I still remember when First Man was about to come out in cinemas, and everything seemed to head its way. Damien Chazelle just had a massive success with La La Land (2016), both critically and financially and a biopic about Neil Armstrong seemed like it would continue propelling him forward. But I guess audiences expected your stereotypical “Murica, baby, fuck yeah!” biopic…? I remember some backlash regarding this movie not showing the flag planting, and based on this film flopping at the box office, my joke might not be that far from what happened. What hurts even more is this movie is so much more complex and deserves to be seen.
One thing Damien does well is subvert expectations. So, when a guy who doesn’t make anything “as expected” signs on to make a biopic about the first man who stepped his foot on the Moon’s surface, I should have known how much different this will be from anything anybody expected. How different? I could argue in good faith that the Moon landing and everything leading up to that is a secondary, possibly even tertiary, part of this film. This is a biopic in the truest sense of the word, and we get an intimate portrait of Neil Armstrong, but not the “cradle to the grave” thing we are used to. Also, it’s much less “American” and way more critical than I expected, and I will address both of these points separately, as those are the “meat and potatoes” of this story.
How do you make a biopic about someone who was not a “camera-ready” person? I understand why some might have thought First Man portrays Neil as a cold, emotionally detached, and very reserved man. Well, based on his children’s testimonies, this was the “most accurate portrayal of their father, Neil Armstrong and their mother, Janet Armstrong.” (source, IMDb trivia). And truthfully, I think Ryan Gosling nailed it. Not only in his portrayal of Neil but if you watch some interviews with him about this role, he said he approached him as playing a shy, reserved man who didn’t think of himself as a hero. He just wanted to do his job. And that’s already “strike one” with this biopic going against the convention – your hero should be likeable! Despite everything, right, I mean… It’s not like audiences can cheer for a regular guy who is simply a bit too reserved. I loved how (based on Neil’s children) faithfully they portrayed Neil, knowing very well he is not the easiest to root for. And yet, if you look deeper, you discover he was an emotional man; he simply kept his emotions to himself. It is weird to write what I am about to write about this movie, but I won’t spoil anything. But the scene on the Moon, and what he does there… If that doesn’t convince you what kind of person he was and that he is much more complex, I don’t know what to tell you. I will never understand how Gosling wasn’t nominated.
The same goes for Claire Foy and her portrayal of Janet Armstrong. Her role is not as flashy, but she had to be on the same page with Ryan, and more importantly, she had the difficult task of making us understand why she would stay with someone who is not the easiest to live with. You can see in some scenes how painful everything is for her character, and yet you can also see the love, admiration and, most importantly, understanding of Neil’s character. She was absolutely brilliant in this role.
Another aspect I appreciated was that First Man only covered a part of Neil’s life (specifically from 1961 to 1969). It must have been so tempting to do the “from cradle to grave” biopic, especially for such a complex character as Neil because I would assume many viewers would understand him better. It’s much easier to sympathise with a person if you know more about them, how he grew up, and what made him into the man he was. But First Man isn’t interested in that; instead, they give us a fully formed character without any backstory, as if the film says: “This is who you will follow for the next 140 minutes. Don’t try to understand him; try to feel what he feels.” And it is through that lens of us focusing on the present rather than the past that we can appreciate his character better, at least I could. Again, a lot of it had to do with that ending, where everything clicked for me.
That brings me to this movie being “anti-American”. And look, if you think it is anti-American because it doesn’t show the flag moment or because it portrays Neil in a more complex, nuanced way… Yeah, I guess that would make it anti-American alright. For what it’s worth I don’t think First Man is anti-American. I believe it is, again, more complex than that. Yes, it doesn’t have your “hooray, we DID THAT!” moment many would expect from a biopic about the first man who walked on the Moon. What this film shows us is all the hard work, determination and the number of failures it took them to get to the Moon. And how many people died before we ever got anywhere close to the Moon, and how the general public wondered whether we should go there in the first place. Chazelle’s choice of having the public discourse questioning whether we should spend the money like this entangled with the footage and song called “Whiteys on the Moon” hits hard. And again, I wouldn’t consider this “anti-American”. If you are making a biopic about a historical event, you should tell it with as much nuance as possible. And many people didn’t think it was necessary (especially in the midst of the Civil Rights Movement) to spend government money like that. Funny how times haven’t changed that much; now many a few even question whether we went to the Moon in the first place.
The last point I would like to make is the time this movie was made and how perfect it was. And what I mean by that is that had this movie been made about 15/20 years ago, it would undoubtedly resemble the likes of Apollo 13 (1995). Your stereotypical “American exceptionalism” movie that uplifts you doesn’t ask any pressing questions and just exists to lift your spirits. And there is nothing wrong with that; don’t get me wrong, I love that movie too. But I am so grateful we now can make biopics that aren’t “just” celebratory. First Man is a sobering look at the space race, the many failures it took us to even get to the Moon and how it was achieved by this man, who many perceived as cold and detached. But there is so much more than that in here. I am so happy we can get biopics about “heroes”, these bigger-than-life people who still feel like people and are shown with all their flaws, quirks and attributes that made them who they were.
Overall, First Man is an excellent film that grabs you from the first second and won’t let you go. The direction is flawless, the acting is superb, and you get much more than “This is how went to the Moon”. Damien is definitely a fascinating character who always thinks outside the box and questions everything. And when he understands the craft of cinema to make it entertaining along the way for us, the viewers, I am all in. I can’t recommend this movie enough.
That’s all for this one! Did you see it? What did you think about it? Let me know!
Until next time,
Luke