October Sky

I’m writing this review on Sunday, but it won’t surprise me to find out that the mindless Jawbreaker will trounce the inspirational October Sky when the weekend box office results are released. Most inspirational movies don’t inspire large movie audiences, witness the rapid descent of The Mighty, one of the best movies of 1998.

October Sky brought back warm memories for me. The movie opens with the news of the Soviet launching of Sputnik in October, 1957. I was only five then, but I vividly recall my father taking my two bigger brothers and me to the high school football field to watch the trek of this small satellite on a clear night. Sputnik prompted the U.S. to get into the space race with the Soviets.

The movie follows the true story of a NASA engineer named Homer Hickam (Jake Gyllenhaal), a young man growing up in the coal mining town of Coalwood, West Virginia. The only way for coal miners’ sons to escape a life in the mines is to get a football scholarship. It reminds me of textile mill towns where families live in small houses owned by the mill.

Homer is different, though. Not the best student in the world, he is motivated by a caring teacher, Miss Riley (Laura Dern) into applying his curiosity by developing a small rocket. Together with three classmates (Chris Owen, William Lee Scott, and Chad Lindberg), we follow their trials and tribulations to win a regional science fair.

Homer has a difficult relationship with his father, John Hickam (Chris Cooper), a supervisor at the local mine. John wants Homer to ditch all of the rocket nonsense to help prepare him for a life in the mines. Cooper has the face of the ordinary working man. I am a big fan of this character actor.

The film is one of the best I’ve seen in terms of recalling the life and times of the 1950’s, from the music to the dress to the mannerisms. As a teacher, I

appreciate the dedication of Miss Riley. This movie is a fine tribute.