First Man

First man? Man, oh man. I've been out of this world excited about the next Damien Chazelle (Whiplash, La La Land) film, whatever it would be, since 2016. And when I heard that he was taking on the Neil Armstrong story, on the eve of the 50th anniversary year of the moon landing no less, my ticket was sold.
 
With First Man, director Chazelle has created a film that immerses viewers in the personal space of Armstrong to give some sense of what those early, historical flights must have been like. Wow. The opening scene inside a violently shaking X-15 space capsule, littered with dials from the 1960's and the haunting sound of a container being pushed to its limits, is unlike anything I've ever seen in a space film before. That experience happens at least two more times and should have the sound effect awards locked up.  

Those scenes are amazing accomplishments in a film that somehow left me underwhelmed.  

At fault is most likely Chazelle's focus on Armstrong's down-to-earth life. Ryan Gosling (Drive) plays the reclusive, unemotional Armstrong, and Claire Foy (The Crown), plays his wife who seeks a more normal life for her family. Two reserved actors portraying unemotional figures does not make for a riveting two hours and twenty-one minutes. Unless it's Anthony Hopkins and Emma Thompson, of course.

As for the pivotal moment, Chazelle plays it neutral, skipping all the iconic scenes such as the flag mounting that ended the Russia-USA space race, and focuses on what Armstrong might be thinking about at this historical moment. For a gen-X guy like me that has witnessed that sequence set to the guitar-laced MTV theme song a few hundred times, it is a jolt to imagine the haunting quietness of that zen moment. It's also quite a bland let-down to the rocket fire energy of everything that got us to that moment.I want to respect the restraint it took to focus on this man's thoughts, but I couldn't feel much staring into a space helmet, and we are all just guessing anyway.

Then, Chazelle goes wheels off and adds to the story. He adds a climactic moment that's as likely to have happened as an old lady named Rose tossing a necklace off the Titanic. I rolled my eyes where I should have wept.

Restrained. Neutral. Thoughtful. Somewhat cold. It's an expertly crafted film that let me down as a movie goer.
 
In a nutshell: You'll feel like you experienced some of what those early flights were like, but that's all you'll feel. 

Award potential: There will be nominations in all sound categories. Best picture, director and actor are likely and likely vulnerable for a underwhelming October film. A Best Supporting Actress nomination for Claire Foy seems unlikely given the restrictions of her 1960's astronaut wife role.
 
Ten buck review. Worth ten bucks. See it in a theater and see it in IMAX. There will be no point to watching this on TV.