This week in unnecessary drama created by the internet is the so-called controversy surrounding the new movie “First Man” (2018) starring Ryan Gosling and Claire Foy, and directed by Damien Chazelle. Stylistically the movie is shot at times with almost uncomfortable levels of claustrophobia. It is solidly written, with stand out performances by the two leads that are sure to be Oscar bait come awards season. Damien Chazelle, who previously wrote and directed “La La Land” (2017) and “Whiplash” (2014) shows both his range and prowess behind the camera. It will surely win multiple awards, especially for its sound design whose judicious use of silence, mechanical noise, and orchestral score are gorgeous and aptly timed with the movie’s major themes.
The grumblings stem from outrage that the film did not show Gosling, who plays Neil Armstrong, planting the American flag once he landed on the moon. Critics find this is un-American, as the space race was another extension of the cold war rivalry between the Soviet Union and the United States.
This is malarkey. The film is not un-American. It is also not pro-American, and that is where the true source of people’s ire lies. It is true that there is no shot of Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin triumphantly planting the stars and stripes on the moon to show the commies who’s boss. However, the flag is pictured in the film, as are American flags on the astronauts’ uniforms. Throughout the film, tensions between the Soviet Union and at home are demonstrated at times in the background. This may, I suspect, show the larger historical context wherein the moon landing occurred. The film spans from 1961 to 1969. It shows the astronauts’ frustration at losing to the Soviets, and their desire to reach the moon first. The late President Kennedy’s speech declaring that the United States would reach the moon in the decade is towards the end of the film (spoiler alert: Armstrong is the first man on the moon. They did it).
“First Man” is not at explosive levels of patriotism. It shows the personal and scientific struggles NASA, the astronauts, and their families endured in the eight years the film takes place. Foy, who plays Janet Armstrong, is exceptional as the quietly tortured yet fierce astronaut’s wife who must preserve calm at home while her husband may perish in a ghastly space accident to leave her widowed and her children orphaned.
It has almost been fifty years since the moon landing. The Soviet Union is dissolved and interest in NASA has waned and increased in the span of this time. Challenger, Apollo 13, the space shuttle and the International Space Station are not pictured, but are no less indebted to the bravery Armstrong and his fellow astronauts displayed when trying to desperately reach the moon.
The film is a character study of a reserved, brilliant and yet highly emotional man. It focuses on his personal growth. Perhaps this is not as flashy as an explosive space adventure a la “Gravity” (2013) or the comedic yet tense real life story of “Apollo 13” (1995) but there is something to be said about a scientific and personal story of a man trying to reach the moon and his wife trying to hold onto her life. The films stars are not American either. Gosling is Canadian and Foy is British (although her accent is flawless). This is not a pro-American movie, neither is it a humanist, multinational celebration of the human spirit. It is a portrait of a man who was an astronaut, who lived in a particular time period and struggled. “First Man” is not propaganda, and it is not drivel. It is an elegant, cerebral film that focuses on a man more than a nation. And to that end, it served the film well.