Reveals enigmatic character of Armstrong

Rating: 8/10 (29 December 2018)

As a Navy pilot in the Korean War and then a civilian test pilot, death surrounded Neil Armstrong. The deaths of comrades in crashes or enemies on the ground was part of his job. But when death came for his little girl, he took it harder than any other loss in his life. In the biographical movie, "First Man," about Neil Armstrong as the first human to walk on the moon, we get a glimpse of this sorrow and many other aspects of the very private man at the focal point of the greatest moment in human history - the Apollo 11 Moon Landing.
If the moon landing was occurring now rather than 50 years ago, perhaps a more extraverted individual would be chosen, someone adept at social media as well as steely eyed control and piloting. Much speculation along these lines is going into the Mars goal. What kind of people do we need to be our pioneers to Mars? Maybe the charismatic Captain Kirk type, or his female counterpart, will lead the Mars mission. Fifty years ago, we needed a Mr. Spock, with the methodical, scientific and engineering intellect to get the job done. We needed Neil Armstrong. The first moon landing was hairy. On their final descent, multiple program alarms blared in the Lunar Module and fuel was running out. Every nerve in Mission Control was on edge as the rest of the planet watched TV and held their collective breath. Had the astronauts come all this way to abort for safe return? Armstrong had proven time and again his ability to save the crew of a faltering craft. The mission was a success. It was relationships that eluded him.
From the beginning of the movie, the audience is exposed to shaky camera shots depicting test flights gone awry. It becomes an interactive experience with the continued discomfort. The viewer is ready for the ride to stop, but the point is - this was Armstrong's experience and he did not get to step off from the aircraft into safety. Perhaps director Damien Chazelle ("Whiplash," "La La Land") pushed the concept too far because I verged on nausea in a Gemini flight sequence when the capsule spun out of control. Be ready with some Dramamine if you don't have a strong stomach. Our nation's pioneering test pilots and astronauts were tough individuals, able to endure physical hardships and life threatening hazards as part of their everyday jobs.
Ryan Gosling -- the cool, suave driver or creative musician of previous roles -- disappears into the persona of Armstrong, the determined, self-contained engineer and pilot. But Gosling's portrayal gives a sense that a lot is going on under the surface. He doesn't suffer fools easily and calls out future mission partner Buzz Aldrin for a snap judgement on the cause of a fatal jet crash. The first two men on the moon apparently weren't best buddies. The moon in all its phases is almost a character in itself. Each shot of Armstrong gazing up at it seems to increase his soul-deep determination to get there. No waxing romantic for him. Armstrong's wife, portrayed by Clare Foy of The Crown TV series, needed all her imperial strength to break through Armstrong's frosty containment and force a family discussion of the mission. On the lighter side, she reveals Armstrong's love of musicals and even his original production of a musical in college. The man she fell in love with was very different from the one who went to the moon. Their relationship might have been a mission casualty. That question is left unanswered.
A little over a year before President Kennedy was assassinated, he aimed America at a moon landing by the end of the decade. With his death, the moonshot became a sacred obligation to a visionary president. Plus, we needed to beat the Russians in the space race. A successful moon landing would do it. It was a rare time of the government having the political and economic will to achieve a spectacularly hard technical and symbolic mission. In the summer of 1969, the end of the decade had arrived. The combined hopes and heartaches of a nation settled on the Apollo 11 crew, and especially its commander, Neil Armstrong. In the press conferences leading up to the mission, he took exception to negative and emotional questions from reporters. Aldrin smoothed things over. The two men complemented each other in abilities for the mission.
"First Man" is based on a book with the same title written by James R. Hansen. As the only authorized biography of Armstrong, who talked with the writer for 50 hours of interviews, we can trust this portrait as accurate and well worth the time. Given his aversion to reporters, Hansen's work has even more importance. It is a rare opportunity to see behind the metal of the aircraft door into the cockpit and the story of the enigmatic man at the focal point of humankind's greatest achievement.