The space program for NASA no longer exists, but, the history of the program is alive and well in Hidden Figures. In fact, it’s better than alive and well – its revealed for some of the true heros of the effort; The West Area Computers. This is a group of black women who perform mathematical analysis for the program.

Hidden Figures is about three of the ladies who excelled beyond the pool of computers to contribute to John Glenn’s successful space mission to the Moon.

Story: A true story, so the writers had a head start getting this right – They did a good job. They capture the right mix of details and interactions to make the story compelling while still being accurate.

While the subject matter alone is heartfelt, the story does have a beginning, middle and ending and all of the scenes in between fit and flow together. But, since it’s a true story, the real test of quality comes down to the performances and how each character is delivered on screen…

Performances: Taraji P. Henson as Katherine Goble, Janelle Monae as Mary Jackson and Octavia Spencer as Dorothy Vaughn are all outstanding. They’re portrayed as the perfect threesome; Katherine is sweet and mild mannered, Mary is sassy and Dorothy is wise and nurturing. The rest is a recipe for Oscar gold…

Kevin Costner as the Space Task Force Director and Jim Parsons as the head engineer deliver solid performances as well. Kirsten Dunst as the supervisor for the computers defines the period of segregation perfectly.

And a special mention for Mahershala Ali as military officer Jim Johnson, Katherine Goble’s suitor and eventual husband and Aldis Hodge as Mary Jackson’s husband. Their presence as the men supporting their career women makes a small but powerful statement for the times.

Visual: The early 1960’s was a very stylized time defined by a more streamlined look. The cars were just beginning to become more efficient; The wardrobe was turning toward clean lines as was mid-century modern decor. The Director captured all of these elements perfectly – Down to the references to how the women should be dressed when in the presence of their male counterparts. Bravo for getting the look and the feel right…

Rating: Hidden Figures gets an A. Everything about this story is valuable. It’s a history lesson about the space program; It’s a history lesson about race relations; It’s a history lesson about gender roles – It’s a lesson for us all on how our society has evolved.

See this film. Take your kids… If you don’t have kids, take your grandmother and ask her what her life was like when this was taking place. I’ll bet her answer will be yet another lesson in history and evolution…