Review of Hidden Figures (2016) by Matthewakalusi — 03 Feb 2017

Hidden Figures tells the real but unheralded story of three mathematicians, Katherine Goble Johnson (Taraji P. Henson), Dorothy Vaughan (Octavia Spencer) and Mary Jackson (Janelle Monae), whose work at the US Space Agency, NASA contributed significantly, to the success of America's space programme.

The movie documents the struggles Johnson, Vaughan and Jackson had to go through in segregated America, compounded by discrimination against women, to get ahead in their chosen fields; Johnson, with a special mathematical talent, Vaughan with computing know-how and Jackson, a mathematician aspiring to be an Engineer.

The story largely centres on Katherine Goble Johnson but Taraji P. Henson's portrayal does not quite drive the movie, only picking up at two points, when her character dramatically confronts Al Harrison (Kevin Costner) her boss at the NASA Division where she works, over segregation and a particularly symphonic scene where she engages in solving a complex mathematical problem on a chalk board.

It is three members of the supporting cast that keep this movie humming along very nicely, for its duration; Costner who puts in an effortless performance as Al Harrison, director of the Space Task Group assigned the responsibility of putting a man into orbit, Janelle Monae who deserves applause for her virtuoso performance as Mary Jackson and Academy Award Winner, Octavia Spencer (The Help), present as a reassuring, steadying hand.

This is a beautifully filmed movie with an engaging story.