Why doesn’t this movie
show astronaut Neil Armstrong placing the American flag on the moon? Peter Travers noted in his review, “That was the question nagging away at folks in
Venice after the premiere of First Man, Damien Chazelle’s bluntly visceral and
deeply empathetic look at the Apollo 11 mission that culminated on July 21,
1969, when Armstrong became the first man ever to walk on the lunar surface.
The answer comes down to the filmmaker’s approach to the material, which favors
men over machinery and the personal over the political. The Stars and Stripes
certainly get their moment in the sun in the movie’s thrilling final moments,
sure. But it’s not America First boosterism that motivates Chazelle, as much as
what the moon landing meant to Armstrong and a global audience that responded
emotionally to the hope inherent in the concept of aspiring to the heavens.”
Forget about the flag controversy
that is actually no controversy at all – instead, it’s better to focus on the
actual facts that make “First Man” unforgettable and not one to skip. Travers
noted, “There have been astronaut movies before, good (Apollo 13) and better
(The Right Stuff). But few have been as much a triumph of the imagination
fueled, not by FX but by indelible feeling, as this one.”
For Armstrong himself,
and with the help of his family, the seven-year work up to the landing on the
moon consisted of loss, sacrifice and failure – three things we don’t think
about when we look at the traditional photo of Armstrong as one of the most
famous icons. Travers noted, “First Man, bracingly adapted by Spotlight Oscar
winner Josh Singer from the excellent 2005 book by James R. Hansen, makes
something fresh, fallible and flesh-and-blood of its real-life cosmic pioneer.”
He was obviously doing a job, but it was a job where he could have died. His
family, his astronaut colleagues, and even Armstrong himself knew that.
However, America was surprised, filled with bells and whistles.
Chazelle takes the
specific liking of exploring space and literally places it into a small box.
Travers mentioned, “That’s what the training simulator looks like that will
catapult the Gemini astronauts into space.” Everything doesn’t get any less
confined and scary when they board in the real ship. You feel sick and throw up
just seeing it. Imagine what Armstrong (Ryan Gosling) went through along with
the other Apollo 11 astronauts Buzz Aldrin (Corey Stoll) and Michael Collins (Lucas
Haas). There was no guide for what they were going up against, only the brilliant
memory of astronauts Ed White (Jason Clarke), Gus Grissom (Shea Whigham) and
Roger B. Chaffe (Corey Michael Smith) exploding in the cockpit in the pre-flight
test for the first Apollo mission.
Even in his own house,
Armstrong is very familiar with tragedy. He and his wife, Janet (Claire Foy),
recently had their young daughter Karen (Lucy Stafford) die from cancer. Now
their two sons, Mark (Connor Armstrong) and Rick (Gavin Warren and Luke
Winters), have to go through the chance that their dad will never come back.
Even the good NASA astronaut, Neil is ready for the other chances. However,
coping with the emotional problems on himself and his family is something he
can’t tolerate. Travers mentioned, “Gosling digs deep to capture the courage
and grieving heart of a reserved man who can’t always articulate his emotions.
His implosive performance grounds the film in truth and a touching reality.”
Jan finally makes him tell the truth as a husband and father – and Foy is
amazing in this role, firmly telling Neil to talk to his sons about the dangers
in this job. “I’m done,” she says, heavily, not wanting to bear the load alone.
(Factually, Janet had passed away earlier this year. The performance is also a
great posthumous tribute.) Travers is right when he says, “These home scenes in
Houston leave an indelible impact about just what’s at stake without drifting
into manipulative tearjerking.” Jan, who is always easing the other astronaut
wives, is harder on the ones who wear a mask of audacity “You’re a bunch of
guys making models out of balsa wood,” she says to the engineers and executives
making the rules from the base. “You don’t have anything under control!”
Travers said, “Chazelle
and Gosling, eons away from the musical romance of La La Land, work beautifully
to anchor this epic character study in reality, no matter how harsh. Living in
a bubble is impossible when the media is always pushing for access, government
leaders are calling the astronaut program a waste of money, and Gil
Scott-Heron’s satirical “Whitey on the Moon” wonders how the space race can
really affect life on Earth.” Also, the movie asks challenging questions at
each moment, with answers that are not given in the script. Clues are better
picked from the scary images and sounds made by Chazelle’s team, including
cinematographer Linus Sandgren, editor Tom Cross and composer Justin Hurwitz.
Some might feel the film is too distant or not one to mention. However, the
director gives us a closer look.
At the time when
Armstrong walks on the moon, Chazelle’s film is on a surface of complete
mystery. It’s not the words the astronaut says for announcing (“One small step
for man, one giant leap for mankind”) or the size of the mission, or even the
happiness of the crew (the movie really does not include the cheers from the
people) that matters most. It could be an easy movement the astronaut made in
memory of his daughter, or the silent glare of space, or the one person feeling
what is there on the other end. Travers ended his review by saying, “Chazelle
films First Man with a poet’s eye that cherishes the hush that comes when the
dreams that you dare to dream really do come true.”
This is one of the most
well-acted and powerful films that has ever come out in the past decade. It’s
one that has to be seen because of how great of a film it was. Gosling really
makes this film work so well, and if anyone is a fan of Neil Armstrong, you
should see it. It’s nice to see something that isn’t based on some sort of pop
culture thing, but on a historical event. However, if anyone feel they will get
motion sickness from the effects they put in this film, it may be best not to
show it to them. For everyone else, this is definitely not one to miss.
Now with that film
reviewed, tune in tomorrow to look at the next review in “Halloween Month.”
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