It takes a long, long time to land on the moon. So much can be said for the research, development, and execution of the Apollo 11 spacecraft on the lunar surface on July 21, 1969. Much can also be said of Damien Chazelle’s (La La Land, Whiplash) lackluster First Man. Maybe Chazelle should go back to writing his own screenplays. After earning Oscar nominations (adapted for Whiplash, original for La La Land) for his first two directed movies, Chazelle picked up Josh Singer’s (Spotlight, The Post) for his third directorial effort. Unfortunately, the culmination likely didn’t do either man any favors. First Man seemed to lack want, energy, and originality and frequently veered into downright disinterest in its characters and outright boredom. While the film has resonated with critics (88%), there is a sharp dropoff in audience score (66%). While the accomplishment in First Man is an important story that needed to be told in this medium (particularly to those who weren’t even born when this achievement happened, I think it should have been spearheaded by a director who is more seasoned in the biopic genre or at least had directed a film outside of the music drama genre which has thus far defined his career.

The good is definitely Gosling. He’s Must-See Hollywood for a reason. He can breathe life into any character, even as one who is as remarkably uninteresting as Neil Armstrong. I didn’t realize how boring of a man he really was. I don’t say that as a criticism at all. On the contrary, I admire with great passion a public person who can live a life of modesty. But that certainly does not make it as easy to portray that person as it would a Liberace, Marilyn Monroe, Ray Charles, Babe Ruth, Richard Nixon, etc. Depicting a person with limited variances from the public norm is, no doubt, a risky decision for any actor and especially uncertain for an actor at the height of his career. Yet Gosling was up for the challenge, creating his Armstrong character as a man committed to excellence in his profession, lamenting during times of loss, and struggling in avenues that challenged his comfortability level (husband, father, spokesperson, national hero). The range of emotions exhibited by Gosling was undoubtedly the most limiting of any character in his career, save for Julian in the forgettable aforementioned Only God Forgives.

This isn’t really a spoiler because it occurred in the first 15-20 minutes of the film, and it certainly wouldn’t be a spoiler if you followed the career of the most revered astronaut of all time. Armstrong and his wife Janet (Claire Foy – [Unsane, Breathe] in an eye-opening performance) have two children under the age of six at the start of the movie in Mark and Karen. Unfortunately, Karen has a brain tumor and dies before the movie is 30 minutes old. The only time that Neil ever did anything outside of his work was keeping track of Karen’s medications, doctor’s appointments, diagnoses, etc. Neil can be calm and collected with the public when she dies and only brings it down when it is him by himself. It’s the most human emotion he shows throughout the film, weeping uncontrollably when he is alone. But then he returns to work two days after her funeral as if nothing happens. Obviously, if you do a biopic, the story needs to involve as many of the key components of the person’s life as possible. Karen’s death serves two purposes…the first of which I will mention here, and the second I will mention in a small spoilers section.

We don’t get a glimpse of much of what Neil was like before the death of Karen. But it is implied that he was a present and loving father and husband. And the transformation of his character (from the little that we know before her death) is not uncommon. He shuts down emotionally…not just from his loved ones but from everyone. It’s how I respond when I am hurt to the point where it feels irreparable. When the pain is so intensely deep, you do everything in your power to not revisit that pain in your head and hurt and to not have to experience that pain ever again. If you can see this side of his character, it will give you more understanding of him. He’s a man who would prefer to stay within a short range of emotions, and if it means sacrificing the highs in order not to have to experience the lows, he’ll do it. Some viewers will be able to understand this. Others will just think he is a lifeless character. Regardless, Gosling played the role of Armstrong perfectly. I’ll return to Armstrong again in a couple of paragraphs…

First Man also felt drab in terms of setting. But that is to be expected of the time period of 1960’s America. So in this regard, it was actually effective…but it was still drab. A bigger problem was the lack of definable characteristics in the supporting roles. The best performance was by Kyle Chandler (NBC’s Friday Night Lights, Netflix’s Bloodline), NASA chief of the astronaut office Deke Slayton. As the man responsible for making many of the decisions, he is resolute in his decision-making skills. He’s a straightforward man and weighs the risks against the rewards while dealing with the pressures from Congress of beating the Soviet Union to the moon, having already lost all previous battles in the space wars. And Corey Stoll (Non-Stop, Ant-Man) was effective as the rather abrasive Buzz Aldrin. If the goal was to make Buzz an unlikeable character who shot his mouth off when he should probably keep it close, Stoll was the right man for the job. So far, it seems like the casting (Gosling, Foy, Chandler, Stoll) was effective. But then you get into all of the other astronauts in the space program, and they become nearly indistinguishable from one another. Sure there was Jason Clarke (Mudbound, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes) as Ed White (aka the first American to walk in space), not only Neil’s closest colleague but also his next-door neighbor. It’s Jason Clarke just playing Jason Clarke, but the relationship between Ed and Neil works. Ed understands Neil. He understands the loss of his daughter forces him to act in ways that might seem curt. In one scene, Neil is out in his backyard looking at stars when Ed talks to him. Neil ends the quick conversation by telling his friend, “Ed, I wouldn’t have come out here to be myself if I felt like talking to someone.” It’s a quick glimpse of Neil not being able to grieve properly and the one person who understands it. All of the other characters become one big blend, however. Lukas Haas (Widows, The Revenant) is the third man in the Apollo 11 mission, but even his character gets lost. This is also true of Christopher Abbott as astronaut David Scott, Patrick Fugit as astronaut Elliot See, Shea Whigham as astronaut Gus Grissom, Brian d’Arcy James as astronaut Joseph A. Walker, and a handful of others. There are too many characters doing too many different things that we don’t understand. Too much gets lost in the process. It was an ineffective use of characters.

***Spoilers***

The real experience begins after Armstrong takes those first steps and the flashbacks we are taken back to. Chazelle tries his La La Land technique with, ironically, the same actor. In La La Land, the film’s final scenes portray a ‘what if’ scenario. What would have happened if Sebastian and Mia had stayed together? It comes out of the blue, and it made a very good movie into an excellent one. As I mentioned earlier in this review, we don’t see what Neil was like before the death of his daughter. We get an ever-so glimpse that he was a great father and husband. But he wasn’t able to save his daughter from dying. He doesn’t blame anybody for that, understanding that cancer does what it does, and there was no cure for it then, just like there is no cure for it now. But rather than being there for his wife Janet, sons Mark and Eric, he fills the void by putting all of his time and energy into his work. In fact, if things had gone his way, he would have left for the Apollo 11 mission without even saying goodbye to his boys. However, Janet forces him to talk to them before he leaves, knowing quite well that he might not make it back. The relatively unknown Foy battles Gosling scene for scene in ways that Chandler, Clarke, and Stoll cannot. In a movie that will not be remembered for its performances, she and Gosling (and maybe Chandler) are the lone exceptions. But going back to the La La Land comparison, once Neil has a chance to ‘ground himself’ once the landing is successful, he moves away from Aldrin and just stares off into space. And what we get to see is Armstrong reflecting on his life before Karen’s death…a period of his life where he was a loving family man, spending relaxing days having picnics with his family. It’s a part of his character that we have not yet experienced. It’s almost like he had a chance to grieve his daughter’s death after completing his mission properly. It’s heartbreaking in the same way that the final scene in La La Land is. There’s one big problem, though…We don’t know if this ever happened. It’s likely another case of Hollywood inserting a touch of dramatic fiction to make this moment more emotional. In fact, you could make the case that this would never have happened for the calm, cool, and calculated Armstrong. He and Aldrin spent about two and a half hours on the moon taking pictures and gathering rocks and such to take back to earth. But if you allow it to me, and if you don’t try to overanalyze it, it can work for you. Armstrong, ever quiet and dignified, never vocalizes his desire to be the first man to walk on the moon. But when he does, you can feel a huge weight on his shoulders finally being lifted. He gets overwhelmed with the intense emotions of reaching his dream, the sacrifices he made to get there, and the emotions he had hidden for so long.

***End of Spoilers***

First Man fails to live up to its billing for sure. It’s flat. It’s long. It’s technical. Chazelle creates a trip to the moon where we get to feel like the fourth astronaut in the spaceship. On that front, it succeeds. But shouldn’t a trip to the moon feel exciting? Shouldn’t the entire experience of getting us ready for a trip to the moon get us feeling energized about what we might experience? It fails in this regard and what we are left with is a study of an iconic American hero rather than the enthralling space experience that it could have been. It’s an okay movie, but it underwhelms in just about every way.

Plot 8/10
Character Development 7.5/10
Character Chemistry 7.5/10
Acting 7.5/10
Screenplay 7.5/10
Directing 7/10
Cinematography 6/10
Sound 8.5/10
Hook and Reel 7/10 (after a first scene let down, you are hoping it can take you back to the anticipation you were experiencing during the first five minutes of the film…unfortunately, that does not happen)
Universal Relevance 8/10 (a better film would have left you with a more memorable experience on this crowning NASA achievement)
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