First Man
2018
***
Director: Damien Chazelle
Cast: Ryan Gosling, Claire Foy, Jason Clarke, Kyle Chandler, Corey Stoll, Christopher Abbott, Ciarán Hinds, Olivia Hamilton, Lukas Haas, Pablo Schreiber, Shea Whigham
A biopic of Neil Armstrong (1930-2012), the first man to walk on the moon. The story starts in 1961, when his 2-year-old daughter dies. Armstrong joins NASA but throughout his career as a test pilot and astronaut, which leads up to the Apollo 11 mission in 1969, he is haunted by this personal loss. Damien Chazelle's well staged film compellingly shows that death was an ever-present threat hanging over the lives of Armstrong, his wife, his children, his friends, and his colleagues. However, despite the highs (space exploration successes) and lows (expected and unexpected deaths), Chazelle's drama remains oddly detached and emotionless, very much like its protagonist who doesn't seem to get pleasure in anything. It doesn't help that the performances are understated to the extreme. Linus Sandgren's cinematography is also a matter of taste. On board the planes and space modules, I can accept that he sticks his camera close to the face and shakes it until you don't know which way space is, but he uses the same approach in earthbound conversations. However, the sound design with all the creaks and clanks is very effective. The impressive visual effects won an Academy Award. Based on the book First Man: The Life of Neil A. Armstrong by James R. Hansen.
