Damien Chazelle is one of the best directors in Hollywood. The Harvard graduate took the independent cinematic world by storm when his second feature Whiplash surprised viewers and ended up snagging an Oscar in 2014. In 2016, Chazelle became the youngest auteur ever win Best Director for La La Land at the age of 32. Since proving his worth in show business, Chazelle chose his next project; which also happens to be his most ambitious. Reuniting with star Ryan Gosling, Chazelle's new movie First Man tells the story of Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon. With a 60-million-dollar budget and all of the awards pundits watching, can Chazelle once again deliver a masterpiece?
First Man is not your traditional Wikipedia page biopic. It follows the story of Armstrong, but instead chooses to tell the story in a unique fashion. Josh Singer's screenplay is much more intelligent and paced as opposed to visceral. The film shows Armstrong as a "good ole boy" during a changing era for America in the 1960s. Gosling plays Armstrong as a man who is a product of his era. Armstrong has strong feelings about his fledge-link family and his unorthodox pursuit of the American Dream. His suppressed emotionality is something that many men of his generation experienced. Armstrong is paired with dutiful wife Janet, who serves a traditional housewife role for the first part of the movie. The movie also shows female empowerment as Claire Foy's Janet takes more command of her husband's circumstances as she runs the household in the midst of his absence.
The easiest thing to praise in the movie is the technical achievement. I personally have always thought of the moon landing as a smooth and graceful exploration. In reality, it was precarious, rough, and unimaginable mission. Many people have risked and lost their lives for the advancement in lunar exploration, and all of the trials First Man do not discount this in the slightest. The cinematography by Linus Sandgren is a surefire win for the Academy Award. Using unsteady and rough camera movements in the space exploration scenes gives the viewer a more realistic feeling of being in the module with Armstrong and his crew. Sandgren also makes the choice of using shaky yet long shots, even within Armstrong's existence on Earth to give the sense of insecurity all of the astronauts and their families faced. This was a risky move, as it could make many viewers motion sick while viewing the film. I believe it was a choice that paid off in keeping with the tone of Singer's screenplay. My one criticism of Singer's screenplay lies within the lack of memorable dialogue. When thinking about the film, one tends to recollect more of the imagery rather than the lines. Many could find the film very cut and dry for this reason. Still, I believe the film's pacing is its biggest asset, even though it could be viewed as its biggest downfall. When thinking about the film as a whole, the entire 2 hours and 24 minutes is flawlessly executed. The technicality in recreating such a complex mission and tale takes this runtime to show it. Throughout the film, Justin Hurwitz's beautiful score was used to move the story along. Hurwitz shows his musical versatility by moving from the more jazz-oriented scores of Whiplash and La La Land to a more orchestral score in this film.
In short, First Man is not necessarily the motivational piece that one expects. It is more anxiety-producing and pain-oriented than triumphant. Though this could turn off many viewers, the patient mind will be rewarded. By the time they finally reach the moon, the audience felt so relieved after sitting on pins and needles throughout the movie. The film demands the biggest screen possible for viewing by being shot in IMAX. Just a reminder, all films should be viewed in the format they were shot in if at all possible. Even though the film has been a box-office flop so far, it is worth a theatrical viewing or two. Overall, First Man is a cinematic sensation and a film that will dominate at the Academy Awards.
Grade (9/10)
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