“Director Damien Chazelle puts us inside the cramped lunar module with Apollo 11’s Neil Armstrong (Ryan Gosling) and Buzz Aldrin (Corey Stoll), as the spindly spacecraft hurtles towards the crater-pocked surface in what appears to be an imminent crash. Red computer lights are flashing danger warnings that the astronauts have chosen to ignore.
“First Man finds its beating heart in Claire Foy’s emphatic portrayal of Janet Armstrong, the long-suffering spouse Neil left to raise their two young sons as he trained to roam the cosmos. There’s a real “Oscar moment” in a scene where Janet demands that Neil tell his sons Rick (Luke Winters) and Mark (Connor Blodgett) that the moon mission he’s about to embark on is fraught with danger and that he might not be coming home.
“Chazelle never lets us forget that this is a movie about the moon: his camera frequently tilts skywards, as composer Justin Hurwitz’s score envelopes the action in a dreamy aura. “ - The Toronto Star
Printer-friendly version
