"Hidden Figures"

Finally got to see the movie everyone was talking about ... from two years ago.  Such is my life.  Like most "historical fiction" this film takes huge liberties with, well, the truth, but succeeds anyway given that it has a stellar cast and a good number of "truths" to explore beyond the actual history.  The truth here is that women, black women, black women in the sciences, had a horrendous time finding acceptance in the 20th century.  It wasn't just one battle, it was many ongoing ones.  The men in their lives didn't understand how a woman could work, much less in a field dominated by males.  The female co-workers were often secretarial types resentful of any woman, particularly a black woman, being elevated to a position of power or authority.  Being able to share in the office coffee pot at a time when there were separate water fountains or use a convenient bathroom were symbolic of the tiny wars being waged across America on a daily basis.  Favorites Taraji P. Henson and Octavia Spencer do a tremendously good job walking that impossible line -- being subservient and unoffensive even though their characters knew better than those above them in the work hierarchy.  Janelle Monae, newer to the screen, does a solid job portraying a woman whose is determined to reach for her dream, no matter how much the bar is moved.  Yes, there are a couple of "white saviors" here.  Such is the ugly truth.  When a group is being put down, it takes at least a few of the privileged class to "see" what is happening (or "get woke" in modern parlance) and address it for others to rise up.  Don't let that fool you, however.  These are women with voices.  They may speak quietly but they have a strength of conviction which each of them unfailingly commits to.  Although many of the major events of the film are known history there are still chills and tears.  Worth watching.