OCTOBER SKY Reviewed by Jamie Peck
Talk about a movie having its cake and eating it, too. Said hype had "October Sky" pegged as "inspirational" and "uplifting," and it turns out that neither adjective is a misnomer. This is probably because the tale's factual roots - taken straight from Homer Hickam's autobiography "Rocket Boys" - have been unexpectedly maintained in a genre fond of pounding narratives into predictable, cliche-littered schmaltz. That's not to say every story development is unexpected and every character is a complete original, but the magic in "October Sky" stems from how these seemingly straight-from-stock situations and supporting roles are treated: humanely.
The year is 1957 and high school-aged Homer (played by Jake Gyllenhaal) is pretty much stuck on an adamantly preordained path in the footsteps of his mine superintendent dad ("Lone Star"'s Chris Cooper), a stone-faced type with a soot-stained legacy he feels Homer must continue. But when Homer spies the Soviet satellite Sputnik passing overhead on its historical orbit, a passion for science is awakened - a passion that puts him at odds with his direly disappointed pop. Nevertheless, Homer recruits two pals (William Lee Scott and Chad Lindberg) and the class nerd (Chris Owen) to help him in his own rocket-building missions.
This father figure is where "October Sky" begins to depart from the expected route of coming-of-age stereotypes. In such films, the authoritative parent usually exists only to provide resistance to the protagonist's aspirations, but Cooper and screenwriter Lewis Colick essay a distinct individual whose reluctance to accept his son's chosen path is entirely believable. Gyllenhaal is just as vital to "Sky"'s success, so full of unactorly charm and candor that he makes Homer's wonder and eventual heartbreak immediately palpable. And as Homer's sweet mama, newcomer Natalie Canerday is so natural in her scenes that it's hard to believe she's not the real thing.
Speaking of authenticity, "October Sky"'s final reel gets a little crowded with several extraneous subplots - like the illness of Homer's encouraging teacher (effective Laura Dern) - but atoning for the quick-to-shift focus is that each actually had a hand in shaping an array of lives. Even furthering the impact is a concluding montage of grainy home movies from the '50s, providing glimpses of the cast's in-the-flesh counterparts and updates on where they are now. Some are sad and some are surprising, but none is more fitting than the road traveled by Homer Hickam. No fair spoiling it if you already don't know, but here's a hint: The sky's the limit.
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