Review of First Man (2018) by Devaughn B — 11 Oct 2018

First Man focuses on Neil Armstrong and follows the years leading up to the Apollo 11 mission to the Moon in 1969. Just as with Whiplash and La La Land, Damien Chazelle directs a hell of a film, so visually stunning, and again teaming up with Ryan Gosling who gives an excellent performance, and the outstanding music by Justin Hurwitz. I regret not seeing this film in IMAX, though the only scenes shot in IMAX are the moments taking place in space. Clocking in close to 2 and a half hours, it's definitely going to frustrate some people, with how long the story takes to get to the moon landing and mainly focusing on Neil Armstrong's life with his family.

As such a young and powerful filmmaker, Damien Chazelle truly delivers on this beautiful film. The scenes taking place inside of the rockets and landers feel so damn real, the loud, claustrophobic atmosphere, another reason to see this film in IMAX. And I want to take this time to give all of the much-deserved props to Claire Foy, everything she did in this role as Janet Shearon, Armstrong's wife. An explosive performance from her, you just feel the anger and fatigue that wear away at her, forced to deal with the dangers of Neil's missions. There's also one scene between Claire Foy and Ryan Gosling (you'll know the one I'm referring to) that blew me away! And finally, one of my favorite actors, Corey Stoll as Buzz Aldrin gives a fantastic performance as well; you definitely cannot sleep on his work. This film is rather long, yes, but hopefully the touching personal story here, along with the astounding filmmaking will blow you away too.