Directed by: Damien Chazelle

Written by: Josh Singer (screenplay); James R. Hansen (book based on)

Starring: Ryan Gosling, Claire Foy, Jason Clarke, Kyle Chandler, Corey Stoll, Ciaran Hinds, Christopher Abbott, Patrick Fugit, and Lukas Haas

Studio: Universal Studios; DreamWorks Pictures; 2.39:1

Exploring the sacrifices and costs of the Nation and Neil himself, during one of the most dangerous missions in the history of space travel. A look at the life of the astronaut, Neil Armstrong, and the legendary space mission that led him to become the first man to walk on the Moon on July 20, 1969.

Coming off his Academy Award win for Best Director for La La Land, Damien Chazelle returns right where he left off. Chazelle tells the historic story the only way Damien Chazelle can. Quick cuts, flashy images, and amazing imagery. They’re his elements, his style, and his vision, and it works out to perfection in First Man.

Damien Chazelle is very handy when it comes to quick cuts, knows where to have them placed and knows just how quick they have to be. Chazelle brings back editor Tom Cross — who teamed up with Chazelle in Whiplash and La La Land — and together put on the best quick cuts since Whiplash.

Chazelle also includes his flashy images, that being lots of images appearing at a fast rate to build up the tension. Chazelle best uses it in Whiplash, and here, he incorporates it with test objectives, rocket ships flying, etc.

It’s not a Damien Chazelle film without some amazing imagery! As a visionary storyteller, you would want to make the audience take in a frame that’s worth saying a lot without saying much. Damien Chazelle does exactly that. Many shots where there’s little to no dialogue, a lot is said through the imagery. An example would be Neil looking up to the moon and the shot stays on the moon for quite some time. The anticipation of the mission to the moon is building up without much being said. There’s more to it than just that example but it would fall into spoilers.

An aspect that could fall in with Chazelle’s imagery is him giving the audience the character’s point of view. There are shots in First Man where it is from Neil’s perspective and it comes across as natural as it can be. Most of the shots focus in movements of which Neil is controlling. It’s a good way to put the audience in the situation and giving the suspense.

Chazelle also works well with sound specifics. A scene could come off with very high tension with the score building and then everything will go quietly in an instant. Other scenes would use little to no sound and still have the same amount of suspense as it would with the sound. Chazelle plays with the sound and makes it work to his advantage.

The performances were all top notch, no one had a bad performance or phoned it in. The ones who shine the brightest are Ryan Gosling and Claire Foy. Foy portrays Neil’s wife, Janet, and she brings in her all here. Through Neil’s hard work, Janet is worried about her husband. Foy did an amazing job capturing the emotion, the heart, and anxiety superbly and nailed it scene after scene.

Ryan Gosling, as well, put on an amazing portrayal of an emotional workaholic mess that was Neil Armstrong. He’s always tired, always working, and never has the time to sit and relax. Much like his performance in Blade Runner 2049, sometimes his best scenes are the ones that don’t include dialogue. Gosling does his best work with his facial expression and body language. Many scenes where it involves his body to shake, he gives out the performance through the movement while also showing the expression he’s going through. It works very well and Gosling masters at it.

The film’s visuals are out of this world (pun intended, go ahead and boo)! A visually stunning look of earth from outer space, the sun is this bright star in the dark, and the rocket ships flying in space as if they filmed it up there. It’s an unbelievable experience watching it on the big screen and taking it all in.

Technical specifics are good. The film is well paced, telling the story in a time span to get everything in. Even when there’s nothing going on, there’s something going on. The film does not miss a beat with the pacing. The editing is fantastic, edited as a Damien Chazelle film would be edited. The sound mixing is incredible, a lot of effort put in by the sound department to capture Chazelle’s way of sound. The production design is very 60s aesthetic, the set designs, the clothing, etc., are all amazing.

The film’s score by Justin Hurwitz is often blissful and often thrilling depending on what the scene is going through. Hurwitz also re-teams with Chazelle as they worked together in Whiplash and La La Land. The score is very elegant and goes with the tone of the film. The cinematography by Linus Sandgren is visually appealing, not one bad looking shot. Wide shots of rockets, fire, interior shots, etc., all look spectacular!

First Man is not like most biopics. This film feels so much more than just a biopic. It’s a work of art, crafted by some of the most amazing talents ever. Damien Chazelle, Ryan Gosling, Claire Foy, everyone put in their all to deliver one of, if not the BEST, biopics ever to be put on screen. The atmosphere, the tension, the presence of this film is something else and must be experienced. Saying that the film is beautiful is an understatement!

In the end, First Man is astonishing, brought together by the best talent in the industry. Damien Chazelle pieced together a triumphant, striking, captivating film to be talked about for years to come. Not many days audiences get to see a biopic with so much effort put into it. The performances from the two leads are big and powerful. The crafting of the film is remarkable! Visually appealing, inspirational, and all around compelling.

100/100