First Man is a 2018 biopic about the life of the astronaut, Neil Armstrong, and the legendary space mission that led him to become the first man to walk on the Moon on July 20, 1969.
With awards underway following last week’s A Star is Born, Hollywood wasted no time keeping the train going with the release of First Man just a week later. First Man is the Neil Armstrong biopic that re-teams director, Damien Chazelle, with lead actor, Ryan Gosling, following their success on 2016’s La La Land. It gives us a better understanding of who Armstrong was as a person, and the preparation that went into the Apollo 11 space mission. While there is certainly a lot that Chazelle does right with First Man, there were a few missteps throughout and areas that left more to be desired. It’s safe to say that the high bar set by A Star is Born will not be encroached upon by Chazelle’s latest flick.
The movie begins with the passing Neil and Janet Armstrong’s (Claire Foy) young daughter, which has a severe emotional impact on him. Soon after, he throws his name in the ring to join the NASA astronaut program, to which he is accepted. With the Russians having already launched satellites into Earth orbit, it is imperative that NASA regain the lead in the space race and be the first to land on the Moon.
And so begins the Gemini space missions, where Armstrong and his fellow astronauts begin to chip away at the distance to the Moon with each mission they carry out. On Armstrong’s first space mission, he runs into problems upon attempting to dock while in orbit. Despite nearly passing out due to a rapid descent, he is able to regain control and safely land back on Earth. The NASA team deems that there was nothing that he could’ve done to prevent it, and he is a hero for making it home safely.
It’s not long before the Apollo space missions begin going into flight. Following the success of the Apollo 10 mission, NASA decides that with Apollo 11, Armstrong will attempt a Moon landing. Armstrong, along with Buzz Aldrin (Corey Stoll) and Mike Collins (Lukas Haas), embark on the mission to take a giant leap forward for mankind.
What Chazelle does best is depicting the intensity of the space missions. There are numerous missions that do not go according to plan, and Chazelle ensures that your heart does not stop pounding during these moments on screen. Booming sound combined with phenomenal camera work allows the audience to feel like they’re sitting besides these men in the spacecrafts. You’re shown how vast and empty space is, and these men are navigating it with antiquated technology. It gives you a deep appreciation for the brilliance of all those involved.
Where Chazelle seems to struggle is getting a grasp on how to handle the part of his film on Earth. It’s a character study of Armstrong, and mainly the issues that he dealt with. He was a man who had trouble expressing himself, and bottled up a lot of emotions internally. He struggles severely with the passing of his daughter and fellow astronauts, which resulted in further devotion to his work and alienation from his family. While all of this is understandable, there is no resolution that Chazelle offers. Before he leaves for the Moon he’s unable to talk to his children about it, and there still seem to be challenges with his wife as soon as he returns. With this being a biopic that could just be Chazelle staying true to the story, but overall his ending felt unsatisfying.
From an acting perspective, everyone played their parts well, but no one really stands out. Gosling goes about doing his soft-spoken, man of few words bit that we’ve grown accustomed to now. Foy could’ve been the shining star of the film, but she wasn’t given a great part to really show her acting chops. When she’s finally able to let some emotion out when she’s frustrated with Armstrong before he leaves for his Moon mission, she absolutely crushes it. Outside of that there just isn’t a lot of opportunity for her to sink her teeth into the role. Rounding out the supporting cast are the likes of Stoll, Kyle Chandler, Jason Clarke, Ciaran Hinds, Pablo Schreiber, and a few other recognizable faces. While these actors play their parts well, again, nothing noteworthy.
One aspect that I found odd at times was the music selection. There were a few parts where Armstrong and crew are floating through the vast emptiness of space, and tracks are playing that sound like they’re from La La Land. It just felt like a big misstep for the tone that Chazelle should’ve been going for. I also could’ve used more background on their astronaut training. It’s quite a rigorous process that the they go through, and the bits that we did see brought some nice humor to the film. What could’ve been a great opportunity to show the astronauts bonding was glossed over too quickly. Had this been more developed, it would’ve given the audience a deeper appreciation for the emotional toll they go through when losing their brethren.
First Man for me falls in the good not great category. I’m riding a high right now having recently seen A Star is Born, and can’t stop marveling at the dedication Bradley Cooper put into achieving his character. Gosling’s Armstrong just doesn’t feel like a character he put much time into, and it’s a less than inspiring performance. While I do think it’s well worth it to see this movie in the theater to appreciate the visuals and sound, don’t expect First Man to be making a whole lot of noise during awards season.