Janelle Monae (l), Taraji P Henson and Octavia Spencer |
It is very rare to see a film about women which
takes a celebratory tone. It is even rarer when the women in question are women
of colour, which is what makes Hidden
Figures such a transcendent experience. It is a joyous, feel-good film
which not only celebrates achievement and empowerment but also makes one wonder
how this story has remained untold for so long.
The story of America’s conquest of space is
invariably told through the filter of the Mercury Seven, John Glenn et al whose
story is superbly told in Tom Wolfe’s The
Right Stuff. However, as fans of Wolfe will know, these men were just ‘spam
in a can’ and considered themselves as such. The real challenge faced those
whose job it was to get them into space and back again in one piece.
Hidden
Figures turns on an accident of timing. To qualify for its massive budget
appropriation NASA had to be an equal opportunity employer which meant it had
to employ women of colour. No mean feat for an organisation headquartered in
the Deep South. Of course it didn’t have to promote them, just employ them.
So this story is one of three women trying to
pursue their career dreams in the face of, at best, intransigence and at worst
downright opposition. Maths prodigy Katherine Goble (Taraji P. Henson), administrator
Dorothy Vaughan (Octavia Spencer) and scientist Mary Jackson (Janelle Monae)
are each very good at what they do but are constantly thwarted by prejudice.
Goble has no toilet facilities in her building,
Vaughan is denied a promotion she richly deserves, while Jackson is unable to
get the qualifications she needs to advance her career because of a
segregationist educational policy.
What is remarkable about Hidden Figures is that none of these women requires the saving
intervention of a white male. They each have agency in their own resolution and
are perfectly capable of sorting things out for themselves. This, I think, is
the most important aspect of Hidden
Figures, and conversely it is the area which has attracted most criticism.
The film has been accused of a certain ‘made for
TV’ sensibility and while I wouldn’t go that far I would concede that it tells
its story in broad strokes. However, to my mind, the content is so important
that the form has to be as accessible to as many people as possible. This is a
film that will inspire women of all ages and ethnicities so why not celebrate
the accomplishment of these remarkable women in a feel-good style.
The performances from all three women are marvellous.
They bring home the real economic and social cost of racism without ever being
strident or preachy. Henson is the flashiest role but the others make a big
impression. Mahershala Ali, for the second time this week, contributes a small
but memorable role and Kevin Costner continues his career revival in an
understated role as the man whose job it is to get all this to work.
The one genuinely transgressive issue with Hidden Figures is in its casting. Jim
Parsons is a grudging and narrow-minded scientist while Kirsten Dunst is a
prissy, condescending office manager. Neither of them is especially well served
by their roles but it does make a change to see the two thankless, stereotypical
roles played by white actors.