The Place Between Wonder and Fear

Rating: 8/10 (14 October 2018)

First Man is an excellent example of how cinematography and camerawork used the right way can put you straight into the mind of another person to where you can completely understand and feel exactly what type of emotion the character is feeling and what is going through their head at any moment without saying a single word, at least that's what I took away from this film and the Apollo mission sequences. At first, I thought Ryan Gosling at firs was a strange casting choice by the film to play Neil Armstrong, but he was great in the movie and I don't really think any current actor on 2018 could have done any better acting wise in the role than what he did. During the NASA and spaceflight segments, there was just something about him that was able to convey so much emotion from just his eyes and body language that could tell that he was scared, tense yet excited and able to withstand any sense of danger or problem that was thrown at him in a deadly scenario which I don't think I've seen before. There was a very ruthless nature to his character with this blend of wonder and fear which is what drives him. I don't really know that much about Neil Armstrong and what he was like as a person, but Gosling's performance during the docking and moon landing sequence really did give me a deeper insight into just what he must have been feeling and experiencing and that. I thought he could have done better in the non-NASA segments dialogue wise, but I can't really think of how or what he could have done to pull that off, there were no huge problems with his performance or part in the film, so I really can't complain.
I really did like the feeling of claustrophobia in how the mission sequences were shot that really does give you a very first-person experience of what it was like to be piloting in those capsules and the sound design really did enhance that experience. Just the way the film is directed really likes to put you in that emotional place between wonder and fear, followed by the feeling awe and achievement which is really it's biggest strength and does it very well which is the most important thing I took away from it. The soundtrack was also great and fit the atmosphere of the film very well. First Man isn't perfect, but it is breathtaking for what it is and is one of the best, if not the best I've seen this year. Damien Chazelle once again did a fantastic job directing wise and I hope it wins some Oscars.