First Man (2018 dir. by Damien Chazelle)
A 2018 biographical drama film based on the 2005 book First Man: The Life of Neil A. Armstrong by James R. Hansen. Directed by Damien Chazelle, written by Josh Singer, and executive produced by Steven Spielberg, the film stars Ryan Gosling as Neil Armstrong and follows the years leading up to the Apollo 11 mission in 1969. The film also stars Claire Foy, Jason Clarke, Kyle Chandler, Corey Stoll, Christopher Abbott, and CIarán Hinds in major roles, all of them portraying real-life figures of course.
The film was originally purchased by Clint Eastwood way back in 2003, which shows the journey this film took to come to fruition. Made on a $70 million budget, I was actually quite surprised that this film earned the money all back at the box office - $105.7 million in total. Maybe because the life of Neil Armstrong has been told before and has been known for quite some time. It's kind of boring at this point to hear about the Apollo 11 mission to the moon, since I have heard so much about it all my life. Thanks to a Dad very interested in all things astrophysics, etc. A life about Neil Armstrong just seemed quite boring.
The movie turned out to be very boring. Very well-acted. Very well-made. But really, really boring. I just think I expect my movies about space exploration to be a bit more showy and exciting. Foy and Gosling gave extremely real and competent performances. But nothing that really wowed me. Chazelle's direction of the film might be the best aspect of the film itself. The film is skillfully and carefully crafted, but that is sort of the issue with the film. On all ends, it delivers what it is supposed to. But the movie was always set up to deliver something underwhelming. Because the story is underwhelming. Because we know it and have heard it 1000 times.
The movie released to critical acclaim and a lot of positive attention. Many years-end lists. 112 Award nominations in total, including two Golden Globe noms and four Academy Award noms, winning one of the latter for Best Visual Effects. Like I said, the best aspects of the film lie in the production quality, sound, and visual effects. Of course, there was a lot of controversy over the decision to omit the planting of the American flag on the moon. From both major US political parties. Good lord. Our country is disastrous. The movie was also criticized for factual errors.
Sorry to any fans, but this film just really underwhelmed me and has been saved a thousand times at this point. So it's a fair cut it seems.
SAVING: Midsommar
