Nominated For: Best Production Design, Best Visual Effects, Best Sound Editing, and Best Sound Mixing.
Won: Best Visual Effects.
First Man examines the life of astronaut Neil Armstrong in addition to exploring the costs and sacrifices required by the legendary space mission that led him to become the first man to walk on the moon on July 20, 1969.
Blasting off as the follow-up to Damien Chazelle's Academy Award-winning work on La La Land, First Man is the fourth feature from the acclaimed writer-director with a screenplay penned by Josh Singer (writer of Spotlight and The Post). In recent years, Chazelle's emerged out of nowhere and taken Hollywood by storm to become one of my favorite working directors. Sufficed to say, Whiplash is brilliant and La La Land is one of my favorite films of all time, so I've eagerly anticipated this weekend's launch of First Man, and it didn't disappoint in the slightest. Here, Chazelle reveals himself to be an incredibly versatile filmmaker, and that bodes well for differentiating First Man from other Space Race cinema. Despite being the first film that he didn't have a hand in writing, Chazelle feels completely in control over the array of exceptional artists at his disposal, and everything coalesces into an extraordinary technical tapestry.
Perhaps what is most brilliant about Chazelle's direction though is how he balances the intimate and grandiose nature of space. Rocket launches are claustrophobic and chaotic as the camera remains inside the spacecraft rather than showing the audience cinematic shots of the rocket exterior. This technique not only immerses viewers by limiting their perspective to the confines of the craft but also underscoring the imminent feeling of danger astronauts experienced. Chazelle compounds the unease felt by the crew by following them as they board and focusing on the spacecraft instruments and rickety vibrations of the vessel. It's belabored that these early spaceships were little more than a bucket of bolts. Knowledge of failed missions resulting in the deaths of other astronauts only adds to the intensity.
Meanwhile, First Man is well-crafted from the bottom-up thanks to Chazelle's crew of frequent collaborators! The space sequences were absolutely breathtaking thanks to Justin Hurwitz's outstanding orchestrations, Linus Sandgren's stunning cinematography, and an indistinguishable blend of practical effects and CGI. Of course, I'd be remiss to ignore the fine artistry from editor Tom Cross, production designer Nathan Crowley, and the team of sound designers.
Despite the overarching objective of landing on the moon, First Man remains firmly grounded in fleshing out Neil Armstrong's family life as well, and these personal details prove to be just as imperative to the story as any of the space expeditions Armstrong partook in. While these scenes could have easily become irrelevant or cliché in lesser hands, Singer and Chazelle ensure each moment spent in the Armstrong homestead is heartfelt, touching, or otherwise genuinely tragic in addition to contributing to Armstrong's journey towards becoming an American hero.
Elsewhere, I found it fascinating how Chazelle and Singer acknowledged that Armstrong and NASA were under intense scrutiny by the press, general public, and Congress for their space ventures prior to the moon landing. I'd previously never heard of this or thought much about it for that matter. It seemed like it was a given the average citizen would be rooting for NASA to beat the Soviets in the Space Race, but I suppose that wasn't the case.
Leading the expedition, Ryan Gosling reteams with Chazelle to portray Neil Armstrong as an introspective protagonist. He's stoic, and his emotions are internalized, but Gosling expresses so much with so little. It's a subdued performance, but the best performance by a lead actor I've seen all year. Opposite Gosling, Claire Foy is phenomenal as Janet Armstrong, and the two have such raw, realistic chemistry. Rather than be relegated to the simple archetype of a doting wife, Singer ensures Janet has agency in the story in an authentic, meaningful way. Foy then takes that material and runs with it to deliver a show-stopping turn. Filling the ranks of the supporting cast, Jason Clarke, Kyle Chandler, Corey Stoll, and Lukas Haas each fulfill the duties requested of them, though none of their roles are too substantial.
Lastly, it's impossible to avoid mentioning the flag dilemma. Of all the cinematic controversies I've seen, the one surrounding First Man may be the most ridiculous one yet. For those who don't know, when First Man debuted on the festival circuit two months ago, word got out that there wouldn't be a scene dedicated explicitly to Neil Armstrong planting the American flag on the moon. This fact was then wildly misinterpreted and twisted by the media to imply the flag was absent from the film altogether, suggesting that Chazell sought to "rewrite history."
However, that couldn't be further from the truth. First Man is a film which bleeds red, white, and blue. There's an entire scene dedicated to a boy raising the American flag. The flag's shown prominently on equipment, spacesuits, and even appears on the moon no less. You don't see Armstrong physically plant the flag on the moon, but the flag is there. Instead, Chazelle and Singer devote that screentime to something much more relevant to the narrative and more personal to Armstrong. The alternate scene is a touching moment I'd rather not spoil, and the historical accuracy of it may be up-for-debate, but tears welled up in my eyes as I watched because it was so beautiful. The difficulty of this achievement is not understated, and neither is the fact Americans accomplished it, so quit complaining and go out to see this film because it's one of the year's very best as well as one of the most patriotic!
It's still early in awards season, but for now, I am over-the-moon with Chazelle's latest masterpiece and intend on flying my flag for First Man in just about every category. First Man takes one small step for cinematic space-exploration, and one giant leap for cementing Chazelle's position as one of the most exciting filmmakers working today!
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