Popcorn and Inspiration: ‘October Sky’: Don’t Give Up on Your Lofty Dreams Says Heartwarming Biopic
PG | 1h 48min | Biography, Drama, Family | 19 February 1999 (USA)
I was hesitant to watch what I’d assumed was going to be yet another feel-good film that would prove smarmy and inauthentic. Luckily, director Joe Johnston’s “October Sky” was the perfect antidote for my cinematic pessimism. Unlike many of the genre’s films, it transcends clichés due to powerful performances, a gritty atmosphere, and great storytelling. From coal mine to outer space: one boy’s journey. The poster for “October Sky.”
Based on the memoirs of scientist Homer Hadley Hickam Jr. from his 1998 book “Rocket Boys” (which was adapted into a screenplay by Lewis Colick of “Ghosts of Mississippi” and “Ladder 49” fame), the film opens in the modest mining town of Coalwood, West Virginia. Here, besides the rare instance of earning a football scholarship, the only other future for