October Sky (1999) Jake Gyllenhaal, Chris Cooper, William Lee Scott, Chris Owen, Chad Lindberg, Natalie Canerday, Laura Dern, Scott Miles, Scott Thomas, Courtney Fendley, "Big Frank" Schuler, Kailie Hollister, Jeff Galpin, O. Winston Link. Screenplay by Lewis Colick, based on the book "Rocket Boys" by Homer H. Hickam Jr. Directed by Joe Johnston. 108 minutes. Rated PG, 4 stars (out of five stars)
Review by Ed Johnson-Ott, NUVO Newsweekly www.nuvo-online.com Archive reviews at http://us.imdb.com/M/reviews_by?Edward+Johnson-ott To receive reviews by e-mail at no charge, send subscription requests to pbbp24a@prodigy.com
Think of "Hoosiers," with a science fair subbing for a basketball game as the grand finale, and you'll have an idea of what to expect from "October Sky," an earnest, inspirational throwback to the pre-ironic days of filmmaking. How refreshing to watch idealism and sentimentality presented onscreen without the usual cheap manipulative tricks so beloved by Hollywood schlockmeisters. Admittedly, "October Sky" is at times a bit too pat, but given the sheer good will engendered by the movie, that flaw is easy to take.
The story, based on Homer J. Hickam Jr.'s memoir, "Rocket Boys," begins on a brisk night in 1957, when the residents of Coalwood, West Virginia watch the Russian satellite Sputnik glide across the starry October sky. Inspired by the sight, and the U.S. efforts to keep up with their Cold War rivals, young Homer Hickam decides to start building rockets of his own, much to the dismay of his father, the mine superintendent for the company town's only industry. Along with a few friends, Homer forms the "Big Creek Missile Agency" and pursues his dream, encouraged by a teacher who believes the boys might have a chance of winning the National Science Fair in Indianapolis and securing the college scholarships necessary for them to escape life in the mines.
The film has two story arcs, both well-traveled but satisfying nonetheless. One is a tale of perseverance, chronicling the boys' dogged efforts to succeed through study, experimentation and hard work. The other eloquently details one young man's quest to be his own person, even while he continues to desperately crave the approval of his father. In a letter to his former high school, the real Homer Hickam stated he wrote his book "for all of us who watched our parents sacrifice in a million ways every day so that we might have a better life. It was written for all of us who observed by deed every day how much our parents loved us but never experienced it through touch or word." If you found that statement corny rather than moving, this may not be the film for you.
"October Sky" captures the look and feel of a tiny '50s coal-mining town so well that the golden-oldies soundtrack seems unnecessary and intrusive. The cast does fine work making the town come to life. Laura Dern is effective as the boy's teacher and Natalie Canerday gives a great performance as Elsie Hickam, a fiercely devoted mother and wife who hates Coalwood. Even while battling for her family, she paints a beachside mural on the kitchen wall, a small act of defiance against this town of soot, hacking coughs and lives of resignation.
As Homer, Jake Gyllenhaal nicely straddles the line between wide-eyed boy and fiery young man. He makes Homer a 20th Century Huck Finn, with a personality born of his mother's dreams and his father's backbone. Chris Cooper, in the film's most crucial role, plays John Hickam with grit and intensity, tempered by a hint of sadness in his eyes. As a superintendent, husband and father, John Hickam is firm and not always fair, but he truly believes himself a reasonable man operating in the best interests of those around him. While you will certainly understand Homer's frustration with his father, you'll also realize why he cherishes him so.
After watching "October Sky," I bought and read "Rocket Boys," partially because I wanted to spend more time with the Hickams, but also to check the accuracy of the film, which seemed almost too slick to be true. Indeed, the movie makes some changes. The six rocket boys in the "Big Creek Missile Agency" are condensed into four characters. Homer's mother was considerably more assertive, and his father quietly more helpful, than portrayed in the film. An incident with the law which casts a pall over the boys for a goodly portion of the movie was actually resolved in one afternoon. And as for one of the few images in the film that looked contrived, a shot of a defeated young Homer gazing upwards at Sputnik while a mine elevator lowers him into the bowels of the earth, well, let's just call it poetic license and leave it at that.
The liberties taken by the filmmakers didn't really bother me, though. The movie is true to the essence of the book and, most importantly, it does not dishonor Homer's parents, John and Elsie Hickam. That matters, because it shows that the people behind "October Sky" adhere to the values they espouse. As with "Hoosiers," "October Sky" may move some facts around and throw in a fictional subplot, but it maintains the integrity of the true story behind the celluloid.
© 1999 Ed Johnson-Ott
The review above was posted to the
rec.arts.movies.reviews newsgroup (de.rec.film.kritiken for German reviews).
The Internet Movie Database accepts no responsibility for the contents of the
review and has no editorial control. Unless stated otherwise, the copyright
belongs to the author.
Please direct comments/criticisms of the review to relevant newsgroups.
Broken URLs inthe reviews are the responsibility of the author.
The formatting of the review is likely to differ from the original due
to ASCII to HTML conversion.
Related links: index of all rec.arts.movies.reviews reviews