Review - First Man(2018): A biography made from the perfect mix of discipline and emotion

Rating: 8/10 (28 January 2019)

First man is the biography of the year directed by Damien Chazelle with works like Whiplash, La la land and writing credit for 10 cloverfield lane all very appraised and talked about. Chazelle casts Ryan Gosling, whom he has worked with on la la land as well. He is a great actor but one reason to get the role I believe is his near resemblance to Neil Armstrong, the first man to set foot on the moon.
The starcast is full of familiar faces: Ryan Gosling, Claire Foy as Neil's wife, Jason Clarke, Kyle Chandler, Corey Stoll, Shea Whigham and others. The scrren play is written by Josh Singer who has The Post and Spotlight amongst his past scripts, the screenplay is based on the biography by James R. Hansen by the same name. Even though I was personally willing to overlook this masterpiece, looking at the names above there was a very slim chance of a miss.
The acting is wonderful and no additions on that. But the visuals are just aww!, just get the opening scene it is amazing. There are pretty good low light scenes- many digital but some natural I expect(it doesn't make a difference if you cant tell the difference). Linus Sandgren, the cinematographer is already an Oscar winner for La la land and he might have another on his lap with the First Man. The VFX and the cinematography are very intertwined and friendly with each other i.e. the CGI visuals are not only great as they are very realistic but the frame is very exploring with CGI to enhance them in more artsy terms, like something a person who sees the natural beauty with his own eyes would describe.
The storyline is commentable as it does not shy away from the human part of the life and the mundane part of the life. Not your usual biography where the great personality is given the heavy inspirational undertone through and through or where it is all about the country and make it overly patriotic. No, this is about the first man, he was not just an astronaut and had a life away from NASA. Thus, the plot is equal parts science-history and drama that is seamlessly connected by good editing.
In conclusion, this is one of the finest works out in the year 2018. Please do watch it if you were overlooking it like me, it is not just another biography.
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