Movie Review: October Sky

October Sky

Some years ago, I read the book October Sky and was deeply touched by the story it told of boys growing up in the late 1950's in a poor, hard-working town in West Virginia. Typically, movies don't do books justice in no small part because they are forced to condense hundreds of pages into a two-hour script. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the movie October Sky is not only faithful to the book but, despite necessary edits due to time constraints, also kept intact the lessons and impact of the story.

Coalwood, West Virginia is a company town supported almost entirely on the back of the local coal mine. Most of the men work in the mind; most of the boys will follow their fathers into the pit as soon as they graduate high school. Only a few young people escape the vicious circle of back-breaking and dangerous labor, and it looks like Homer Hickham's older brother may be one of those people as he is courted by college football coaches to accept an athletic scholarship one of their schools. Homer (soulfully played by Jake Gyllenhaal) is far smarter than his brother, but a miserable failure on the gridiron

Homer tries not to think about the future much as he watches his father (the mine superintendent, ably portrayed by veteran character actor Chris Cooper) come home every night, covered by coal dust and in a foul temper. As Homer's days blend one into another, the entire town is suddenly gripped by the shock of the launch by the Russians of their Sputnik satellite. Homer and his friends, along with almost everyone else in Coalwood, turn out after dark to see the tiny dot of light moving across the sky. And as quickly as the speck moves, Homer is inspired: he will be a rocket scientist. With help from a few classmates, an idolotry of rocket pioneer Werner von Braun, and often more nerve than sense, Homer begins attempts to build and launch model rockets. How he perserveres in the face of repeated failures and his father's contempt is due in part to the encouragement of a young school teacher (Laura Dern) who has accepted as her mission in life working to get just a few kids away from the coal mines.

October Sky is inspiring without being preachy, perhaps because the story is true and told largely without embellishment. I'm a longtime advocate of space exploration, and I don't hesitate to place Homer Hickham on a par with other space program pioneers and heroes. Perhaps other men braved more immediate danger, but few exhibited the sheer love and loyalty to the American space program that Homer Hickham possesses, nor the iron-willed determination to be a part of it all.

FAMILY SUITABILITY: October Sky is rated PG. There are a few scenes where the emotional abuse suffered by Homer at the hands of his father is intense and would perhaps be frightening to small children. Any child older than ten or so should be well able to deal with such scenes, however, and we can hope they'd even be inspired by Homer's success against all odds. Adults will enjoy the show for the story too, but also for the faithfully recreated past which positively reeks of nostalgia.