Review of First Man (2018) by Nj06 — 29 Oct 2018

The movie is slow and introverted, exactly like its subject. At times, it is a bit boring, but for me, the last 30 minutes were worth any pain and boredom. The music is gorgeous and that whole part is at the same time triumphant and heartbreaking.

Those scenes were good enough for me to elevate the whole movie to a superb level. Pure perfection in my opinion. I was particularly moved by the scene when as the whole world is celebrating, Neal Armstrong is reminiscing about his daughter and throwing her bracelet into a moon canyon.

I loved the main character and the way Ryan Gosling captured him. I felt enormous empathy for him, I also loved his quiet heroism (such stark contrast with blowhardery of what we see these days on TV and in movies), his broken soul, and his steadfast consistency.

I will definitely see this movie again. It very much brought back my childhood fascination with the space, moon, Apollo program, etc (more than any other movie about that era, and I have seen them all).

This is a smart and subdued movie, that beautifully encapsulated the colossal challenge and achievement of going to the moon and getting back for the first time.