Review: October Sky (1999)

The week after the release of 'Blast from the Past' (set partly in the early 1960's), 'October Sky' opened in American theaters. Set around the time of the Sputnik launch, 'Sky' is the superior of the two films.

The opening shots establish the story in the town of Coalwood, West Virginia in October of 1957, scenes of Americana drifting by - a barber paused in his shaving of a patron, folks gathered in a diner, all listening to reports of the shot heard and seen around the world, the start of the space race. The camera settles in a classroom of Big Creek High School, where Miss Riley (Laura Dern) tells her charges that the Russian launch is a milestone in history. Some students are cynical, and later we hear one comment, "Let 'em have space. We have rock 'n' roll!"

Seventeen year-old Homer Hickam (Jake Gyllenhaal) loses himself in dreams of rockets after the townspeople are held spellbound by the actual satellite moving across the sky, disappearing behind a wooded mountain. When Homer makes up his mind to find out all he can about rocketry, he enlists the help of the school nerd, Quentin (Chris Owen) and two old buddies, Roy Lee (William Lee Scott) and O'Dell (Chad Lindberg). Their first attempt is a cylinder filled with bottle rocket powder, a contraption that takes out a goodly section of Mrs. Hickam's white picket fence. What follows is the boys' determined efforts to rig and launch a workable missile. John Hickam (Chris Cooper), manager of the town's industry, the Olga Coal Company, forbids anything related to rockets on company property. So the foursome walks the eight miles to Snake Root, where they construct a pad on a massive slag pile.

A good deal of humor accrues when the launches fail again and again. The homemade rockets explode in various manners - before they leave the ground, a few feet in the air, or after a series of mis-aimed - and at times dangerous - short flights. Of course the boys meet various obstacles, including continued resistance from Homer's dad, and a run-in with the police. Will they succeed even in entering the regional science fair, an event that Miss Riley says may lead to the national fair, and on to possible college scholarships? In other words, will the boys stumble upon a way out of a future of toil and black lung disease, of living in company houses in a town that exists, literally, to mine coal?

Director Joe Johnston and screenwriter Lewis Colick make good use of this theme of taking a shot at the American dream. Their story moves logically, if a bit predictably, the boys meeting and outsmarting one problem after another. Perhaps we believe in their successes so readily because we are told early about the true basis for the film. Homer H. Hickam Jr. wrote the memoir 'Rocket Boys', and the historical tone set by the plot events serves to convince viewers of accuracy.

Tinged by nostalgia, the film shows us several sides of American life. We watch the boys grow through an important stage, one which pits them against the trials of young manhood. Yes, it's a cliché when they try to get a leg-up on their way out of dreary futures, but their plights are all the more poignant because of the time: we ask ourselves if these conditions could have existed so recently.

A result of solid casting, the acting in the film is outstanding. Laura Dern is the biggest name but has a smallish part. Though her accent sounds like it comes from parts south of West Virginia, Dern is thoroughly convincing as a teacher gutsy enough to stand up to a principal who says, "We're here to give these boys an education, not false hopes." Chris Cooper is a veteran character actor who plays John Hickam as a hard man. Our distance toward him changes continuously. We dislike him when he busts a company machinist for helping Homer weld a steel washer onto a rocket; we like him for his strange reveling at being good at what he does - knowing the mine like a man, and saving many men from crippling or fatal accidents. Cooper plays well an average-looking man up thrown in against not only a tough job, but his son's vision of a life that doesn't include coal mining.

But Jake Gyllenhaal is the big discovery here. This young man has no trouble pretending the camera isn't there. His looks and mannerisms are thoroughly American - tough, independent, fun-loving. He also carries scenes without overshadowing the actors around him.

The photography is mostly seamless, getting the job done without calling too much attention to itself. There is a shot that lingers just too long on the maw of the mineshaft elevator - the hole down which the lives of Coalwood's men disappear. Other scenes are edited masterfully, especially the montages of the boys' mishaps. Long shots of rocket ascents inspire the proper awe.

The score is punctuated by period songs, early rock and roll standards that help set the mood even faster than the vintage sedans parked all over the streets. Important scenes are frequently accompanied by a lone violin wavering between classical air and fiddle piece.

Why is 'October Sky' better than 'Blast from the Past'? Their different natures would warrant a much longer review. The main point of comparison is the handling of mid-century America. 'Blast from the Past' picks and chooses film clips about the Cuban missile crisis and sets that highlight early 60's interior decoration, all in service of a romantic comedy with big name players. 'October Sky' is a smaller film that shows slices of grittier realism, a vehicle that recalls a time filled both with prosperity and anxiety. Although the last several minutes are filled with too many plot twists, and perhaps try too hard to avoid sentimentality, 'October Sky' is a strong addition to the canon of truly American tales.