OCTOBER SKY (1999)

OCTOBER SKY (1999)

Tagline:  Sometimes one dream is enough to light up the whole sky.

(Drama, Family, Biography) [PG]

This movie is based on a book called “Rocket Boys” that is based on a true story. It’s based on a 1950’s coal-mining town called Coalwood, WV. Mostly because back then there was no interest in calling small towns something cool, so they just named them after whatever the heck was going. Just kidding, settle down, there are plenty of towns with cool names. What was I doing again? Oh yeah. This review, so this kid Homer Hickman gets into rockets driven by the space race between Russia and the U.S. Homer has a friend that really understands how rockets work and they team up with 2 other kids to start building and launching hobby rockets in their spare time. Homer’s dad is not into it at all and Homer now must struggle between pursuing his dream of ultimately getting to space or follow in the footsteps of his father and become a coal miner. Can Homer, a very supportive teacher, and his friends reach for the sky? 

Acting-wise this movie is very strong. I am guessing this movie is what got Jake Gyllenhaal on the map to star in DONNIE DARKO. He plays the lead Homer Hickman and essentially carries the movie. We also get the likes of Laura Dern best known for JURASSIC PARK. She is the supportive teacher named Miss Riley in this. Riley has her own battles in the movie-going up against the high school’s principal to get Homer the books etc. he needed for study. Chris Owen has a great outing as Homer’s eccentric friend Quentin. I really liked Chris Cooper as Homer’s father. His acting is spot on for this type of role. It seemed like every secondary cast member was really putting in a good effort as well. Zero complaints on the cast. 

Cinematically this isn’t MISSISSIPPI BURNING, the mine shots were okay, but the lighting was just so so all around. The production crew did do a solid job of capturing the 50’s though, so hats off to them on that. 

I don’t know that many “real life” movies are trying to teach us something, but this is one of the movies that does. It gives us a credible glimpse into small-town life, the challenges of breaking out of family expectations, and overcoming the challenges of your surroundings. I loved the upbeat yet at times serious tones in this that made it an enjoyable watch. I also loved that this movie gives nods to the people of this town throughout and Homer and the “Rocket Boys” are given quite a bit of help from them. It adds another layer of subtle beauty to this story. Some changes were made to the real-life events but nothing that would have overridden the concepts. For example, two of the real-life “Rocket Boys” were combined into one character. There is also a scene where railroad rails are being used to melt down for rocket parts, but this never happened. These issues are factored into my rating. 

Overall this is a well done and nicely told story. The movie gives us not just Homer’s story but the entire “Rocket Boys” group as well as the towns as a whole. It’s a mostly feel-good glimpse into a time of national wonder but it doesn’t paint the 50’s as being perfect and that is a credit to the filmmakers. They didn’t just gloss everything over. We do get to see quite a few rockets in this as well which is awesome. 

For me, this movie is a 5 out of 7. 

GRAPHICS ARE THE PROPERTY OF METRO-GOLDWYN-MAYER (MGM)AND ARE USED FOR REVIEW PURPOSES ONLY. 

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