FIRST MAN

Chazelle finally covers possibly the biggest dream known to man.

80/100

Original Release: 2018

Directed By: Damien Chazelle

Cast: Ryan Gosling, Claire Foy

Favourite Quote:

Older Rick Armstrong: "Mom, what's wrong?"

Janet Armstrong: "Nothing, honey. Your dad's going to the Moon."

Older Rick Armstrong: "Okay. Can I go outside?"

Favourite Shot:

In some ways First Man may seem like a random choice from a director who has made three very similar films.

Guy and Madeline, Whiplash and La La Land were all musically centered films. But they also all dealt with, in some way, the idea of putting our dreams first in our lives. Of spending as much time as possible on our dreams in order to make them come true. Dreaming big and shooting for the stars.

Well, Neil Armstrong went as close to the stars as anyone has. And so maybe Chazelle wanting to make a film about a man who made arguably the biggest dream that anyone has ever had come true, isn’t as strange as it seems.

First Man is of course concerned with the story of the first person to set foot on the moon: Neil Armstrong (Ryan Gosling). It is a story we’re all familiar with in some way, but Chazelle concerns himself with telling the parts that aren’t universally known.

"Or perhaps he thinks that the moment when he is standing on the moon, pretty much alone, and looking down on the Earth he will experience some sort of extreme cathartic release. "

Written by Josh Singer (Spotlight, The Post), and based on James R. Hansen’s biography of Armstrong, First Man is mainly interested in telling the story of the first moon landing through the eyes of the astronaut.

In the opening scenes we learn that Neil lost his two year old daughter Karen right before being accepted for Project Gemini (the project that was a key development in the journey to the moon). And this tragic event informs the rest of the film.

It seems that no matter how much Armstrong accomplished, or how much time passed, that he could never allow himself to heal from his daughter’s tragic passing (there is a lot in here about toxic masculinity as well).

And as the film unfolds we wonder if he sees this mission to the moon as the only way to deal with his loss. It is definitely something for him to focus on and become completely immersed in. And this is a different angle from Chazelle's usual theme.

Previously it was choosing to focus on your dream to become great. In First Man it is choosing to focus on your dream to distract from the pain of reality.

But the Apollo mission doesn’t seem to only be about distraction and dreams for Armstrong. It feels as if he believes something about the unknown and otherworldly parts of the mission will somehow allow him to heal from the pain of his daughter’s death.

Perhaps he feels he owes something to her. Or perhaps he thinks that the moment when he is standing on the moon, pretty much alone, and looking down on the Earth he will experience some sort of extreme cathartic release.

The beauty of it is that the audience doesn’t know. It is never explained what he is thinking. This is a credit to the writing and directing but it is also a credit to Ryan Gosling’s performance.

It is a severely underrated one (he received zero nominations for best actor in the major award shows). He plays a character that keeps a lot in and rarely shows or tells people how he is feeling. And still through Gosling’s subtle movements and facial expressions we are given so much about who this man is.

Claire Foy is also a standout as Armstrong’s wife Janet. She brings Janet to life with her fire and passion, whilst also managing to come back down to earth in small moments with Neil and when listening at the radio to the mission communications.

Chazelle and Singer do a good job at providing all the different ideas and controversies surrounding the Apollo mission, whilst also keeping the film firmly through Armstrong’s lens. It makes the film even stronger because we see all this chaos surrounding the mission, and it does nothing to Armstrong.

He barely registers it. And it just creates this feeling that perhaps he cannot connect with anything else in the world until this mission is completed.

The focus on practical effects and physical sets instead of green screen and CGI makes the film look alive and authentic. And it also makes the final moon landing scene ethereal and otherworldly.

The direction inside the spaceship is claustrophobic and also makes you feel a loss of control. The people inside rarely make any movements or do anything for themselves.

As though they have zero control over anything and are just putting their lives in the hands of others. Like an action figure in a child’s hand.

And this is set up quite early and makes the death scene later on even more horrifying.

The ending is classic Chazelle. And it leaves a lot to interpretation. Is Armstrong’s final look a look of exhaustion and relief that it is over? Or is it a look of concern because he doesn’t feel like he thought he would?

First Man is an examination of a man who went to extreme lengths to find an answer to the pain in his life. And once we reach the end we have to wonder: if we can’t find it as far away as the moon, where can we find it?