“I’m a negro woman, I’m not going to entertain the impossible,” says Janelle Monáe’s “Hidden Figures” character at the prospect of becoming an engineer. But as her colleague replies, “I am standing beneath a space ship: We are living the impossible!”
Written by Allison Schroeder and the film’s director, Theodore Melfi, and based on the book by Margot Lee Shetterly, “Hidden Figures” tells the true story of the female presence behind the space race of the 1960s.
The film, according to its official synopsis, follows “Katherine G. Johnson (Taraji P. Henson), Dorothy Vaughan (Octavia Spencer) and Mary Jackson (Monáe), brilliant African-American women working at NASA, who served as the brains behind one of the greatest operations in history: the launch of astronaut John Glenn into orbit, a stunning achievement that restored the nation’s confidence, turned around the Space Race, and galvanized the world. The visionary trio crossed all gender and race lines to inspire generations to dream big.”
This new international trailer gives a little more insight into the Cold War and Civil Rights environment in the U.S. at the time. It goes for an emotional and inspirational mood rather than embracing the humor and female camaraderie of the first trailer we saw. No doubt the film is a combination of both styles.
With a premise this inspiring and performances that look wonderful, “Hidden Figures” seems destined for awards attention. Thankfully, as Women and Hollywood reported last month, Fox is likely planning a two-city showing in December that would qualify it for the 2016 awards season. The wide release is set for January 13 over Martin Luther King weekend.
