First Man Review

Neil Armstrong is a man known throughout the world yet was a private individual. The film First Man, based on a biography by James R. Hansen, sets out to tell this man’s personal and professional struggles.

Neil Armstrong (Ryan Gosling) was a test pilot who applies to become an astronaut after the death of his young daughter. When his family moves to Texas the Armstrongs face various trials and tribulations as NASA seeks to do the seemingly impossible.

First Man has been in development for 15 years with Clint Eastwood being attached to direct before Damien Chazelle got the job. Chazelle is one of the best directors of his generation – his debut was the critically acclaimed Whiplash and he won an Oscar for La La Land. He reteamed with his La La Land star and Chazelle has made his best film so far in his short but dazzling career.

First Man aimed to be a downbeat portrayal of the space race and space exploration. Chazelle borrows from director Paul Greengrass who was a celebrated documentarian before making the Bourne films. First Man has the feel of Greengrass’ Captain Phillips and United 93, films that seem real and raw. Chazelle employs a documentary approach when filming – colours were muted and Chazelle’s regular cinematographer Linus Sandgren used handheld cameras and close-ups. When characters are in planes or spacecraft the scenes are shot from the pilot’s point-of-view, making scenes more claustrophobic and the only exterior shots are of the outer edges of the craft. It leads to some impactful moments like the Apollo One disaster and the Lunar Landing looked like a recreation of achieve footage.

Ryan Gosling has mastered playing strong silence types: he can communicate a lot without saying anything. He does it again as Neil Armstrong. Again Gosling plays a stoic figure, a man of few words and he does it brilliantly. He has to stay strong for his family and NASA as the spectre of death lingers.

The film comes up with two reasons that drove Armstrong. Due to the loss of been his friends and colleagues, it made Armstrong more determined to complete the mission despite the risks and financial costs – it would have been a waste of lives and potential scientific progress. The other driving force was the loss of his daughter – Armstrong joins the astronaut programme because it would give his family a new start and her presence is still felt for Neil – this part of the story relied on more artistic license and interpretation.

First Man also has an air of the Stephen Hawking biopic The Theory of Everything. Both films look at the relationships of a famous man and their spouse. Claire Foy had second billing in the film’s promotional material. Foy had to play a struggling housewife who has to look after the two young boys with her husband away for long periods for missions he may never come back from. She sees the impact on other families who lost their patriarch to the space programme. Foy’s role wasn’t as rich as Felicity Jones’ in The Theory of Everything but she was still a strong woman who has to raise a family, speak to the media and stand up for herself.

First Man had a great supporting cast, featuring established actors like Jason Clarke, Kyle Chandler, and Corey Stoll. The astronauts and mission controllers were colleagues and friends, sharing in their triumphs and failures and every loss is personal.  However, Corey Stoll as Buzz Aldrin is made out to be more bash, uncouth figure, having no tack when people died. He is still professional when in the Lunar Lander.

Josh Singer wrote the screenplay and he has specialised in making films based on true events. And First Man is one of his best. It is a long film with a run time of two hours, twenty minutes yet there is no fat in the screenplay or the editing. Every moment plays a part in driving the characters and the plot and moments that were established earlier in the film become useful later.

First Man did suffer a controversy because Chazelle admitted he cut out the moment Armstrong planted the flag on the Moon’s surface. It upset right-wing commentators and affected the box-office returns in America. This is however a storm in a teacup because First Man is filled with American imaginary – including on the Moon. Cold War politics does play a part in the film, the Space Race was a part of the conflict between the United States and the Soviet Union. The film was also a celebration of science, humanity’s ability to triumph over the impossible and the Moon Landing was able to united the world for a brief moment.

First Man was a wonderful film that deserves attention. It was a marvel to due to its acting, storytelling, themes and technical achievements. It can join other great spaces ranging from Apollo 13 to 2001: A Space Odyssey.