First Man Movie Review

First Man (2018)

Watch the trailer
Written by: Josh Singer (screenplay by), James R. Hansen (based on the book by)
Directed by: Damien Chazelle
Starring: Ryan Gosling, Claire Foy, Jason Clarke, Kyle Chandler, Corey Stoll, Ciarán Hinds, Pablo Shreiber, Shea Whigham, Lukas Haas, Ethan Embry
Rated: PG-13

Plot
A look at the life of the astronaut, Neil Armstrong, and the legendary space mission that led him to become the first man to walk on the Moon on July 20, 1969.

Verdict
It's an absolutely incredible film. I like movies that are unique and a bit condescending. This is both in the sense that it's very introspective and unlike a typical movie. Armstrong is played as quiet, and it's not quiet except for his one liner quips. With that Gosling does an amazing acting job. I felt what this movie wanted me to feel. The visuals are great and this has some intense sequences. This is one man's journey from the earth to the moon. It's a difficult journey and portrayed as very solemn. It's not necessarily fun, but it is very good.
Watch it.

Review
Chazelle also directed the incredible Whiplash (my review) and while La La Land (my review)  felt indulgent and a reward for Whiplash, it was still really good.

The first scene grabbed me. Armstrong is testing a rocket propelled plane and breaks past the atmosphere. It's a glimpse at space and as Armstrong later states, gives you a new perspective. It's not a heroic moment, but a fearful moment that almost causes his death.
The script is really good. It skips over a lot of typical scenes, giving us just enough. Every scene is building the plot and the characters. There are no boiler plate, typical scenes. The look echoes that same idea. There are many silhouetted shots and a lot of closeups. It makes this very personal, but it also gives us just enough. It's a unique look.

This isn't a movie about the hundreds of scientists that calculated trajectories and flights. It isn't about engineers that designed space suits and space crafts or the people who built the rockets. Nor is this about American finally beating Russia in the space race. This is one man's journey from the Earth to the moon. Neil Armstrong isn't the typical protagonist. He's quiet and unassuming, but focused on the mission. The death of his daughter haunts him. The deaths of fellow pilots scare him, but he believes in the mission. He's a detail person, and maybe this mission was used to distract him from the death of his daughter.

While Ryan Gosling doesn't say much, I felt everything he conveyed. I knew what he was thinking. The actors have room to act, and Claire Foy does a great job in what screen time she has. Chazelle really gets the best out of every actor. Jason Clarke and Corey Stoll were both effective with little screen time.

My favorite sequence from this movie is the Gemini 8 test. Neil and Dave successfully connect to the Agena, but a problem develops. It's an arresting scene, from the visuals to the sounds to the foundation the movie has laid for this scene. The sound design is really good and the soundtrack is effective.

This movie isn't an ode to America in the way that American Sniper (my review) was. It's not against America as some politicians have claimed before even seeing the movie. This is about an unassuming man who gets the job done, the type of men that built and still build America. We see Armstrong walking on the moon in first person and that is an amazing sequence. We stay in that moment.

Armstrong is the opposite of Buzz Aldrin, who we get just a glimpse of. Aldrin relishes the spotlight and in a typical movie, he would be the protagonist. I found Neil more intriguing. The depiction allows us to project our emotions onto him. Neil is direct to a fault, and not one to volunteer his opinion. He's a father, we see him play with his kids, but the deeper into the mission the more withdrawn he becomes. He's good at playing with his kids, but not talking to them. Talking to them about the dangers also makes them more real. It gives them a name, and that's a thought he'd rather avoid. He talks to his children as if they were adults. It may be part of his personality or how he deals with the danger. The movie doesn't explain it, leaving it to the viewer for interpretation.

This is an awe inspiring movie from what it depicts to how it's made. Many scenes in space are impressive. To think, this really happened. Impressive. Every facet of this movie is impressive.