OCTOBER SKY

Review: Based on a true story of Homer Hickam from Coalwood, West Virginia, a coal miner’s son. It is the year 1957 and his world has just got a whole lot bigger when the first Sputnik flies over the October sky. Homer and his friends start building and also launch their homemade rockets. His father disagrees with what his son is doing and has aspirations of him following in his father’s footsteps.
Director: Joe Johnston
Actors: Jake Gyllenhaal, Chris Cooper, Laura Dern, Chris Owen, William Lee Scott, Chad Lindberg, Natalie Canerday, Scott Thomas, Chris Ellis, Elya Baskin, Courtney Cole-Fendley, David Dwyer, Terry Loughlin and Kaili Hollister
Year: 1999
Genre: Biography, Drama and Family
Conclusion: 4/5
It is believed that the author of the book which the film is based on wished the movie to be called “Rocket Boys,” but the studio believed that title would not sell well. Stand out performances from Jake Gyllenhaal and Laura Dern. This is actually Jake Gyllenhaal’s first leading role in a film at the age of 17. A very entertaining and enjoyable film to watch. I also found it to be a very touching and engrossing film. The main theme in this is ambition and never give up on your dreams. In Roger Ebert’s review he quotes “The tension in the movie is not between the boys and their rocket, but between the boys and those who think that miners’ sons belong down in the mines and not up in the sky.”