Coming off the heels of the Academy darling, La La Land, filmmaker Damien Chazelle has turned into quite the auteur; reteaming with Ryan Gosling (his generation’s Paul Newman), the two forge a very personal and intimate story of not the moon landing, or a film about NASA, or American pride, but a film about Neil Armstrong.
The film is very small, it is incredibly inverted, yet is an endearing testament to sorrow, pain, determination, and perseverance.
The film starts with a painfully significant event that shapes Armstrong’s life. He channels all the grief and pain into his work at NASA, testing equipment and gathering outer world data. The narrative structure isn’t as traditional as one might expect, it isn’t a formulaic Spielberg or Howard film, it’s more akin to latter-day Terrence Malick, the film is constructed of moments of Armstrong’s life, with his progression at NASA propelling the story forward.
The film features yet again, a career-high performance from Gosling. As opposed to being the archetypal introverted stoic, he is the everyman as Neil Armstrong, he’s the everyman who is being put into an extraordinary situation both personally and professionally.
Gosling brings his reserved emotion, yet evolves as an actor. He gives a very richly layered and nuanced performance.
Chazelle populates the film with a plethora of great actors including Claire Foy, Corey Stoll, Jason Clarke, Shea Whigham, Lukas Haas, Kyle Chandler, and Ciaran Hinds who all bring validity and authority to their respective roles.
Chazelle also reteams with cinematographer Linus Sandgren who photographs the film in such a touching and intimate way, the film feels incredibly personal and urgent, as well as his musical collaborator Justin Hurwitz who creates a vivid and exhilarating score that proves to make the film not just powerful but significant.
First Man abandons every norm and cliché as possible while staying true to the time period, political climate, and the sacrifices that were made to get Apollo 11 to the moon.
At 33 years old, Damien Chazelle has crafted three remarkable films that are all different, yet emotionally convey not only the drive but also the capability of the human spirit and the overwhelming burden of greatness.
Review by Frank Mengarelli
First Man
Summary
First Man is peak Damien Chazelle and Ryan Gosling. Together they build an exhilarating and triumphant film that is as intimate as it is awe inspiring.
