First Man

After two musical tales, Damien Chazelle goes to the moon and back for First Man. The screenplay by Josh Singer visualizes James R. Hansen's biography of Neil Armstrong. It's an epic that deserves the big screen. It's a drama that needs an audience. I should know, for I was the audience in my screening. The only man for First Man.

Anyway...

In 1961, Armstrong (Ryan Gosling) is a test pilot for NASA. He loses his daughter, Karen, to cancer, and throws himself into his work. He joins the Gemini program in Houston. There, he undertakes a few missions to help win the Space Race. Eventually, the Gemini program gives way to the Apollo program. His friends, Ed White (Jason Clarke) and Elliot See (Patrick Fugit), perish in separate accidents. Naturally, this gives his wife, Janet (Claire Foy), reason to worry. Armstrong is eventually recruited for Apollo 11. And of course, he makes that first step for man...

We know that the Apollo 11 mission worked. The film's 138 minutes keep us invested in Armstrong's journey. We get to know him perfectly as dedicated and reserved. His mind's on the mission instead of the glory. He's affected by the tragedies in his life. A good motivator, as he says, "to fail down here so we don't fail up there." He's not exactly interpersonal but he's a good family man. We're in awe as he is when he takes that first step.

The film's sound design has the right stuff. You hear all the intricate creaking sounds as the astronauts wait to blast off. You're blasted with fearsome roars when missions go wrong. And when it's appropriate, nothing. While some movies make space travel eerie, this movie makes the anticipation of going to space terrifying. Justin Hurwitz's score perfectly emphasizes the wonder and danger of space.

And let's talk about the visuals. The visual effects department, editor Tom Cross, production designer Nathan Crawley and cinematographer Linus Sandgren deserve equal praise..Moments like Neil's troubled X-15 flight and the Gemini 8 mission keep us on edge when they go awry. The model work for the space craft is extraordinary. The highlight, of course, is the moon itself. The view is spectacular and you can't tell it was filmed in a quarry in Atlanta.

First Man is a great biopic of an American icon. Neil Armstrong might've thought it was another day in the office. But the ending emphasizes the importance of his mission to history perfectly well. In the end, we get to know the man behind the story as much as the story. The journey was worth it. Give it a chance.