Movie Review Monday : Hidden Figures

Hi there all! So for this week I would like to review the film Hidden Figures. I just recently had the chance to sit down and watch it with my mom. It was a slow weekend and it made for great vintage watching. For those who have either been living under a rock or have never heard of Hidden Figures; the film tells the story of three brilliant African American Women and their struggle in the male dominated world of mathematics in the 1960's. The film cuts tense scenes of protest and dealings with police officers with warm heart-ed humor and sensitivity. 

Title characters from left to right Mary Jackson (Janelle Monae), Katherine G. Johnson (Taraji Henson), and Dorothy Vaughan (Octavia Spencer).

All three women portrayed in the film were actual engineers and mathematicians for NASA's Space Program in the 1960's. Taraji got to sit down for a chat with the REAL Katherine G. Johnson before filming began to talk about her experiences.


One thing I noticed and loved with the costuming choices for each lady really represented their individual style and did not look like some 'uniform' representing an era. Mary's clothing was a bit tighter, sexier....more va va voom befitting her personality;while Katherine's wardrobe seemed preppy and a bit closed up but still had personality. Dorothy, the mother hen type though with attitude, dressed in clothing that might seem basic but always had some sort of neat detail. Check out her outfit in the above picture...a solid column of green but the bow and brooch detail really do stand out. 

Now I have to mention that shirt waist dresses and the like were not uncommon in the 60's but they were also not the cutting edge of fashion either. These were more at home in 1955 than in 1961. It serves a purpose that though Katherine's clothes are in good shape they are in effect a bit older. 

The few scenes we see away from their work environment we can really see the personalities of these ladies shine through. Their chemistry and charm on screen makes for a few good laughs in a serious script. Mary had some lovely head scarves in her rotation, most of which were complimentary to her outfits but not Matchy Matchy. 

Another thing I enjoyed were all the jewel tones they put Katherine in while the rest of the NASA team was in stark black and white. It just serves the purpose of reminding the audience that she is seen as an outsider, as different, as less than.

Here are the actresses with their real life counter parts.

Rotten Tomatoes has the film listed as Certified Fresh at 93%! Many might not be aware that the source material (besides real life) was a book called Hidden Figures: The Story of the African-American Women Who Helped Win the Space Race by Margot Lee Shetterly. She is quoted as saying about the differences between her book and the film:

"For better or for worse, there is history, there is the book and then there's the movie. Timelines had to be conflated and [there were] composite characters, and for most people [who have seen the movie] have already taken that as the literal fact. ... You might get the indication in the movie that these were the only people doing those jobs, when in reality we know they worked in teams, and those teams had other teams. There were sections, branches, divisions, and they all went up to a director. There were so many people required to make this happen. ... It would be great for people to understand that there were so many more people. Even though Katherine Johnson, in this role, was a hero, there were so many others that were required to do other kinds of tests and checks to make [Glenn's] mission come to fruition. But I understand you can't make a movie with 300 characters. It is simply not possible."

If you haven't had the chance to check out this great period film give it go!

Vicki
xoxo