First Man

[alobear]

It's taken us a while to get around to seeing First Man, but I'm glad we did. It was long, measured, understated and thoughtful, a portrait of a man doing extraordinary things, rather than a sensationalist portrayal of those things. I hated the directorial style and the camerawork - way too many extreme closeups and too much unnecessary shaking around and going out of focus. When it worked well was in showing the claustrophobia and incredible stress of being in the capsules - I had forgotten just how small the lunar module was. The film was more a study of grief than anything else, and the strains the loss of a child and a very high-profile and dangerous job would have on a person and their relationships. It was effective in this respect. I thought Ryan Gosling and Claire Foy both gave excellent performances, showing huge depth of emotion without very many external cues. So, not a film I'd want to see again, or in fact one I registered enjoying tremendously as I was watching it, but I was engaged throughout and I think it's grown in my estimation overnight. Oddly subdued, but harbouring quiet power.