A Very Somber Movie

Rating: 7/10 (23 January 2019)

This is a true story
Astronaut Neil Armstrong's (Ryan Gosling) journey to become the first man to walk on the Moon is a very somber journey. I say this because the death of his young daughter Karen (Lucy Stafford) played heavily on his mind in everything he did. This is my take on the movie.
One would think that going to the Moon, there would be cause for celebration with excitement reigning every where. The Space Program has had its problems and setbacks. Many brave Astronauts died in the exercises practicing to go to the Moon. Armstrong did say something like: it's better that we fail down here and not up there.
Think about it. Going to the Moon is like achieving another Wonder of the World. This movie had Ryan Gosling play a very somber, quiet role because that was the way Neil Armstrong was and I still maintain that his daughter's death made him turn to his astronaut work and not so much to his family. His wife Janet (Claire Foy) had to really talk to him to get him to talk to his sons with the possibility of his not returning. He struggled with this talk.
When he was on the Moon he tossed Karen's bracelet into a crater. In his mind Karen will always be with him on the Moon or something like that. She was always on his mind.
Notables: Kyle Chandler as Deke Slayton, Dir of Flight Operations; Cory Stoll as Buzz Aldrin, who also walked on the Moon with Neil; Ethan Embrey as Mike Collins, the Astronaut who remained in the capsule above the Moon when Neil and Buzz walked on the Moon; Jason Clarke as Astronaut Ed White, who died in a fire before a launch; Shea Whigham as Gus Grissom who also died in that fire before a launch;
There are too many dark scenes when they didn't have to be; jumpy camera work that became annoying at times; too many shots of capsule dials; no one stood out as a leader in a venture that would change the world and not just the Space Program. Again, a very somber movie. Serious, yes, but very somber.
When Neil Armstrong returned from the Moon there were no scenes of being splashed down in the ocean and celebrations worldwide. A few interviews shown didn't really count in here.
When Janet visited Neil when he was quarantined, I got the feeling that she was gong to tell Neil she was going to divorce him. That was a very uncomfortable and somber scene too. I didn't see much love in that room.
This movie should have been a celebration after everyone's hard work, but that didn't happen. (7/10)
Violence: Yes. Sex: No. Nudity: No. Humor: No. Language: One F-bomb by Janet
Rating: B