October Sky tells the true story of Homer Hickam, a high school student who lives in a dying West Virginia coal mining town and who dreams of building rockets after hearing about the launch of Sputnik on Oct. 5, 1957. The movie has a lot of charm, even if it plays out rather predictably.
Jake Gyllenhaal plays Homer, a kid not cut out to mine coal like his father (Chris Cooper). "I want to build a rocket," he declares after watching Sputnik streak across the nighttime sky. He is even more determined when a hopeful teacher (Laura Dern) tells him that a college scholarship is possible for the winner at the science fair. It's an opportunity to get out of his miserable town, a chance to do something more than follow in his father's footsteps (the other avenue out is a football scholarship, but that's one that Homer's brother pursues).
Math is not Homer's strong subject, however, so he enlists the help of Quentin (Chris Owen), a geeky "weirdo" that no one likes. "Go ahead, but you can kiss your social life goodbye," he's warned as he moves towards Quentin's table in the school lunchroom.
A couple of other friends help out and soon they're firing off rockets in town. These early failures are immensely entertaining because of their unpredictability - an aspect that the film doesn't really hold onto.
Homer's father doesn't see rockets as anything more than a hobby and wishes his son would be more practical and take a job in the mine. When Homer is charged with starting a fire, he's even more convinced.
The film's primary conflict is this father/son dispute and it's mostly handled well (I was sort of reminded of "Breaking Away", which also featured some father and son heart-to-heart talks). Chris Cooper is convincing in the gruff father role, with a face that looks the part. There's also a nice supporting performance by Natalie Canerday as Homer's mother, someone who has her own dreams and can, therefore, better understand Homer's.
I like the inherent symbolism that's built right into this story: the bleak, underground, closed-off world of the mine contrasted with the optimistic, wide-open possibilities associated with rockets and space. The director, Joe Johnston ("The Rocketeer"), knows this and juices up the early rocket scenes with a lot of memorable pop music. These scenes really work.
Where "October Sky" loses steam, however, is in the second half as the story becomes less subtle and follows a more conventional path. I guess one could argue that, based on an actual story, that's the path it had to follow, but I don't think that's necessarily true. And it's certainly not the case that it had to become as syrupy in tone as it does (the obvious message: follow your dreams). "October Sky" is far from a dud, but it doesn't soar to great heights.
The true story of homer hickam, a coal miner s son who wasinspired by the first sputnik launch to take up rocketry againsthis father s wishes.More at Buy.com Marketplaces
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