First Man
[DVD First]
[DVD First]
Oscar
winners Damien Chizelle and Ryan Gosling, who worked together on La La Land,
reunited to work on this marvelous film about Neil Armstrong as he was selected
to be part of the Apollo program, assigned to be the leader of the Apollo 11
mission, and ultimately was the first man to set foot on the surface of the
Moon. The film is based on the book First Man: The Life of
Neil A. Armstrong by James R. Hansen. In addition to Gosling as
Armstrong, the film also stars Claire Foy, Jason Clarke, Kyle Chandler, Corey
Stoll, Ciarán Hinds, Christopher Abbott, Patrick Fugit, and Lukas Haas.
The film is far more a biographical portrait
of Armstrong than it is an exploration of the Apollo program and Apollo 11
mission. While those significant events form an important backdrop to the
movie’s plot, it’s most emotional moments come in looks at Armstrong’s personal
life. Neil Armstrong was historically known as a rather reserved individual,
and Gosling plays that very effectively — in fact as I sat in the theater
watching this film, I almost felt he was too emotionally disconnected. But, in
retrospect, the film portrays his reaction to the loss of his young daughter
very realistically — a loss that results in a very poignant moment when
Armstrong actually finds himself on the lunar surface.
The performances in this film are tremendous,
as is both the production design (the “look” of the film) and the soundtrack.
But the true shining star is the special effects, which won the Academy Award
for SFX. In particular, the meticulously recreated sequence in which Neil
Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin bring the lunar lander to the moon’s surface is
nail-bitingly intense. If this was supposed to be primarily about the Apollo 11
mission, I might’ve been a little disappointed in this film. But since it is
more a biographical portrait of Armstrong leading up to the moon landing, as
indicated by the title First Man, I found this to be an excellent film, well
worth the viewing experience.
[If you enjoy this, you
may also wish to try the From the
Earth to the Moon mini-series, To the
Moon (a special on
NOVA) or In the
Shadow of the Moon (a
documentary film by Ron Howard), or the Neil Armstrong biographies First
Man: The Life of Neil A. Armstrong by James R. Hansen and Neil
Armstrong: A Life of Flight by Jay Barbree.]
[Also available in traditional
print format.] [ Internet Movie Database entry for this film ] | [ official First Man web site ]
Recommended by Scott C.
Bennett Martin Public Library
Bennett Martin Public Library
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