October Sky (1999) 3 stars out of 4. Starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Chris Cooper and Laura Dern.
The joy of imagination lies in its lack of limitations.
You can toil in the deepest, darkest coal mine in West Virginia and still dream of reaching the stars.
To transform imagination into reality takes determination, self-confidence and the courage to listen only to that inner voice, tuning out the nay-sayers all about you.
This is the lesson of October Sky, a genuine, inspirational story based on the life of rocket scientist Homer Hickam.
Hickam was born and raised in one of those coal mining towns that dot West Virginia. In Coalwood, a young man had only two choices - play sports well enough to earn a college scholarship or, after graduation, take your place in the mines digging out the coal while breathing in the deadly black dust.
But Hickam and three of his friends found inspiration as well as an escape by watching the skies.
The year was 1957, and the Soviet Union had just launched Sputnik. What director Joe Johnston's film, based on Hickam's autobiography, Rocket Boys, does so well is capture the moods created by this momentous achievement.
Many felt paranoia, that the Soviets would use this satellite to rain nuclear missiles down on the United States. Others felt nothing, that space was, well, just space, so let the Soviets play around all they wanted. We had problems here on Earth to solve.
Others, though, were visionaries. They could see ahead, that Sputnik was just the first small toehold into a journey into a vast unknown that could ultimately culminate with men escaping the confines of their planet.
The success of Sputnik fired the imagination of Hickam and his friends, Quentin, Roy Lee and O'Dell.
Using scraps and bits and pieces of metal and other materials found in their basements, garages and around Coalwood, the four set out to build and launch a rocket of their own.
After many failures, and much derision from townspeople, they succeed.
Their idealistic teacher, a sturdy, compassionate performance by Laura Dern, enters them in a science fair, which they win. This victory propels Homer and his friends to the nationals.
But October Sky is more than a story about four young men and their obsession with rockets. It is also the tale of a father and son, trying to bridge a generation and cultural gap created by the environment around them.
John Hickam is a mine official, who is proud of the work he has done. His family has been coal miners for generations, and he sees nothing wrong with his youngest son following in his footsteps.
He sees Homer's devotion to his rocketry as a mere hobby, a passing fad. The older Hickam doubts his son's ability to use his newly acquired knowledge to escape what he sees as the boy's destiny.
This is a gulf young Homer must overcome with the same grit and determination he applies to his rocket experiments.
Lewis Colick's script cannot avoid all the cliches inherent in such situations, but he brings such sincerity to the proceedings that you tend to overlook them, even as you realize you've run across them before.
The true find of October Sky is young Jake Gyllenhaal as Homer. This is young Gyllenhaal's breakthrough performance, much as A Boy's Life set Leonardo DiCaprio on his course.
Gyllenhaal's Homer is fierce in his doggedness to succeed, yet touchingly vulnerable. He is driven not by ego but by seeking the approval of his father.
More than anything else, he wants his father to recognize that what he is trying to do is worthwhile.
Chris Cooper, who has given some fine performances, notably in John Sayles' Lone Star, is touching, unyielding and exudes the strength of a Sequoia as John Hickam. But he also is wise enough to accept and embrace his son's chosen path in order not to lose him.
Mark Isham contributes a strong score that helps keep the film at an even pace, while Fred Murphy's cinematography captures the grime and dirt that covers Coalwood.
October Sky is a bit schmaltzy and predictable. But that shouldn't keep anyone from enjoying this true-life saga of a boy whose dreams could not be confined by either gravity or convention.
Bob Bloom is the film critic at the Journal and Courier in Lafayette, Ind. He can be reached by e-mail at bloom@journal-courier.com or a cbloom@iquest.net
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