A fantastic, emotional character study

Rating: 10/10 (15 October 2018)

"First Man" is, without a doubt, one of my favorite movies of the year. From the opening scene I was instantly riveted, and Ryan Gosling's nuanced, subtle, emotional performance had me glued to my seat for the entire over two hour runtime.
Once again, Chazelle proves that he is a master behind the camera. The entire film has a very handheld, documentary look, complete with film grain to add to the retro realism the movie wants to give off. I've read online that some people found the constant use of close-ups and shaky camera distracting, but I found that it enhanced to the grittiness and aesthetic of the film; it truly felt like I was watching a documentary at parts, and since this movie was fundamentally a character study of Neil Armstrong, I thought that the stylistic directing approach worked. That being said, I can totally understand where the criticisms are coming from; there are some scenes where the camera is shaking so violently that I wouldn't be surprised if the cameraman was going through cardiac arrest during filming. But, these overly spastic and violent shakes usually only occured during the "rocket" scenes, for lack of a better word, and it added tenfold to the intensity and claustrophobia that a real astronaut would feel - they can't get out of the rocket, and so, neither can we.
This film has also gained controversy for the very un-Hollywood portrayal of the entire Apollo mission. Now, what do I mean by that? "First Man," as I mentioned previously, is in no way, shape, or form a "feel-good" movie. In fact, it's downright depressing. Instead of portraying this mission as something that was incredible for America and exciting for Neil Armstrong, the film shows the mission through the lens of Neil's emotional state, which happens to be depressed, if not borderline suicidal.
You see, the film opens with a tragedy that happens to Neil. One of our first looks at this man is him holding his head, crying. It's rough stuff, and it's tough not to cry with him. And throughout the film, whenever Neil goes, tragedy seems to follow. So it's no surprise that Ryan Gosling plays him in such a stoic, quiet, sad way. I've read reviews that demonized this performance for being too stoic, but my response to that is this: would you expect a man who has had tragedy after tragedy happen to him, to be happy? Neil is not happy, and Ryan Gosling's performance makes that evident. Neil buries himself in his work, trying to distract himself from the pain, even knowing that death is a very real possibility should things go wrong. It's a very down-to-earth take on this American hero, and it's very interesting.
That being said, this movie is incredibly long. Luckily, about every half-hour or so there are exceedingly exciting scenes of rocket lift-offs or astronaut training, but that doesn't necessarily keep the movie from being very slow. Look, no matter what, there is no denying this movie is slow, but I never found it to be boring, thanks to the amazing performances and beautifully euphoric musical score. Seriously, the music in this movie is just gorgeous, and coupled with the directing, it is really a sight to behold.
"First Man" is a fantastic film. Strong, emotional performances, gorgeous music, beautiful directing, and one of the most inspiring stories known to mankind, just portrayed in a way that we've never seen before. This is a very quiet, contemplative, reflective film, more of an experience than anything else.
10/10