October Sky

Inspired by true events, October Sky follows 1950s teenager Homer Hickam (Jake Gyllenhaal) as he and some friends set out to build a working rocket – with the movie also detailing Homer’s fractured relationship with his coal-mining father (Chris Cooper’s John). It’s an old-fashioned, feel-good narrative that’s employed to consistently watchable effect by filmmaker Joe Johnston, as the director does an effective job of ensuring that the storyline both moves along at a steady clip and contains a number of impressively affecting moments. Gyllenhaal’s typically strong work as the central character goes a long way towards confirming the movie’s success, while the movie’s periphery players provide better-than-average support and background color. (Cooper’s performance here is especially quite engrossing, to be sure.) The compulsively watchable vibe does take a hit somewhere around the one-hour mark, however, as the newfound emphasis on Homer’s exploits within the mine wreaks havoc on the movie’s momentum (and it doesn’t help, certainly, that this portion of the proceedings never actually happened to the real Hickam). It’s just as clear that October Sky recovers for an admittedly captivating final stretch, with the emotional punch of the film’s final few minutes ultimately confirming its place as an above-average period piece.

*** out of ****