By JASON GUYER
iRATE
In the summer of 1995, at age 12, I chose the very first movie that I wanted to see in theaters. Chose may not even be the right word, at that age very few things felt like choices, but are more “have to” than want to. Add in that caveat and in summer 1995, I had to see “Apollo 13,” a film starring Tom Hanks as astronaut Jim Lovell, the commander of the Apollo 13 mission.
“Apollo 13” had a dual effect on me, it reenergized a passion for films and invigorated a love for science. Taking both these things into account allowed for a better appreciation of the recently released “First Man.” After his six-time Academy Award®-winning hit film, “La La Land.” Oscar-winning director Damien Chazelle reteams with Ryan Gosling for “First Man.”
“First Man” tells the story of the Apollo 11 mission and Neil Armstrong’s walk on the moon or more aptly, “First Man” tells the story of Neil Armstrong.
“First Man” is more of a first-person take on the mission; it is Neil Armstrong’s take on the mission. Based on the James R. Hansen book of the same name, “First Man” dives deep into Neil Armstrong the man and what personal motivations got him to the moon.
Chazelle continues to expand his filmmaking talents and continues on a great run of films. Unlike the aforementioned “La La Land,” there is no singing in “First Man.” “First Man” is grounded in realism more akin to Chazelle’s other film “Whiplash,” and that grounded realism works even better for “First Man.”
The new film establishes rather quickly that Neil Armstrong is a grounded and stoic man, and the grounded realism of the film plays off and works well with the stoicism of Neil Armstrong. Chazelle uses a dulled but realistic color palette for the film. One that seems to convey Armstrong’s quiet demeanor. He also stays away from music and uses a film score, and and a subdued and limited score at that. Chazelle takes a page from Neil and keeps the film quiet, using silence more often in high drama moments than the more customary upswell of music.
In one of the best scenes Armstrong and crew get into the Apollo 11 capsule and are getting ready for launch. Leading up to and throughout the launch, Chazelle keeps the film quiet except for what would be a replication of the actual noises a person would hear being launched atop Saturn V rockets. The creaking and groaning of metal, the clinks and clanks add more to that moment than any music or score ever could. This gives the viewer the sense of being there, being launched into space rather than feeling like you are in a movie about being launched into space.
Chazelle’s only mistake, a small one, is that he takes the realism maybe a touch too far. “First Man” concentrates on Neil Armstrong and Neil Armstrong’s story and humanizes a hero. Humanizing a hero is a good thing, especially in an age where heroes are often condemned for being daring to be human. In “First Man,” Chazelle takes it right to the point of being a bad thing. Chazelle uses the humanizing aspect of Armstrong’s story, and often that humanizing factor in the film is his daughter, who died of brain cancer at a very young age, on a grand scale and it almost overshadows the accomplishment as a whole.
Landing on the moon was a huge accomplishment. Armstrong’s words encapsulated that and is the reason him saying “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind” are so iconic. Chazelle chooses to make the moment one for mankind and not necessarily just an American accomplishment and it is a decision that brought many, many complaints from viewers.
Personally, I am fine with that. Landing and walking on the moon to me is a human accomplishment and not just an American one. Chazelle tries to humanize a grand accomplishment by making the moment about one man, Neil Armstrong. The father/daughter moment at the end of “First Man” is a wonderfully epic moment for Neil Armstrong. If it was true. As far as anyone knows that moment is not true. Neil Armstrong did wander off to a crater on the moon but that is all anyone knows of that moment. Even Neil Armstrong never admitted to anything like that and if that moment is true, Armstrong kept it to himself. Chazelle taking a seemingly fake moment, a “movie” moment, to overshadow a historic one is the only problem I had with “First Man.”
Otherwise, Ryan Gosling is excellent as Neil Armstrong and Chazelle shows why he is a leading director in Hollywood. “First Man,” like last week’s “A Star is Born,” is getting a lot of Oscar buzz and although it is a great film I am not sure it deserves accolades on that level. “First Man” may be able to fly to those heights but only the future will bear that out.
However, for me, unlike Neil Armstrong saying “the eagle has landed” after almost running The Eagle out of fuel during the moon landing, “First Man” will not be as lucky. “First Man” is a good film but not an Oscar worthy film since it never quite sticks the landing and it runs out of fuel in the end.
IRATE SCORE: 3/5
Jason Guyer is an avid moviegoer and works in the graphics department at the Eagle Times. For questions or comments he can be emailed at [email protected]
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