First Man

Rating: 8/10 (30 October 2018)

From seeing the trailer for this movie about two months before its release, I had good feelings about and was very excited to see it, it is one of those real-life stories you always wanted to see re-enacted on the big screen, directed by Damien Chazelle (Whiplash, La La Land). Basically in 1961, Neil Armstrong (Ryan Gosling) is a NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) test pilot who inadvertently bounces off the atmosphere flying the X-15 rocket plane. He does manage to land the plane in the Mojave Desert, but he is grounded after his colleagues express concern his recent record of mishaps is due to distraction. His two-and-a-half-year-old daughter Karen (Lucy Brooke Stafford) has a brain tumour and is undergoing treatment, Neil is desperate to save her and logs her symptoms and tries to find other treatments, but she dies from her illness. Neil is grief-stricken but applies for Project Gemini and is accepted to NASA Astronaut Group 2. Alongside other astronaut families, Armstrong, his wife Janet (BAFTA and Golden Globe nominated Claire Foy) and their son Rick (Gavin Warren and Luke Winters) move to Houston. Armstrong begins training and befriends fellow test pilot Elliot See (Patrick Fugit) and test pilot and engineer Ed White (Jason Clarke). Deke Slayton (Kyle Chandler) describes to the new astronauts the importance of the Gemini program, as the Soviet Union have achieved every milestone in the Space Race ahead of the United States. During the training, Neil and Janet have a second son, Mark Armstrong (Connor Colton Blodgett). The family has settled in Houston by 1965, and Armstrong is waiting to be selected for a crew. After the Soviets complete the first extravehicular activity (EVA), Armstrong is informed that he will be commander of Gemini 8, with David Scott (Christopher Abbott) as pilot. Prior to the mission, See and Charles Bassett are killed in a T-38 crash. Armstrong and Scott successfully launch on Gemini 8, and dock with the Agena target vehicle, but soon afterward, the spacecraft begins spinning rapidly. Armstrong nearly blacks out but manages to activate the RCS thrusters and safely aborts the mission. Armstrong faces initial criticism, but NASA determines the crew is not at fault, White later reveals that Armstrong has been selected for the Apollo 1 mission along with Gus Grissom (Shea Whigham) and Roger Chaffee (Cory Michael Smith). On January 27, 1967, during a plugs-out test, a fire breaks out in the Apollo 1 and kills the crew, Neil hears the news whilst at the White House representing NASA. The following year, Armstrong is nearly killed ejecting from the Lunar Landing Research Vehicle. He is selected to command Apollo 11, and Slayton informs him that it will likely be the first lunar landing. Just prior to the launch, Janet confronts Neil about the possibility that he will not survive the flight and insists that he explain the risks of the mission to their children. After telling them about the risks he faces during the mission, Neil says goodbye to his family and departs. Apollo 11 successfully launches, with Armstrong commanding, Michael "Mike" Collins (Lucas Haas) as command module pilot, and Buzz Aldrin (Corey Stoll) as lunar module pilot. There are no issues during the flight, the craft arrives at the Moon on the fourth day out. Armstrong and Aldrin undock in the Lunar Module and begin the landing attempt, but Aldrin realises the landing site is full of large boulders, forcing Armstrong to take manual control to land. The lunar module successfully lands with minimal fuel remaining. Armstrong steps out onto the lunar surface and speaking to NASA declares the immortal words, "It's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." With tears in his eyes, he looks at the Moon surface, the galaxy of stars, and the beauty of the Earth, and holding Karen's bracelet, he drops into Little West crater. With their mission complete, the astronauts return home and are placed in quarantine, to begin months of tests for infections and other factors, there Armstrong and Janet share a quiet moment of reflection. Also starring CiarÃ¡n Hinds as Bob Gilruth, Olivia Hamilton as Pat White, Pablo Schreiber as Jim Lovell, Ethan Embry as Pete Conrad, Brian d'Arcy James as Joe Walker, Kris Swanberg as Marilyn See, J.D. Evermore as Chris Kraft and Leon Bridges as Gil Scott-Heron. Gosling is a good lookalike of the real Armstrong and gives a terrific performance as the family man and the astronaut going on the historical space journey, Foy is also fantastic as his concerned but loyal wife, many of the supporting cast playing recognisable real-name characters are great as well. It is the simple story of how Armstrong started out as a tester pilot and went on to become the first man to walk on the Moon, it works well as both an insight into the dangerous but history-making mission, and also an insight into how those close to Armstrong are affected by what must be done, the Moon landing itself, from the moment the door opens to silence and on the lunar surface, is a beautiful scene, with fantastic music, including the use of the Theremin, by Justin Hurwitz, Chazelle has created an unforgettable cinematic splendour, a must see biographical drama. It won the Oscar for Best Visual Effects, and it was nominated for Best Sound Editing, Best Production Design and Best Sound Mixing, it was nominated the BAFTA for Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Editing, Best Cinematography, Best Special Visual Effects, Best Sound and Best Production Design, and it won the Golden Globe for Best Original Score for Justin Hurwitz. Very good!