supporting cast including: Kevin Costner as Al Harrison, the director of the Space Task Group; Jim Parsons as Paul Stafford, the head engineer in STG, Kirsten Dunst as Vivian Mitchell, the supervisor and Mahershala Ali as Jim Johnson, a military officer and Katherine's future husband. The strong performances combined is the main reason why Hidden Figures succeeds.

Director Theodore Melfi wanted to create an inspirational and powerful drama and he has achieved that. He has also succeeded in creating an entertaining motion picture that is suitable for the whole family and is the kind of film that should be shown in history classes. Young viewers will learn a lot from this story as it tells its audiences that anyone can be successful no matter their gender or the colour of their skin. Throughout the film, we see Vaughan, Jackson and Johnson overcoming many obstacles including the segregrated bathroom which is located in another building. This leads to Johnson making various exhausting trips and making a powerful speech that motivates Harrison to abolishing the coloured bathroom. This scene proves that Johnson isn't afraid to stand up for what's right which makes her all the more admirable.

A lot of dramas that are set during the civil rights tend to be dark and intense. However, Melfi's upbeat tone works for Hidden Figures. There are no emotionally moving moments that'll bring a tear to one's eye but there are plenty of heartwarming scenes which make it enjoyable to watch. It's suitable for anyone to watch, regardless of their gender and skin colour. The whole film works as a metaphor for anyone wanting to achieve their goals but feel like they can't due to their background. Hidden Figures proves that anyone can be successful as long as they remain strong and work hard.

Hidden Figures is one of the best films we've had this year and it's only February. It's worthy of its Academy Award nomination for Best Motion Picture as it features strong leading performances from all three of the actresses involved and is a joy to watch. It celebrates the lives of three women who overcame major obstacles to successfully achieve their goals and is a must-see for anyone and everyone.

8/10