Hidden Figures follows three women working behind the scenes at NASA in 1961, right in the middle of the Space Race against Russia during the Cold War. And that’s what they are – hidden figures. They are the characters that are making something of themselves behind the scenes in NASA, trying to get a man into space. The three women are extremely smart, bright, funny and inspiring African American women, stuck in the unfortunate time of segregation and unequal rights. But it isn’t just the fact that they are African American that holds them back; it is the notion that women could not do what men could do.

The movie was commanding. My entire theater broke into applause four different times throughout the movie to give appreciation to each powerful scene that the actors performed. Not to mention that the film was undeniably hilarious. The witty dialogue was the perfect comic relief to a film with such an important message behind it. But what makes it the most memorable is the fact that it is based on a true story. The actors performed those roles with great respect.

The characters each have their own paths within the movie but their stories are wound together beautifully. They are best friends, fighting for the same things in different ways.

Dorothy Vaughan (Octavia Spencer) manages all the African American women in NASA, desperately trying to find jobs for these women and help them work their way up in the company – a difficult task because of the almost nonexistent support of the rest of NASA.

Mary Jackson (Janelle Monáe), an aspiring engineer, something a woman has not successfully done at NASA, much less an African American one. Her attitude and drive added life to the film in unique ways.

Katherine Goble, played by Taraji P. Henson, takes the lead among the three women and arguably gave the most inspiring and uplifting performances of them all. She gets pulled up to the Space Task Administration and from there had to face a barrage of white men who didn’t want to accept her as a coworker because of her color, but had to perform the best she could despite the circumstances in order to mark her place there.

The film also harbored amazing performances from Kevin Costner, Jim Parsons, and Kirsten Dunst.

Overall, the movie was intriguing, engaging and badass. Very much recommended.