In watching the movie First Man (2018) in a theater last weekend, I came in with solid hopes of the familiar territory of the rising Gemini and Apollo programs that resulted in humankind landing on the moon. The story of First Man is not so much the means to the moon as it is the story of Neil Armstrong‘s adult family and NASA life from the point of being a test pilot shortly before the commencement of the Gemini program.
(Neil Armstrong)
The film First Man is based on the book First Man: The Life of Neil A. Armstrong by James R. Hansen. The movie stars Ryan Gosling as Neil Armstrong. Claire Foy stars as Janet Armstrong (Shearon), Neil‘s wife throughout the movie. The two would divorce in 1994 due to factors of the emotional unavailability of Neil. The unavailability was portrayed in the movie. In the onscreen portrayal, voice was given to Janet’s desire for additional emotional engagement from her husband in their relationship and with their children.
(Ryan Gosling, front and center, as Neil Armstrong)
An early part of the Armstrong family narrative included with the film was the emotional impact of the loss of Neil and Janet‘s daughter Karen. The emotional toll is revisited throughout the film. Some rather clear questions about how Janet and Neil cope with the loss, while how little Neil engaged with the couple’s surviving kids were evident from the portrait offered in the movie.
(Claire Foy as Janet Armstrong)
Historical facts of the flights, training, and gritty realism of being on flights were all redeeming traits of the movie. The production value of First Man, at least when compared to the blockbuster treatment given to the Apollo 13 (1995) movie, could find some folks wanting more from First Man. The subtlety with how the Apollo 1 tragedy was addressed, however, was compelling.
The narrative arc of the First Man mixed the opening flight into space by Neil Armstrong with his heartache over the loss of his daughter Karen. The imagery of leaving the bracelet of his daughter on the lunar surface seems like a Hollywood fabrication. The unspoken, yet fully understood interaction between Neil and Janet at the close of the movie spoke of the larger complexity of their relationship, even as Neil‘s largest non-familial success was fresh and at its pinnacle.
My recommendation is that fans of biopics, space movies, or Ryan Gosling should go ahead and see this movie in the theaters. Others that may be curious can. wait for the movie to make its appearance on video, cable, streaming services, and the like. Overall, I give this movie 3.75-stars out of 5.
Matt – Thursday, October 25, 2018
Matt Lynn Digital 