As a general rule, nothing makes me feel worse than ‘feel good’ films. The cloying, often even aggressive poking and prodding at what the film assumes are foolproof triggers risks alienating cynics like me more than winning us over. Hidden Figures, I assumed, would tick this box based on its plot synopsis alone: based on the book of the same name by Margot Lee Shetterly, the film tracks the career trajectory of three real-life black women mathematicians at NASA during the 1960s: Katherine Johnson (played by Taraji P. Henson), Dorothy Vaughn (Octavia Spencer) and Mary Jackson (Janelle Monáe). And yet, through strong performances, sensitive direction and the strength of its source material, Hidden Figures transcends cliché to become a genuinely moving, inspirational tale of perseverance, strength and love.

Facing extraordinary obstacles based on their race and gender, one of the keys to the film’s success is its attention to the minutia of discrimination: needing going to the toilet, trying to run in heels, and not being able to afford a string of pearls become touchstone moments in the film for not just heart-warming but hugely ideologically significant moments of change not only in the lives of the women whose stories the film seeks to tell, but the white folks around them who take their privilege for granted.

Each of the women in the film – Johnson, Vaughn and Jackson – are certainly deserving of a film in their own right, their individual stories more than enough to fill a much longer film. But the power of Hidden Figures comes in part from their unification, from the way that their lives weave together and the support network they formed amongst themselves that in large part facilitated and fostered the individual personal strengths each woman required to achieve what they did in their respective fields. Receiving a number of high profile awards and nominations, it is perhaps the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture award that most potently reflects the thematic core of this film: it is a film that champions strength in numbers, the power of collaboration, and networks of love and support.

Alexandra Heller-Nicholas