Where "The Right Stuff" meets racial segregation

Rating: 8/10 (9 January 2017)

"Hidden Figures" (2016 release; 127 min.) brings the story, "based on true events" we are reminded at the beginning, of three African- American women working at NASA. As the movie opens, we are in "West Virginia, 1926", where we see a young girl amaze everyone with her math skills, and she is soon offered a scholarship to attend classes for the gifted. We then move to "Hampton, Virginia, 1961", where we get to know the three ladies. They are having car trouble, and when a police officer drives by and checks what the problem is, he can hardly believe they all work at NASA (but does give them an escort). At NASA, the ladies are working at the "Colored Computers" section, but then one day, Katherine is asked to join the "Space Task Group", as the space race with the USSR is in full swing. At this point we're 15 min. or so into the movie but to tell you more of the story would spoil your viewing experience, you'll just have to see for yourself how it all plays out.
Couple of comments: this is the second movie from writer-director Theodore Melfi (after the Bill Murray vehicle "St Vincent" a few years ago). Here he brings the larger than life (yet true) story of how these three ladies ended up playing an important, if not critical role, in the space race, in particular getting John Glenn into orbit, yet at the same time suffering from the racial segregation that was into place still in those days. The 'running joke' in the movie is that Katherine disappears time and again to run to the "Colored Ladies Room" which is 1/2 mile away from the Space Task Group. When one day confronted about her long absences by the agency's head, she boils over in emotion and anger and humiliation when she explains why (truly a chilling moment in the movie). Not long thereafter, the agency's head does away with the segregated bathrooms, claiming "Here at NASA, we're all the same color!" (the theater's audience erupted with a huge applause at that time, amazing). The movie truly is a mix of "The Right Stuff" and the horrible racial segregation and discrimination that was the accepted norm then. (Interestingly, "Hidden Figures" is set in officially segregated Virginia, just like that other recent and equally important movie "Loving" about an interracial couple's fight to get their marriage recognized in the late 50s/early 60s.) "Hidden Figures" is helped enormously by the heartwarming performances of the three lead actresses: Octavia Spencer, Janelle Monae (recently also in the equally excellent "Moonlight"), but most of all Taraji Henson as Katherine. Kevin Costner as the agency's head is okay too. Kirstin Dunst is barely recognizable as Vivian, another NASA employee. There are tons of great songs in the movie, both oldies from that era but also new tunes (sounding like oldies) penned by Pharell Williams (the score is courtesy of veteran Hans Zimmer). My only 'complaint', minor as it is, is that the movie's running time is a bit too long for its own good, and could've easily be edited/trimmed by 15-20 min.
"Hidden Figures" expanded wide this past weekend. The Sunday early evening screening where I saw this at was PACKED to the rafters, literally sold out to the very last seat. The audience laughed and cried, and when the end credits started rolling, gave it a thunderous applause. It blows the mind that the story of these "Hidden Figures" has never been brought to the big screen until now, but better late than never I suppose. In any event, "Hidden Figures" is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!