October Sky is one of the most average films in recent memory. It moves from cliche to cliche without a care in the world because the film itself is a cliche: if you work hard enough, you will be rewarded. You get all the elements that work against our unlikely hero, such as a tough father and skeptical friends, as well as some unexpected advantages, like a helpful teacher and a resident genius friend. The movie stumbles through these situations and banks that the audience will buy it because it is based on a true story. And it seems like it has worked because most viewers seem to like the film.
There were some fine elements in the film. Chris Cooper is Hollywood's most underrated actor. His performance as the father could have been very flat, but instead he allows him to be a three dimensional man. The development of the relationship between the father and son is nice, if not a little Freudian. The other performances are nice too, but nothing special. Laura Dern, another underrated performer, is given a terrible, underwritten role, but she does the best she can. Also, the film does end much better than it begins. The first 75 minutes have a lot of silly setpieces, like "let's play on the train tracks like in Stand By Me" and "let's find our lost rocket even if the relevance to the plot is no longer clear". The end of the film really comes together, though, by focusing on the father-son relationship and the futures of the boys once they get out of that dreadful town.
One final note is in order. I believe that the film was completely unfair to unions and intentionally tried to make them look evil. Why is everyone associated with the union leadership portrayed like a wild, snarling animal? Could it be that the entire film is a quiet piece of right-wing propaganda? Does anybody really believe that if we just follow our dreams that everyone has an equal chance in America? These are just a few final thoughts, and they ultimately do not impact on my overall appraisal of the film, which I give a 6.
There were some fine elements in the film. Chris Cooper is Hollywood's most underrated actor. His performance as the father could have been very flat, but instead he allows him to be a three dimensional man. The development of the relationship between the father and son is nice, if not a little Freudian. The other performances are nice too, but nothing special. Laura Dern, another underrated performer, is given a terrible, underwritten role, but she does the best she can. Also, the film does end much better than it begins. The first 75 minutes have a lot of silly setpieces, like "let's play on the train tracks like in Stand By Me" and "let's find our lost rocket even if the relevance to the plot is no longer clear". The end of the film really comes together, though, by focusing on the father-son relationship and the futures of the boys once they get out of that dreadful town.
One final note is in order. I believe that the film was completely unfair to unions and intentionally tried to make them look evil. Why is everyone associated with the union leadership portrayed like a wild, snarling animal? Could it be that the entire film is a quiet piece of right-wing propaganda? Does anybody really believe that if we just follow our dreams that everyone has an equal chance in America? These are just a few final thoughts, and they ultimately do not impact on my overall appraisal of the film, which I give a 6.