First Man
First Man is an intimate portrait of the first man to walk on the moon, Neil Armstrong. Intimate is the key to this film. It’s not an epic like The Right Stuff or mission movie like Apollo 13. It’s a film about how Neil Armstrong felt being an astronaut.
We really don’t get into his head though. We get up close and personal. The director chooses to frame his subject in close up most all the time. The spectacle around him barely shown. We are in his personal space. We are close in.
I found the film slightly frustrating because of this choice. I wanted spectacle. I wanted a focus on the mission. I wasn’t prepared for the personal. So it rubbed me the wrong way. I was bothered, but that is me. The movie is good. I say watch it again.
3 of 5 stars.
