First Man

Last night I had the chance to see a Thursday preview of First Man, one of my most anticipated films this fall.  This is the very human story of Neil Armstrong (Ryan Gosling) and his journey from a test pilot at Edwards Air Force Base to be the first man to walk on the moon with the Apollo 11 mission.  This journey includes the death of his daughter from a brain tumor, applying to the NASA Gemini program as a way to distract himself from the pain of that loss, dealing with a malfunction during the Gemini 8 mission, the death of colleagues and friends, the waning public support for space exploration, becoming emotionally distant from his children and wife Janet (Claire Foy), and, finally, the incredibly dangerous mission to the moon.  I don't know that I have ever fully appreciated what these astronauts went through to go to space and I think director Damien Chazelle does an excellent job of putting us right in the middle of the action with Armstrong.  We get to experience the claustrophobia of being in a tiny space capsule, the jarring vibrations of lifting off, and the disorientation of being in space.  It is intense and there were moments when I felt like I was on an amusement park ride.  Some of the scenes are incredibly suspenseful, especially when Armstrong has to manually land the lunar module before running out of fuel.  I also really liked the juxtaposition of life at NASA with Armstrong's home life and I think the helplessness and isolation faced by Janet is portrayed very well  There is a particularly poignant scene where she is trying to discipline her sons while Armstrong is trying to regain control of a spacecraft.  Both Gosling and Foy give understated yet powerful performances and the closeup shots of their faces show more of what they are feeling than the dialogue does.  I think this is a brilliant film and I am now in awe of what Armstrong and the other astronauts accomplished!  Go see it in IMAX!