Ryan Gosling has been in his fair share of critically acclaimed movies, but in what is utterly baffling to me, one of his best movies is constantly forgotten for the masterpiece that it is: First Man. Thankfully, with First Man now streaming on Netflix in the US, perhaps people can remember just how good this movie is.
Based on the book First Man: The Life of Neil A. Armstrong by James R. Hansen, written by Josh Singer (Spotlight) and directed by Damien Chazelle (following up his Best Director Oscar for La La Land), First Man tells the story of astronaut Neil Armstrong as he prepares for the historic Apollo 11 mission. In addition to Gosling the movie stars Claire Foy, Jason Clarke, Kyle Chandler, Corey Stoll and more.
Though First Man was "Certified Fresh" upon its release, with popular critic Leonard Matlin calling it a "must-see movie," it wasn't a box office hit. The movie made $44.9 million at the US box office when it had a reported budget of $59 million. Surprisingly, considering it is a story of an American icon, the movie performed better outside of the US, earning $60.7 million at the international box office. Then when it came time for the Oscars, the movie was surprisingly overlooked in all of the major categories, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor for Gosling and Best Supporting Actress for Foy, though it received a handful of nominations for its sound and production design and won for Best Visual Effects.
When I saw First Man in movie theaters I was absolutely blown away. Chazelle's recreation of NASA's test was fantastic to watch, but it was all capped off by the amazing sequence of the moon landing. It's not an easy task to portray something that we all know the outcome of and infuse it with real drama, but Chazelle managed to do that incredibly well as he puts viewers inside the spacecraft with Armstrong and Aldrin as they descend toward the lunar surface.
As for the performances, it was a very internalized performance from Gosling, but he was great portraying both Armstrong's determination as well as the pain he had to deal with at home while his family mourned a loss. Foy, meanwhile, may give the standout performance as Janet Armstrong, unafraid to challenge her husband or the men at NASA.
I'm left asking myself why First Man has failed to garner the respect that I think it deserves?
I can't help but wonder if part of it is the La La Land effect. Chazelle's previous movie (also one of the best movies on Netflix right now) with Gosling has been hailed as one of the best movie musicals of the century (rightly so), won a plethora of Oscars, including Best Director, which made Chazelle the youngest in history to claim that prize. Of course, there was the whole Best Picture snafu with Moonlight, but that doesn't take away from what La La Land achieved. All of that could have impacted how First Man was received.
La La Land was so effervescent and entertaining (though also with its moments of sadness) that for Chazelle and Gosling to go immediately to a much more somber movie in First Man may have left many cold. And to be sure, it's not an easy movie, but we should see that as a plus. It was a showcase of Chazelle and Gosling's range of talent that they could go from a brightly-colored musical to an intense historical drama.
Gosling of course has continued to star in acclaimed movies post First Man, earning another Oscar nomination for Barbie and strong praise for The Fall Guy. While we all clearly love Gosling when he is charismatic like in those movies, let's not forget how good he can be with heavy dramatic material.
Chazelle has had a bit harder of a go with it. Though First Man hasn't stayed in the public consciousness, it at least was well-received by most. His follow-up, Babylon, got hit harder, officially being labeled as "Rotten" on Rotten Tomatoes (though I loved it, as I make the case in my Babylon review).
Hopefully, as time has passed and people get a second look at First Man on Netflix, more will see just how good this movie truly is. Watch the trailer directly below:
