First Man (2018)

Except for the flying scenes, dynamic director Chazelle falls down with a thud in the historical and family scenes of the film. Mainly, I think, this is because of a hole at the center of the movie in the performance by a blank-faced and emotionless Ryan Gosling. In this case, the Kuleshov effect fails Gosling completely. Neil Armstrong did have a reputation of being quiet and shy, but Gosling’s portrayal of him is so passive and uncommunicative that he comes close to putting Armstrong somewhere on the autism spectrum. The movie shifts gears into high, however, during flying and rocket take-off sequences. In what I take to be a realistic portrayal of early space flight, the shaking as if the vehicle is about to come apart and the creaking and screaming of stressed metal is quite scary. Claire Foy, as the supportive wife, has a couple of good scenes but mostly she seems more than a little detached as if she is just hitting her marks and speaking her lines. In spite of a promising supporting cast, no one really shines. On a personal note, I and my family lived the last five years of the 1980s in Wapakoneta, Ohio, where Neil Armstrong was born, raised, and learned to fly. His official museum is there. You can even see the bicycle he rode to the airport for flying lessons. Unfortunately, Wapak (as the residents call it) is never mentioned in this movie. I give a soft recommendation for the portrayal of the launch procedures and the in-cabin experience of the first men in space. NOTE: Do you remember where were you when Neil Armstrong became the first person to step onto the moon? I bet you remember. I do.