Jim Parsons in Hidden Figures
Hidden Figures sees Jim Parsons in his most sizeable supporting movie role to date. The movie follows the careers of three exceptional African American women working as “human computers” for NASA for the international space programme. Its set at the segregated Langley Reproach Centre in Virginia in the 1960s. Hidden Figures has been the number one movie in America for two weeks now. And our forum guest reviewer, Queenofsheba has just seen it and gives us her take. "I was finally able to see Hidden Figures this week and it certainly lived up to all the hype. There’s nothing cheesy about this family friendly movie, it’s based on real life events and is both eye-opening and inspiration. The story follows the bigotry Katherine Goble Johnson, a gifted mathematician, faced in undertaking her work at NASA during the 60s. Her colleagues Dorthy Voughn [Octavia Spencer] and Mary Jackson's [Janelle Monáe] plots were equally wonderful, with both having to invent ingenious ways to keep their positions. One example of the attitude of the times, is a series of scenes where Katherine had to run across the campus every day because there were no "colored" bathrooms. Costing her time and trying Al Harrison’s [Kevin Costner] patience. This comes to a head in a sad and emotional scene which made me realise how much we take for granted now. Jim Parsons plays Paul Strafford, a petty and threatened man who is quickly put in his place by Costner in nearly every scene he shares with Katherine. You almost feel sorry for him. Jim does an amazing job of being both strangle-worthy and pathetic. You really want to see him knocked down a peg. So the final scene, is all the sweeter. No words are exchanged and Paul even smiles a little bit. You see the team warm up to Katherine, particularly Harrison, and finally accept her as an equal. This is very much one of my favorite Jim Parsons roles, without a whiff of Sheldon in sight. It's no cameo, as Parsons was featured throughout the movie which was a pleasant surprise. Hidden Figures makes you think, opens your mind and makes you want to do something epic. It’s worthy of all the awards it gets. Go see it and take the family."
