first man

First Man
Dir. Damien Chazelle
12 October 2018
PG-13
141 minutes

You know that genre of space dramas with the compelling main characters and the amazing, other worldly space vistas?

Yeah, this isn’t one of those.

I feel it necessary to lead with the fact that I do not dislike the film simply because I have so many criticisms that are going to seem to secure that fate. I don’t. I think Ryan Gosling and Claire Foy are about as dynamic of a team as a film could want. I think that it seemed to erase the romanticism of the space race amid the truth of vomit, fire, and pain. I think that the launch sequence is one of the best lead-up scenes in recent history. So, no, I do not dislike it.

But I certainly have some criticisms.

1. The biggest is this: Why, oh why was this shot for IMAX if it was not going to be directed for IMAX? I have a headache. Literally. I do not feel that I am terribly far off by estimating that 75% of the film consists of shaky camera, soft focus close-ups that are entirely antithetical to the larger screen. It is hard to look at. Additionally, in the attempt to make sure we got that look of archival, oh-look-it’s-old news footage, the quality of the newsreel was degraded beyond reality or my ability to continue looking at the screen. I would have likely had a very different - and far better - experience on a traditional screen….which is terrible considering how proud they were to have shot the moon scenes on IMAX film. Keep that in mind, as well, the moon sequence stands alone in that IMAX intention. It seems it wasn’t at all considered when directing the rest.
2. Justin Hurwitz’s score is oh so heavy handed. The heavy chords during the moon sequence had me waiting for the Phantom of the Opera to poke his head out of a crater. A Glassian score with people yelling “This is important!” is about the only thing I could think of that would lack more nuance. At the same time, the moments in which the score mimicked the sound of the shuttle rolling were my favorite. I really think the chords were a head nod to prior SPACE MOVIES...but this film isn’t that.
3. How far must one turn around on the moon before one’s helmet reflects anything but the shuttle shadow that is now no longer visible? Because I promise that the shadow was in the reflection while his back was to it.
4. And exactly what point of view was the audience taking on as Armstrong walked around on the moon’s surface? It seemed that I was being asked to empathize with his knees, and that is not likely to happen.

Kudos to the sound design and mix. Those two teams should be in Oscar consideration, for sure. It was exquisite. And the IMAX sequence was pretty, though expanding the height to show blackness at the top of the screen is...well...odd. Again, it was acted incredibly well and I cared about the narratives.

A couple random thoughts to close:

1. This was shot at Tyler Perry Studios. I didn’t know that was a thing, so I Googled it and now I want to go visit. It is STUNNING.
2. It was weird seeing Pablo Schreiber with brunette hair again, rather than his Mac Sweeney red. (But I will NEVER complain about seeing him!)
3. More Brian D’Arcy James!!!
4. Apparently I've been mispronouncing "Gemini" for a few decades. Hmmm...