Movie Review: First Man

Review Written By Michael J. Ruhland

Michael's Movie Grade: A-

Review: This movie may not be what many would except from a film with this subject matter. This is hardly a jump for joy feel good movie. In fact it is a very quiet and subtle film that emphasis the doubts and fears many of those working on the space mission must have felt. As such this is an extremely powerful movie with a lot of emotional weight and an example of truly great filmmaking.

The emphasis in this film is not the goal of going into outer space, but rather the relationship between Neil Armstrong (Ryan Gosling) and his wife (Claire Foy). Their daughter (Lucy Stafford) has passed away, and the hurt of her passing never quite goes away. This of course causes much hurt in both parents and the hurt can be seen through the majority of the film. This is communicated perfectly with subtle but very effective performances from Gosling and Foy. I could feel my heart breaking for them many times over the course of this movie. I was especially moved by Foy's performance during the scenes in which Neil is in danger. You could tell she was still hurting and couldn't stand the idea of losing another one she loves. While the marriage here wasn't shown as being perfect, the sense that the two loved each other was never lost. A charming scene early on shows the two dancing to an old song that means a lot to them, and this scene certainly brought a sense of warmth to the film. These two together are the emotional center of the film and this is handled beautifully.


The "action" scenes were incredible. They were perfectly shot giving a sense of urgency and suspense. Hearing all the noises of the ship and seeing everything shake before us, put us in the emotional state of what was happening on screen. We felt fear each time. Though deep down of course I knew how everything turns out I was legitimately worried at times. The way director Damien Chazelle and cinematographer Linus Sandgren show these scenes puts us into the internal struggle of the characters, making everything we see on screen even more real to us. There is also no doubt the landing climax just looks incredible, taking one's breath away easily.


This film does not have as much dialogue as one might except. In fact many scenes play without dialogue. This works beautifully. Since the emotion of this film is mostly internal, telling the story in mostly visual terms heightens this feeling. This is not something that is easy to pull off but thanks to an extremely talented crew behind the camera the story is told in such a way that we never miss the amount of dialogue we would usually hear in a film like this. This is pure cinematic storytelling done right. Also with less talking the music becomes more important and composer Justin Hurwitz gives a fantastic musical score. He knows when to play something grand and does so effectively, but most of the music is rather quiet in a way that enhances the quietness and subtleness of the rest of this film. He also knows when to bow out. There are a couple scenes with no music and the lack of music is used just as beautifully as the presence of music by creating a sense of awe and wonder in a way no music could describe.


This may not be the mainstream feel good movie many might except, but if you don't mind this you will find a film with a powerful and quiet beauty that is just as great.


-Michael J. Ruhland