Despite the nondescript title, Universal has a potential sleeper hit in "October Sky", an unapologetically formulaic but rousing period piece based on the childhood memoir, "Rocket Boys", by NASA science engineer Homer H. Hickam Jr.
Boasting a terrific cast, the Eisenhower-era, space-race story about a coal miner's son whose head is truly in the clouds taps into some universal truths about family dynamics that remain stubbornly unaffected by time and place.
While it would have taken no less than the presence of Robin Williams with a pocket protector and brandishing a slide ruler to guarantee the studio another "Patch Adams"-sized success, favorable reviews and strong word-of-mouth should propel "October Sky" to respectable heights.
Young Jake Gyllenhaal puts in a winning performance as Homer Hickam, a rural West Virginia high school student circa 1957 who lives in the shadow of his football-playing brother and under the tough but well-meaning hand of his miner superintendent father (Chris Cooper).
Although it's all but a given that the young men of Coalwood will become miners with the exception of those few -- like his brother -- who earn football scholarships, Homer discovers his destiny one October night when he sees the Soviet satellite Sputnik twinkling across the sky.
The next morning he proudly announces at breakfast that he's going to build rockets for a living. Undaunted by his family's unenthusiastic response -- his mom (Natalie Canerday) offers a that's-nice-dear smile accompanied by the motherly advice, "Don't blow yourself up!" -- Homer perseveres with the help of his friends, Roy Lee William Lee Scott), O'Dell (Chad Lindberg) and Quentin (Chris Owen), the high school nerd who's more than happy to offer him a primer in rocket science.
Their first batch of prototypes go south, but after constant refinement, the rocket boys, boosted by their inspiring teacher, Miss Riley (Laura Dern) are ready to enter a national science fair. But fate would appear to conspire against them. The authorities effectively shut down their launch site when one of their unaccounted-for, wayward rockets is alleged to have sparked a forest fire.
Worse, Homer has to put his dreams on hold and starts shoveling coal to help make ends meet after his father is seriously injured in a mining accident.
Of course, everything will turn out just fine in the end, and while the route getting there is filled with some very familiar obstacles, it's still a very satisfying trip.
Much of the credit goes to the exceptional cast, headed by Gyllenhaal, whose sweet, sensitive but stubbornly determined portrayal of a young man intent on making his own destiny fuels much of the picture's crowd-pleasing power.
Cooper, meanwhile, is excellent as his hardened, uncomprehending but ultimately caring father. It's a complex, thoughtfully layered performance.
Good, too, is Canerday as Homer's no-nonsense mom who's willing to play the part of the supportive '50s housewife only up to a point, and Dern, who always ignites every screen she appears on, this time as Homer's encouraging teacher.
Director Joe Johnston ("Jumanji") did another jet-propelled period piece called "The Rocketeer", but this one really flies, dispensing of the array of big-budget special effects in favor of effective, good old-fashioned storytelling and sturdy characterizations.
While Lewis Colick's script doesn't try to break any ground in its safe approach to the material, it manages to get the job done in a tidy and affecting manner.
It's all framed by Fred Murphy's warm-toned camera work and Barry Robison's period-appropriate but respectfully unkitschy production design.
Meanwhile, Mark Isham's inventive score goes for something beyond the usual string-heavy arrangements, blending in nicely with the rock 'n' roll samplings of Elvis, Buddy Holly and Fats Domino, which, like the emerging space program, signaled a society on the cusp of unprecedented change.
OCTOBER SKY
Universal Pictures
A Charles Gordon production
A Joe Johnston film
Director: Joe Johnston
Screenwriter: Lewis Colick
Based on the book "Rocket Boys"by: Homer H. Hickam Jr.
Producers: Charles Gordon, Larry Franco
Executive producers: Marc Sternberg, Peter Cramer
Director of photography: Fred Murphy
Production designer: Barry Robison
Editor: Robert Dalva
Costume designer: Betsy Cox
Music: Mark Isham
Casting: Nancy Foy
Color/stereo
Cast:
Homer: Jake Gyllenhaal
John Hickam: Chris Cooper
Roy Lee: William Lee Scott
Quentin: Chris Owen
O'Dell: Chad Lindberg
Elsie Hickam: Natalie Canerday
Miss Riley: Laura Dern
Running time -- 108 minutes
MPAA rating: PG...
Boasting a terrific cast, the Eisenhower-era, space-race story about a coal miner's son whose head is truly in the clouds taps into some universal truths about family dynamics that remain stubbornly unaffected by time and place.
While it would have taken no less than the presence of Robin Williams with a pocket protector and brandishing a slide ruler to guarantee the studio another "Patch Adams"-sized success, favorable reviews and strong word-of-mouth should propel "October Sky" to respectable heights.
Young Jake Gyllenhaal puts in a winning performance as Homer Hickam, a rural West Virginia high school student circa 1957 who lives in the shadow of his football-playing brother and under the tough but well-meaning hand of his miner superintendent father (Chris Cooper).
Although it's all but a given that the young men of Coalwood will become miners with the exception of those few -- like his brother -- who earn football scholarships, Homer discovers his destiny one October night when he sees the Soviet satellite Sputnik twinkling across the sky.
The next morning he proudly announces at breakfast that he's going to build rockets for a living. Undaunted by his family's unenthusiastic response -- his mom (Natalie Canerday) offers a that's-nice-dear smile accompanied by the motherly advice, "Don't blow yourself up!" -- Homer perseveres with the help of his friends, Roy Lee William Lee Scott), O'Dell (Chad Lindberg) and Quentin (Chris Owen), the high school nerd who's more than happy to offer him a primer in rocket science.
Their first batch of prototypes go south, but after constant refinement, the rocket boys, boosted by their inspiring teacher, Miss Riley (Laura Dern) are ready to enter a national science fair. But fate would appear to conspire against them. The authorities effectively shut down their launch site when one of their unaccounted-for, wayward rockets is alleged to have sparked a forest fire.
Worse, Homer has to put his dreams on hold and starts shoveling coal to help make ends meet after his father is seriously injured in a mining accident.
Of course, everything will turn out just fine in the end, and while the route getting there is filled with some very familiar obstacles, it's still a very satisfying trip.
Much of the credit goes to the exceptional cast, headed by Gyllenhaal, whose sweet, sensitive but stubbornly determined portrayal of a young man intent on making his own destiny fuels much of the picture's crowd-pleasing power.
Cooper, meanwhile, is excellent as his hardened, uncomprehending but ultimately caring father. It's a complex, thoughtfully layered performance.
Good, too, is Canerday as Homer's no-nonsense mom who's willing to play the part of the supportive '50s housewife only up to a point, and Dern, who always ignites every screen she appears on, this time as Homer's encouraging teacher.
Director Joe Johnston ("Jumanji") did another jet-propelled period piece called "The Rocketeer", but this one really flies, dispensing of the array of big-budget special effects in favor of effective, good old-fashioned storytelling and sturdy characterizations.
While Lewis Colick's script doesn't try to break any ground in its safe approach to the material, it manages to get the job done in a tidy and affecting manner.
It's all framed by Fred Murphy's warm-toned camera work and Barry Robison's period-appropriate but respectfully unkitschy production design.
Meanwhile, Mark Isham's inventive score goes for something beyond the usual string-heavy arrangements, blending in nicely with the rock 'n' roll samplings of Elvis, Buddy Holly and Fats Domino, which, like the emerging space program, signaled a society on the cusp of unprecedented change.
OCTOBER SKY
Universal Pictures
A Charles Gordon production
A Joe Johnston film
Director: Joe Johnston
Screenwriter: Lewis Colick
Based on the book "Rocket Boys"by: Homer H. Hickam Jr.
Producers: Charles Gordon, Larry Franco
Executive producers: Marc Sternberg, Peter Cramer
Director of photography: Fred Murphy
Production designer: Barry Robison
Editor: Robert Dalva
Costume designer: Betsy Cox
Music: Mark Isham
Casting: Nancy Foy
Color/stereo
Cast:
Homer: Jake Gyllenhaal
John Hickam: Chris Cooper
Roy Lee: William Lee Scott
Quentin: Chris Owen
O'Dell: Chad Lindberg
Elsie Hickam: Natalie Canerday
Miss Riley: Laura Dern
Running time -- 108 minutes
MPAA rating: PG...
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