***
On July 20th 1969, Neil Armstrong became the first man to walk on the moon. In the years preceding this most iconic of events, he, NASA and his family overcame incredible odds - this is that story.
It's a strange feeling to watch a film that you really, really wanted to see, only to find it to be somewhat disappointing. I want to make it clear from the start, however - First Man is in no way a bad film, it just failed to live up to my high expectations. And what expectations they were: a star-studded cast; an award-winning director; a real life story of love, loss and tragedy; and engrossing trailers with the enigmatic voice of John F. Kennedy telling us that we do these things 'not because they are easy, but because they are hard'. It held so much promise, and yet I found myself propelled from moments of wonder and tension, to scenes that almost made me fidget with boredom.
Let's start with the good bits. It can't be denied that the scenes set in space are gripping and ethereal in equal measure. Beautiful and terrifying, you're immersed in the eerie silence outside (and, quite frequently, inside) the vessel. By focusing on the eyes of the astronauts, director Damien Chazelle invites the audience to ponder how they would feel upon looking out the window at the vastest of space, and the subsequent fusion of terror and wonder is truly palpable. The feeling of being at the cutting edge of space exploration is tangible too - the claustrophobia of the spacecraft and the apparent flimsiness of the structures themselves (moments when the very rivets of the vessel shake and groan are most certainly hair-raising) is brilliantly realised. The score, striking imagery and deft direction of these sequences is exemplary, as too are Ryan Gosling and Claire Foy in the central roles. I'm not a huge fan of Ryan Gosling, but he's perfectly suited to playing Armstrong, a man of few words, few expressions and a largely monotone delivery. Foy is brilliant, making the most of an under-utilised and somewhat underwritten role. Both characters, however, remain as unknowable as the vast expanse of space.
And this is perhaps the main issue with the film, or why I found some parts to be almost boring: there's a complete void at the centre where the beating heart of the characters should be. Although Chazelle attempts to get us to bond with the Armstrong family and other key players through intrusive close-ups, the characters remain largely unrelatable, which therefore makes the story of the astronaut's home life seem rather bland and empty. It's almost as though there are two films here - the story of the race against the Soviets for the moon and the dangers that entails, and the story of the women and children at home. In trying to bring the two together, the films struggles to make the most of either narrative. As a result, we veer from the cinematic, expertly-executed scenes of space to troubled suburbia in a jarring, alienating fashion. Maybe this is an active choice on behalf of Chazelle, who clearly wants to focus on Armstrong's grief at losing his daughter; perhaps the disjointed nature of the every day scenes and the lack of insight into other characters mimics his disinterested nature in them since the passing of his child? If this is the case, it makes for problematic viewing.
It's more than likely that seeing such a ponderous, 'he who stares into the abyss' film on a Friday night (with a truly unruly audience) didn't help in my enjoyment of the film, but I can only say that I felt a little disappointed as the credits rolled. Nonetheless, with solid performances and pulse-raising space sequences, it cannot be denied that there are elements here in which to become engrossed. One for a second viewing, I think.
Let's start with the good bits. It can't be denied that the scenes set in space are gripping and ethereal in equal measure. Beautiful and terrifying, you're immersed in the eerie silence outside (and, quite frequently, inside) the vessel. By focusing on the eyes of the astronauts, director Damien Chazelle invites the audience to ponder how they would feel upon looking out the window at the vastest of space, and the subsequent fusion of terror and wonder is truly palpable. The feeling of being at the cutting edge of space exploration is tangible too - the claustrophobia of the spacecraft and the apparent flimsiness of the structures themselves (moments when the very rivets of the vessel shake and groan are most certainly hair-raising) is brilliantly realised. The score, striking imagery and deft direction of these sequences is exemplary, as too are Ryan Gosling and Claire Foy in the central roles. I'm not a huge fan of Ryan Gosling, but he's perfectly suited to playing Armstrong, a man of few words, few expressions and a largely monotone delivery. Foy is brilliant, making the most of an under-utilised and somewhat underwritten role. Both characters, however, remain as unknowable as the vast expanse of space.
And this is perhaps the main issue with the film, or why I found some parts to be almost boring: there's a complete void at the centre where the beating heart of the characters should be. Although Chazelle attempts to get us to bond with the Armstrong family and other key players through intrusive close-ups, the characters remain largely unrelatable, which therefore makes the story of the astronaut's home life seem rather bland and empty. It's almost as though there are two films here - the story of the race against the Soviets for the moon and the dangers that entails, and the story of the women and children at home. In trying to bring the two together, the films struggles to make the most of either narrative. As a result, we veer from the cinematic, expertly-executed scenes of space to troubled suburbia in a jarring, alienating fashion. Maybe this is an active choice on behalf of Chazelle, who clearly wants to focus on Armstrong's grief at losing his daughter; perhaps the disjointed nature of the every day scenes and the lack of insight into other characters mimics his disinterested nature in them since the passing of his child? If this is the case, it makes for problematic viewing.
It's more than likely that seeing such a ponderous, 'he who stares into the abyss' film on a Friday night (with a truly unruly audience) didn't help in my enjoyment of the film, but I can only say that I felt a little disappointed as the credits rolled. Nonetheless, with solid performances and pulse-raising space sequences, it cannot be denied that there are elements here in which to become engrossed. One for a second viewing, I think.
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