Perfect synchronized Directing, Sound and Cinematography makes First Man one of the best biopics of this decade

Rating: 9/10 (27 October 2018)

For me, Chazelle's First Man could have gone anywhere in the drama spectrum and yet the young director surprised me with his choices. To be honest, choice (maybe sacrifice) is a very important word in this movie. Like I said, It could have gone for some sort of easy emotional drama, just using Neil's life as a background for cheap feelings and/or unnecessary heavy scenes. As the movie progresses, we can easily notice that is not what happens. The tone in every scene is dictated by Chazelle's choices of how this story should be told with his crew and by the choice to deconstruct and humanize the legend, even if it means a slower pace, instead of just showing what he did. The movie succeeds in making us try to feel like he felt.
Let's begin with Cinematography. It's the second time Damien Chazelle and Sandgren are working together and I can presume they are already pretty comfortable with each other's job (as if they didn't won an oscar for La La Land). The shaky documental camera style might be the reason for some nausea problems for some people, but it wasn't for me. It just added more depth to the mystery of Neil's personality and his special moments, also highlighted by the vintage/homemade look the film acquired by shooting in film. There is only one time in the movie that this type of camera is not used, for a specific good reason, with great response from the choice.
When it comes to Chazelle, Justin Hurwitz is a veteran: four movies Damien directed, four of them Justin scored. Ah, also won an Oscar for La La Land too, but who didn't right? First Man is scored with 3 or 4 motifs, some wich combined during the scenes to create more depth to each look and thought. I think maybe there is one of them out of tone (not tune) with the movie, but I could understand why that moment required a different piece of music, that's ok. Some eerie sounds used in the right time to punctuate the strangeness of the unkonw, the elevation of the orchestra to increase the tension/emotion of the scenes and voilà. See you in february Mr. Hurwitz, I hope.
However, if a movie about Neil Armstrong didn't have a good convincing Neil Armstrong..Know what? Nevermind. Ryan Gosling was an absolute monster as the main protagonist. Reserved, quiet, determined and mysterious just as the real astronaut, Gosling delivers maybe the best performance of his career, aware of every little detail of the scene and very sensitive to the eyes of the camera. Claire Foy does not stay behind and evens the game in every scene she could. She is persistent through the movie and a more attentive moviegoer should be able to decode her looks and personal arc by the end of the movie. And that look, God that look.
First Man is a lesson of how good (conscious) teamwork can bring great rewards, and I'm not just talking about the space race. Directing, Cinematography, Score and Cast were in perfect harmony in every frame. Expect to see this film to win some technical Oscars, like Sound Mixing, Sound Editing, Editing itself and be nominated to many other: Actor, Supporting Actress, Director, Original Score, Cinematography and Best Picture. Really, they deserve it. I can't tell if they will win or not, like Neil couldn't say if he was going to come back. But if a movie could make me really feel the extraordinary beautiful oddness (really, I've never felt something like this) of being the first to step on the moon, even for a fraction of a second, God they deserve a chance to try.