In a Nutshell
On the heels of their six-time Academy, Award-winning smash, La La Land, Oscar-winning director Damien Chazelle and star Ryan Gosling reteam for Universal Pictures’ First Man, the riveting story of NASA’s mission to land a man on the moon, focusing on Neil Armstrong and the years 1961-1969.
[imdb]http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1213641/[/imdb]Review
On 20th July 1969, Neil Armstrong made one small step for man and one giant leap for mankind by becoming the first man to walk on the moon. Although his monumental achievement has been examined and discussed at length, not as much emphasis has been placed on the man himself and who he was before marking his name in history. This aspect of Armstrong’s life provides the basis for Damien Chazelle’s latest film, First Man.
Based off the 2005 book, First Man: The Life of Neil A. Armstrong by James R. Hansen, the film focuses on NASA’s mission to be the first to land on the moon through the eyes of Armstrong who uses the death of his daughter to drive him forward in dealing with the difficulties of the mission, but this only serves to push him further away from his family.
First Man is very much a film of two halves. One half is a family drama that deals with Armstrong and his wife’s relationship and how they try to hold their family together after the death of their daughter. The other half, a perilous odyssey that centres entirely on the mission, fraught with danger and loss.
A Film about the Man and the Mission
With this kind of dynamic approach the film runs the risk of one half of the story overwhelming the other but Chazelle (fresh from the Oscar winning success of La La Land) manages to balance the two well for the most part. However there are moments where the scales tip in one direction over the other as the film jumps from moments like an intimate family dinner to the spectacle that comes from a flight test on the edge of space.
Despite this fault, Chazelle does a tremendous job at conveying not only the sheer marvels of space but the terrifying risks these astronauts took in the name of their mission. Their attempts at being pioneers in the space race came at a price as many lost their lives in pursuit of this goal.
Chazelle presents this in a very sobering manner raising questions over whether or not it is really a worthwhile mission. This touch of realism adds a documentary-like gloss over the film compared to the Hollywood sheen of the likes of similar films like Apollo 13 and Hidden Figures.
A Masterclass in Sound Design
In scenes of space travel, Chazelle places the audience in the cockpit next to the pilots, putting them in their boots right from take-off, sharing in their relentless and at times overwhelming journey. The use of
Despite knowing the outcome of the Apollo 11 mission, Chazelle manages to make it a gripping experience from the
Chazelle also captures the time period perfectly with the shadow of the Vietnam lingering in the background through TV news reports and Armstrong’s fellow astronauts commenting on the Space Race with offhand remarks.
The Fragility of Masculinity
Whilst this aspect of the film is handled very well the film stands or falls on its dramatic elements. Thankfully Ryan Gosling takes charge with a strong, nuanced performance. Gosling portrays Armstrong (arguably the living embodiment of hope in mid-20th century America) as a very emotionally repressed man, haunted by loss; but also driven to succeed in his silences.
Playing opposite Gosling as Armstrong’s wife, Janet, Claire Foy gives a sterling performance as a woman trying to cope with a man she loves dearly becoming increasingly distant emotionally. Like Gosling it is the subtleties in her performance that makes it stand out.
The two of them play off each other really well as they grow apart. Their strains (which aren’t apparent on the surface) reach a breaking point in one particular scene where she forces her husband to say goodbye to their sons the night before his mission.
At times it feels like the mission is just background noise to their problems which is a testament to how well the leads play their respective roles.
Verdict
Chazelle’s film tells an important story within the history of space exploration but ensures to tell the personal story of a man seen as an all-American hero.
