Review of First Man (2018) by Gail T — 14 Oct 2018

First Man review.

"We need to fail down here so we don't fail up there" says Neil Armstrong, portrayed by Canadian actor Ryan Gosling. His wife, played by the British actress Claire Foy makes him talk to his sons about the bleek possibility of coming back alive from the Apollo 11 mission. Australian actor Jason Clarke who was the 1st man who walks on space dies during a pilot Apollo 1 mission. You see how the Non-American casting was intentionally done by the Oscar winning director Damien Chazelle. The film suffered enough with the flag controversy and hence took a beating with opening at the box office however it is no short of a stellar spectacle. The film might come across as unpatriotic and that's where it falls short.

Based on a book by Neil Armstrong the movie starts with the most simple explanation ever given why we should go to the moon in an interview at NASA when he sees they are hiring for a lunar mission. Amidst carrying a heavy heart over loss of his daughter to brain tumour, he pushes himself to strenuous rocket propulsion tests and later a risky Gemini 5 landing which goes awry. Damien Chazelle has declared that he wanted to show what people aren't aware of and hence focusses on the failed trials and the families who lost many astronauts prior to the successful one. And as Ryan Gosling created a further controversy by stating it was a human achievement and not American one, the film just proves him correct. Pressure from the Soviet Union, absence of non-white characters, string opposition from the Congress and fellow Americans is all mentioned but in fleeting moments. The first 2 hours are more about the failed attempts and family turmoils before the journey to the moon. It is the last 30 minutes where you find yourself smiling with goosebumps, especially when Neil Armstrong sees the first view of the cratered moon. Moon landing was executed to perfection with the essential poignant moments.

The handheld camera just adds to the turbulent rockets they used. Background music is minimal but when used, goes perfect with the screenplay. Damien Chazelle steals the show here with such a novel subject after handling contrasting Whiplash, Cloverfield Lane and La La Land. Claire Foy and Ryan Gosling take the maximum screen time and render plaintive performances taken mostly in closeup shots which highlight her freckles and his quintessential barely moving lips. They are not Oscar worthy performances but considering the weight of the characters they played, I reckon they should be nominated.

I remember getting influenced the most in school when I studied this in Science and hence I had to watch this movie. I was so perturbed with the conspiracy theories which came later. All I will say is what banners from Americans welcoming Neil Armstrong home said, "Moony Thanks" ...for making this film.

My rating ????