First Man - Film Review

‘First Man’ is directed by Damien Chazelle and stars Ryan Gosling, Claire Foy and Jason Clarke and is about Neil Armstrong’s personal journey of the events leading up to the moon landing in 1969. Performances across the board are all brilliant, in particular Gosling and Foy. One scene in particular towards the end including them was one of the best in the film. The cinematography throughout the whole film is amazing, essentially being fully handheld and it worked entirely for the film especially for the space shuttle sequences. The score is also magnificent, giving off this sense of beauty and awe surrounding the space scenes in particular. The entire last third of this movie, when Neil is preparing for the moon landing, is transfixing. This entire sequence is breathtaking, from a director standpoint to a cinematography standpoint. Some of the best scenes this whole year. The conflict within NASA about the complications, dangers and precautions of the moon landing were most definitely the bright spots in the occasionally dull screenplay. ‘First Man’ is a very slow movie, which isn’t always a bad thing, but in this case I think it was a hinderance on the overall flow of the film. Moments and scenes could often be meandering, boring or a bit tedious. Much like the 2016 film ‘Sully’, ‘First Man’ feels like it is in search of movie built off one event; the moon landing, which is the entire last third. Or in Sully’s case, the plane crash. Although First Man is a much better directed, acted, filmed and written film, those parallels are there. It’s a film about Neil Armstrong’s life leading up to the moon landing. While interesting, it never seemed to reach the emotional heights Chazelle was going for. Personally, I felt rather distant from Armstrong as a character. The emotional beats he went through, although sad, didn’t help me engage with him as a person, therefore leaving the theatre disconnected from him. The emotional core is at the start of the film and is extremely sad, and is payed off at the end. Unfortunately, this emotional core didn’t enhance the secluded, quiet nature of Neil as a character. This is a major flaw, because the entire film is about Neil Armstrong and his life leading up to the first step on the moon. It is a subjective thing, and will work for some and not for others. ‘First Man’ is directed marvellously by Chazelle. The cinematography is incredible, in particular the flying sequences which felt extremely realistic. The score is wonderful, the performances are great, and the last third is magnificent. It is at times boring, dull or tedious, but never all at once, as I was mostly intrigued by the events leading to the moon landing. Neil Armstrong as a character was distant from feeling any investment in him. ‘First Man’ is still, at its best, an awe-inspiring journey to the first steps on the moon. ‘First Man’ - 77%