First Man is the biggest profile movie made about the Apollo 11 moon landing mission. I’m actually kind of surprise a big profile movie hasn’t been made about the first moon landing until now. My guess for why a movie hasn’t been made about Apollo 11 is that it went pretty much according to plan with very few complications which doesn’t make for an exciting movie. Fortunately the filmmakers fix that problem with First Man by making it more of a personal and emotional character study on Neil Armstrong.
First Man is about famous astronaut Neil Armstrong played by Ryan Gosling. Armstrong and his wife played by Claire Foy move to Houston after their young daughter tragically dies from a tumor. The movie shows Armstrong going through emotional hardships during the years leading up to his historical mission to the moon.
Ryan Gosling gives a great quiet performance playing an emotionally wrecked Neil Armstrong. I wasn’t aware of all the personal baggage that Armstrong had to contend with back then but the movie really paints a picture that helps viewers get an idea of what he was feeling emotionally at the time. Neil Armstrong was a reluctant American hero with a stoic demeanor and I think you would be hard-pressed to find another high profile actor that can portray stoicism better than Gosling. Clair Foy as Neil Armstrong’s wife Janet Shearon also gives a very strong performance. She really nails the stress that a wife of an astronaut must go through when their husband is on a mission and all they can do is wait and hope for the best.
The filmmakers did a good job at making the movie look like the 1960s. Sometimes when a movie or TV show is set in a specific decade it looks very manufactured and inauthentic. Most of the camera shots throughout the movie were done with a hand-held camera aesthetic which gave the movie a home video vibe. This style of shooting really helps with the 1960s setting because it reminds viewers of ’60s home movies. The filmmakers also do a lot of close-up shots on characters which feels a bit weird at first but actually helps you emotionally connect with the characters. The close-up shots also really help in exterior rocket scenes which helps the viewer feel how claustrophobic and stressful it must have been waiting to take off.
First Man isn’t the most fun movie you will watch this year but I think it accomplishes everything the filmmakers set out to do with it. There aren’t any pump your fists in the air moments but it is a story that certainly deserves to be told on the big screen.
Dave’s Rating- ★★★★(4) out of ★★★★★(5)
