Review of First Man (2018) by Dp-2187 — 01 Jan 2019

With each movie Damien Chazelle releases, it is hard to discern as to which is his best, and First Man does not derail from this trend. First Man defies that the norms that we have come to expect by unabashedly focusing on the characters, rather than a journey to the final frontier and the wonder, curiosity, the drive for exploration and the setbacks along the way, that comes with it. It focuses on the sorrow that comes with losing loved ones, the fear that comes a profession rife with risk, the struggle to reassure oneself as well as loved ones of a positive outcome and the drive to carry on and persevere despite the adversity.

The story and the struggle are brought to life by the film's leads, Ryan Gosling, who yet again proves himself to be an actor of high caliber and not another wallpaper for the phones of preteen girls, with a realistic and sincere portrayal of Neil Armstrong, telling us his untold experiences with respect and integrity; and Claire Foy, playing the voice of fear and paranoia, Jan Armstrong, with such honesty and empathy, that makes Jan, the best character in the film and Mrs. Foy, a tour de force in modern cinema.

It is evident in First Man's camera work and score, the the cinematographers and composer are able to compliment the movie with up-close and personal shots, that fit First Man's personal and dramatic tale, unlike most dramas with a grandiose setting such as There Will Be Blood or Full Metal Jacket. Justin Hurwitz proves again, for the third time, that he is able to set the mood and enhance the themes expressed throughout the film, with his subtle yet awe-inspiring synthesizer score.

Whilst there is a lot to praise First Man for, its editing is not one of those aspects. First Man's editing was shockingly disappointing, especially considering Chazelle's other films, Whiplash and La La Land, had editing that perfectly complimented their stories. It felt like a poorly made Nolan film, trying to comprehend and rearrange the scenes, to make some sense of them. At times, I felt that the team could have added more to better enforce the the mood and tone of the film. Verdict: Chazelle proves that he is capable of capturing tales of a larger scale, while remaining true to what he does best. Josh Singer's work in putting characters in the limelight, proves to encourage a new perspective on storytelling. The cast is stellar and deserving of all the praise received and the same can be said for the rest of the production team. Despite its poor editing, the direction, acting, story, score, special effects and production quality, each are reason enough to watch First Man.