Atmospheric and inspiring...

Rating: 10/10 (30 October 2018)

Having just seen this film for the second time, I feel that I can fully justify my rating. Very few films have gripped me in the way that 'First Man' has. In my opinion the film balances and contextualises the personal and human side expertly with the more technical and scientific elements that make the story of the achievements and hardships of the initial tests and eventual moon landing so extraordinary and compelling.
Ryan Gosling and Claire Foy are superb throughout, providing dedicated and emotional performances that are all the more impressive considering how much screen time is dedicated to them. It's well worth mentioning and applauding Justin Hurwitz for the accompanying soundtrack which adds hugely to the experience and could not compliment better the visuals on screen. I think it's also important to point out that the film did well to avoid the cliches and overstatement that occur so often in films of this type.
I am not a space buff, but this film has inspired me to learn, read and engage more with the subject in the past two weeks than in the whole of my life to that point. I'll let the critics and those better qualified than I to analyse and dissect the merits of the cinematography, but for me this was a thought-provoking and inspiring watch that I think comes along very rarely nowadays.