«First Man: The First Man on the Moon,» Armstrong, the Alien

Cinema Wednesdays - Thierry Fivaz

On July 21, the United States will celebrate a special jubilee: Neil Armstrong's first steps on the moon. A historic epic that Damien Chazelle has decided to bring to the screen. But at a time when science-fiction cinema is tending to trivialize space flight.., First Man reminds us that reality is still light-years away from fiction. All the more so for the feat accomplished by the astronauts of the Apollo 11 mission.

With First Man, Damien Chazelle (Whiplash, La La Land) delivers a particularly astonishing film—in more ways than one. By choosing to adapt the biography of the American astronaut (First Man: The Life of Neil A. Armstrong (by James R. Hansen, 2005), Chazelle has a dream scenario here. For among the many feats accomplished by humankind, walk on the moon has a unique flavor. A major milestone in the conquest of space, this feat exemplifies both human ingenuity and the courage of a few men. But who exactly are these space explorers, these madmen, these heroes? And how does one prepare for such a journey? These are all questions that First Man tries to answer.

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Flying Cans

In the midst of the Cold War, just as the USSR seemed to be outpacing the United States in the space race, the success of the Apollo 11 mission finally allowed the Americans to pull ahead of their Soviet rival. But the price paid to set foot on the moon had serious consequences, and that is what he emphasizes First Man. Highlighting the numerous casualties as well as the accidents, Chazelle takes pleasure in showing that the technologies deployed by NASA at the time were still in their infancy and archaic (as illustrated by the numerous shots of the onboard instruments with their needles swinging all over the place). By highlighting the precariousness and fragility of the resources at their disposal, First Man allows us to gauge the extent of the success in landing such cans.

Among the film’s most striking scenes, the lunar module’s landing on the Moon and the first steps on the Moon remain particularly intense. Amid deafening silence and polished imagery, Chazelle shows us (by omitting the raising of the American flag) which many witnessed with amazement on July 20, 1969. The feat is fascinating because it highlights the insignificance of humanity.

A dreamy character

And since you don't change a winning team, it's up to Ryan Gosling (La La Land, Blade Runner 2049) to whom Chazelle entrusts the daunting task of playing the lead role: that of Neil Armstrong. Wearing a buttoned-up plaid shirt, the engineer’s look suits Gosling perfectly and illustrates once again that the actor doesn’t hesitate to step outside his comfort zone. But beyond appearances, the character he plays is particularly complex—a complexity that Gosling also manages to convey.

For while the success of the Apollo 11 mission brought Armstrong worldwide fame for the rest of his life, another event marked—and perhaps even more so—his existence: the tragic loss of his daughter Karen, who was three years old at the time. It was a horrific event from which, it seems, Armstrong never fully recovered. No wonder, then, that First Man begins with this particularly painful episode for the Armstrongs. The pain is so intense that one wonders if it might be the reason for the detachment displayed by the astronaut, who, like a superhuman, remains calm as a rock in all circumstances.

Reserved, laconic, but not necessarily cold, Armstrong is focused on his mission. So, when, at a press conference the night before launch, reporters asked the three astronauts (Armstrong, Aldrin, and Collins) what they would like to take with them to the moon, Aldrin replied that he would like to take a piece of jewelry belonging to his wife. Armstrong, for his part, replied coolly that he would like to take more fuel. While this may seem like a mere anecdote, it sheds some light on the famous astronaut’s personality.

The First Man and His Woman

It is evident from First Man A strange feeling. Although Chazelle uses numerous point-of-view shots—giving us a sense of «what it feels like» (which is particularly unsettling) to be crammed into a spacecraft—it’s impossible to identify with Armstrong. And the director knows it. Too brave, too calm, too distant, too detached—the astronaut is a sort of alien in whom we can’t recognize ourselves at all. A Commander Spock—in appearance only—who watches his colleagues and friends die one after another, yet refuses to give up. In short, Chazelle’s camera shows us what Armstrong sees, even if it can’t truly capture who he is. Because the astronaut is somewhere else.

It’s no surprise that the director places such a strong emphasis on the relationship between Neil Armstrong and his wife Janet (Claire Foy). Resigned to the idea of making her husband give up his dreams of space, Janet is the only member of the couple we can understand and with whom we can still identify. And the astronaut’s wife displays extraordinary strength. Having already lost a child, she must come to terms with the possibility of losing the man she loves—an extraordinary man whom life may have already broken and who, as a result, fears nothing, not even death.

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Photo credit: © Universal Pictures