Theodore Melfi
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Filmography
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The Right Stuff (1983)
Directed by Philip Kaufman
influenced Hidden Figures (2016)
Themes Visuals Plot
In its best moments, Hidden Figures supplies the same work-the-problem thrills of Apollo 13 (if not the cosmological rapture of The Right Stuff), and benefits enormously from Kevin Costner in full lefty righteous-rage mode as the NASA director who smashes the sign off a segregated bathroom: “Here at NASA, we all pee the same color!”
An incredibly timely and well-told story that serves as a nice counterpart to 1983’s “The Right Stuff,” the film shines a light on the African-American women who helped put Glenn into space during a time when neither African-Americans nor women were given those kinds of opportunities.
Melfi also makes sly visual allusions to iconic moments from The Right Stuff : Johnson does a lot of running around NASA’s Langley, Virginia, campus à la Jeff Goldblum in that other film, though for wildly different reasons.
So it goes for the black women pioneers at NASA at its number-crunching offices in Virginia during the Mercury spaceflight program — the same one chronicled in “The Right Stuff.”
If you lived through the early days of the U.S. space program–or saw or read “The Right Stuff”–you know names like Alan Shepard and John Glenn and the other heroic astronauts who were part of the Mercury program to put an American astronaut in space.
A distaff counterpart to The Right Stuff (1983), this exuberant, inspiring drama tells the fact-based story of three black women who strove for upward mobility—both professional and atmospheric—as NASA mathematicians during the JFK era.
It’s relatively easy to show the audience that a character is incredibly gifted at music or sports, but how do you show that a character is good at math? Darren Aronofsky pulled off that trick in his 1998 debut ?, but since most movies aren’t made by Aronofsky, most of them fail at this: Good Will Hunting, A Beautiful Mind, Proof .
If we're going to be subjected to the milquetoast-to-shitty likes of A Beautiful Mind (which the film strongly evokes in its opening scene, earning my immediate ire) and The Imitation Game every autumn, we might as well ask that they represent a fully diverse cross-section of humanity, but equality in mediocrity is hardly the stuff of inspirational cinema.
At times, it ends up appearing like a cross between A Beautiful Mind and Apollo 13—even borrowing one of the dramatic third act beats from the Ron Howard film—but the results are a feel-good inspirational story that rarely feels preachy, even if it also never goes out of its way to challenge the viewer.
Films such as A Beautiful Mind, The Theory of Everything, and The Imitation Game all lean in some way on the idea of the inaccessible genius—a mathematician, computer scientist, and theoretical physicist all somehow removed from the world.
This is, after all, a film whose themes stretch back as far as Wallace Beery and “The Champ,” up through “Bad News Bears,” “Bad Santa,” “Bad Words” and beyond.
In its best moments, Hidden Figures supplies the same work-the-problem thrills of Apollo 13 (if not the cosmological rapture of The Right Stuff), and benefits enormously from Kevin Costner in full lefty righteous-rage mode as the NASA director who smashes the sign off a segregated bathroom: “Here at NASA, we all pee the same color!”
At times, it ends up appearing like a cross between A Beautiful Mind and Apollo 13—even borrowing one of the dramatic third act beats from the Ron Howard film—but the results are a feel-good inspirational story that rarely feels preachy, even if it also never goes out of its way to challenge the viewer.
One needs only to reference 2008’s Gran Torino, and hone in on Clint Eastwood’s central character, Walt Kowalski.
The film’s story comes right off the retread shelf, echoing Bad Santa and Gran Torino in its depiction of a neighborhood grouch who, if you haven’t guessed, turns out to have a heart of gold.
Think Clint Eastwood's character in Gran Torino if he was meaner, drunker, and generally more "hey you kids get offa my lawn"!
Murray stars as Vincent, a misanthropic curmudgeon whose current lot in life can be summed up by that Clint Eastwood chestnut from Gran Torino, "Get off my lawn!" Vincent has little use for other people, with his only frequent visitor being Daka (Naomi Watts), a pregnant Russian stripper he employs as a "woman of the night."
Yet unlike other tales of aging curmudgeons redeemed, from “As Good as it Gets” to “Gran Torino” to “Get Low,” writer–director Theodore Melfi’s debut film doesn’t ask its protagonist to confront his demons.
A brief sequence near the midpoint shows that many African-Americans (who were behind the scenes participants in the space program, as " Hidden Figures " showed, but weren't allowed in planes and rockets) thought the Apollo missions were an expensive distraction from the fight for racial and economic equality on the ground.
The movie shows a few black men in the Houston control center and a hallway full of black women—perhaps the “computers” from Hidden Figures ?—clapping on Neil Armstrong (Ryan Gosling) before his mission to the moon, but they’re not included in a meaningful way.
There are no “ Hidden Figures ” here; Neil, an engineer, does his own fancy calculations, thank you very much.
The historical race into space has been the subject of other movies, of course, most notably “The Right Stuff” (1983), “Apollo 13” (1995) and, most recently, “Hidden Figures” (2016).
Expecting a nod to those African-American women of Hidden Figures who participated in NASA engineering?
Hollywood movies such as The Right Stuff, Apollo 13, and Hidden Figures have retold these pivotal space-themed moments with an equal mix of reverence and classic underdog storytelling to reinforce the bravery and heroism of the men and women of NASA.
As vital as these scenes are, it’s practically groan-inducing to watch Henson — a talented actress whose exaggerated portrayal of a math whiz suggests Michelle Pfeiffer’s smart, yet haggard pre-Catwoman secretary in “Batman Returns” — awkwardly pantomiming someone with a bladder about to burst, but that’s the broad acting style Melfi encourages, and it’s the kind that inspires spontaneous ovations at the end of implausible monologues.
Before then, it was pegged as a possible awards contender, following in the vein of the similarly historical Hidden Figures.
I grossly underappreciate financial accounting, but I find complex math, when presented like this, or in films like "The Imitation Game," "The Man who Knew Infinity" or "Hidden Figures," to be beautiful.
It’s not essential viewing in the same way “Hidden Figures” and “The Help” are, but those who invest with their dollars should see a modest and healthy return.
And yet as director George Nolfi unravels a fascinating real-life-inspired case from the mid-20th century of financial gamesmanship that also busted an impasse for black business, the narrative ultimately satisfies — in much the way “Hidden Figures” overcame regrettable filmmaking choices — as an inspiring curiosity from the unknown history of those who combated racial discrimination.
It’s “Hidden Figures” with redlining instead of rocket fuel.
In a sense, “The Banker” is trying to do what “Hidden Figures” accomplished a few years ago.
As Good as It Gets (1997)
Directed by James L. Brooks
influenced St. Vincent (2014)
Characters Themes
Sure, it reminds you of As Good As It Gets with its cantankerous, antisocial lead, unlikely friendships and soft male presence bringing up the rear (Chris O’ Dowd filling the Greg Kinnear shaped hole in the narrative), but you’re soon invested in the male bonding between Murray and Jaeden Lieberher, and the slow reveal of titular character’s backstory.
At one time Jack Nicholson was attached (if you’re thinking As Good As It Gets you’re on target).
Yet unlike other tales of aging curmudgeons redeemed, from “As Good as it Gets” to “Gran Torino” to “Get Low,” writer–director Theodore Melfi’s debut film doesn’t ask its protagonist to confront his demons.
Vincent does fit the Nicholson template — a crab apple that ultimately turns Delicious — in The Bucket List , As Good as It Gets and, provisionally, About Schmidt .
And Costner’s late career has often had him playing an EveryAmerican who can be relied on to, as Spike Lee preached, “Do the Right Thing.”
The characters who earned her three Academy Award nominations — a janitor in “The Shape of Water,” a NASA mathematician in “Hidden Figures,” a Mississippi housemaid in “The Help” — were all stoic, admirable pillars of mid-1960s social resistance.
It’s a manic turn that’s far from the role in “The Help” that won her an Academy Award, as well as from her work in “The Shape of Water,” “Hidden Figures,” and “The Shack,” but she proves her range here, even if the material isn’t matching her efforts.
Spencer ( Hidden Figures ) plays Sue Ann, a fortysomething vet tech still living in the town in which she grew up, somewhere in the middle of what appears to be rural America.
Often relegated to best-friend and similar supporting roles, her performances often carry serious gravitas: the character everyone underestimates, from Hidden Figures to The Shape of Water.
Erica quickly makes a group of friends, and when they try to find an adult to purchase alcohol for them, they meet veterinary assistant, Sue Ann (Octavia Spencer, Hidden Figures ), who reluctantly agrees to buy them booze.
However, past her Oscar-winning role in The Help and her critically acclaimed performance in both The Shape of Water and Hidden Figures — Spencer adds nuance and texture to her acting portfolio in the film Ma and it’s about time we see something new.
It’s relatively easy to show the audience that a character is incredibly gifted at music or sports, but how do you show that a character is good at math? Darren Aronofsky pulled off that trick in his 1998 debut ?, but since most movies aren’t made by Aronofsky, most of them fail at this: Good Will Hunting, A Beautiful Mind, Proof .
It’s all captured by Australian cinematographer Mandy Walker (“Hidden Figures”) and set to the sweepingly familiar score of composer Harry Gregson-Williams (“The Martian”).
There are lots of armoured soldiers on horseback and on foot engaged in a cacophany of clanging – sounding much like somebody rifling through a cutlery drawer – but there’s nothing particularly thrilling in the cinematography by Mandy Walker ( Australia ; Hidden Figures ; Lantana ), which is very mannered and conventional.
Her surrounding world is a blend of fantasy and Western, vividly conjured up by cinematographer Mandy Walker ( Jane Got A Gun , Hidden Figures ).
Before and after metal clangs and horses neigh, Hidden Figures cinematographer Mandy Walker absorbs every illustrious hue of the rugged Chinese and Kiwi shooting locations enhanced with light special effects from Sean Andrew Faden ( Power Rangers ).
Mandy Walker (whose highest profile project to date was likely “Hidden Figures”) takes full advantage of the New Zealand and China ranges that Disney’s deep pockets give her access to.
(Special kudos to Australian cinematographer Mandy Walker, whose résumé includes “Hidden Figures” and “Australia.”)
Like “American Graffiti” or “The Help,” “Hidden Figures” takes place in a colorful, borderline-kitsch version of the American past.
After finally working up the courage to leave Adrian, Cecilia relies on the help of her sister Emily (Harriet Dyer) and moves in with her childhood friend Detective James Lanier (Aldis Hodge, Hidden Figures ) and his daughter Sydney (Storm Reid, A Wrinkle in Time ).
As Cecilia stays with her friend James (Aldis Hodge; Hidden Figures) and his daughter, Sydney (Storm Reid; Euphoria) she suddenly feels as if she is being watched and as more and more strange things keep happening she is sure of it.
Other great performances come from Aldis Hodge ( Hidden Figures , Straight Outta Compton ) as James, Storm Reid ( A Wrinkle in Time , Sleight ) as Sydney, and Harriet Dyer ( Killing Ground , No Activity ) as Emily.
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)
Directed by David Fincher
influenced Hidden Figures (2016)
That leaves Henson, Oscar-nominated for her supporting role in 2009’s “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” with the more noble role.
As if in the world proposed by this film—and films like Driving Miss Daisy , Green Book , and Hidden Figures —racism is suspended by a shared endeavor.
But like the recent “Queen of Katwe” or 2014’s gay-activists-meet-striking-miners bio-dramedy “Pride,” the film’s immensely agreeable real-life story has so much joy and energy, we’re willing to go the predictable distance.
While 2016's Hidden Figures did a lot for empowering women of colour within STEM industries, Wright's character has the potential to truly connect with girls who are still in school and are perhaps apprehensive about pursuing a career in sciences, the Nasa engineers of the future.
Taken with The Imitation Game and The Man Who Knew Infinity, Hidden Figures also heralds a bona fide trend in Hollywood dramas: the mathematician as hero.