Review of First Man (2018) by Richard P — 24 Oct 2018

Many films have already been made about the conquest of space. But I do not think that very few can portray with such acuity this insane challenge towards the unknown as Damien Chazelle in "The First Man.".

The new director's work, best known for the sensational "Whiplash" (2014), which won the Oscar for best director for "La La Land" (2016), "The First Man" is a biopic. He was supposed to tell the story of Neil Armstrong (lived by a contained Ryan Gosling, almost cornered by the challenge of going to the Moon), but that is the background of an even bigger story that is the challenge of getting where no man has ever been until then.

Chazelle brought an impressive realism to the space race experience. It took to the screen the annoyance that is to fly a rocket. The uncertainty of those machines in full sixties, little more than six decades after man learned to fly. It took the fear, made sure to rub in our faces how insane and challenging it was until then to be an astronaut. And maybe it's even today.

And he exposes this in the nauseating scenes of the machines shaking horrors. In the isolation and solitude of being in orbit. In the tension and uncertainty of the revolution. On the difficulty of setting such difficult calculations for a normal human to understand. An error is nothing short of fatal. Everything to arrive at that moment when there is a "small step for a man, but a great leap for humanity".

In his movie, the Moon is always on the prowl. There, from above, being observed, studied, admired, contemplated. And challenging those modern adventurers. With each failure it seems more distant. With every little triumph, it comes closer. Some frames also highlight the double face of Earth's natural satellite. The dark and light side on the face of a Neil Armstrong worried about the future, on the face of his son when he asks if he can not return. The Moon may have been (and perhaps continues to be) as big a challenge as that of the caravels heading into the unknown in the 15th and 16th centuries.

To emphasize all this, Chazelle reduces the soundtrack to the minimum possible. If "Whiplash" was a film all punctuated by the track, and "La La Land" was a musical of remarkable songs, "The First Man" exalts the solitary silence of the journey beyond the Earth punctuated only by epic songs composed by Justin Hurwitz - the same as "Whiplash" and "La La Land" - to dramatize the most remarkable moments. Especially the departure of Apollo 11 from Houston and landing on the Moon.

"The First Man" is a beautiful film. It is not very verbal and sometimes has erratic dialogues. Something very different from the previous works of screenwriter Josh Singer, Oscar winner for "Spotligh" (2015) and who also wrote "The Post" (2017). The final scene of Neil Armstrong reuniting his wife (the great Claire Foy, Queen Elizabeth in the first two seasons of "The Crown") is of a singular beauty. Nothing is said in those final minutes. It is as if the silence of space and the uncertainties remain until the return to Earth. But at the same time much is said in that exchange of looks and small gestures through the glass. Scenes like this are worth the film too.