Damien Chazelle dazzled audiences with a pair of musical masterpieces in Whiplash (2014) and La La Land (2016). He was on fire and fans were eager to hear what musical melancholy he’d be putting out next. With his previous works hitting hard emotionally while still making us tap our feet in joy and celebration, Chazelle had all of the momentum in the world. We learned that he’d be, once again, teaming up with Ryan Gosling, well we were dancing in the streets. Once it was announced that he had taken on a big-budget non-musical high profile project like First Man that was seemingly out of left field, people were puzzled. Intrigued and a tab it concerned, it’s time to launch right into this review.
Neil Armstrong is probably the most recognizable name in any talks surrounding the moon landing. And it is with good reason that it the way that it is since he was the first person to set foot on the moon. What was once thought impossible, became fueled by the idealistic belief that if someone is going to accomplish this incredible feet, it’s going to be done by American feet. And through a tremendous amount of challenges, trials and tribulation, Armstrong (Ryan Gosling) would end up being that person. The thing that many folks do not know is the amount of loss and sacrifice that was taken to make any of this possible. Along with his wife, Janet (Claire Foy), and family by his side, Neil would go down in the annals of history as the first father of space exploration. The biopic First Man looks to give an entertaining look at this historically monumental endeavor.
Ryan Gosling is the man of the hour and I cannot fault, in any way, his role as the lead character. He gives the people exactly what they want to see, a guy that everyone can root for as he chases the impossible. And speaking of impossible, it is up to Claire Foy to hold down everything else. She also does a good job. As a matter of fact, the supporting acting with the likes of Kyle Chandler, Jason Clarke, Corey Stoll, Pablo Schreiber and Ciarán Hinds, is also very solid throughout. These are big names that gave a big effort regardless of how small or inconsequential their parts may have seemed to be in the grand scheme of things.
Going back to my opening paragraph, I would have to say that their fears will be realized once people are honest with themselves with what they’re getting out of this latest effort. Damien Chazelle does great with musical numbers but he’s a bit out of tune when it comes to telling the story of First Man. His egotistic side got the better of the tried and true artistic side in this battle for cinema supremacy. The risks are not often worth the reward in this area and Chazelle will need to work twice as hard to regain people’s trust.
First Man honestly felt like it took place in real time from the year the events in this film began, which was 1961 all the way through the actual moon landing in 1969. The point I’m trying to make here is that this movie felt very, VERY long. I can appreciate wanting to set a tone and including all of the pertinent facts, but I saw more than a few areas where minutes could have been trimmed off. And had that been done, maybe the pace wouldn’t have felt like that of a college level lecture. Audiences will fell every minute of the 141 minute runtime. There are a few interesting stories, as well as several heartbreaking ones.
The entertainment factor just didn’t stick for me. I’ve seen (and heard) all of these excerpts where critics are praising First Man one but I just don’t see it. There’s not enough cinematic value to warrant me to recommend it to the masses. Those wanting to relive the amazing feat can feel free to check it out in theaters. If you’re just a casual fan and are considering going just be entertained, you might want to save this biopic for home viewing. At any rate, you can see biopic in theaters now if that is your desire. Just be fully alert while carving out about two and a half hours.
