First Man (film)

This article is about the 2018 biopic about Neil Armstrong. For the 2011 film, see The First Man (film).

First Man
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Damien Chazelle
Screenplay by	Josh Singer
Based on	First Man: The Life of Neil A. Armstrong by James R. Hansen
Produced by	Wyck Godfrey Marty Bowen Isaac Klausner Damien Chazelle
Starring	Ryan Gosling Claire Foy Jason Clarke Kyle Chandler Corey Stoll Christopher Abbott Ciarán Hinds
Cinematography	Linus Sandgren
Edited by	Tom Cross
Music by	Justin Hurwitz
Production company	Universal Pictures Amblin Entertainment DreamWorks Pictures Temple Hill Entertainment Phantasma
Distributed by	Universal Pictures
Release date	August 29, 2018 (2018-08-29) (Venice) October 12, 2018 (2018-10-12) (United States)
Running time	141 minutes
Language	English
Country	United States
Budget	$70 million (gross) $59 million (net)
Box office	$105.7 million

First Man is a 2018 American biographical drama film directed by Damien Chazelle and written by Josh Singer. Based on the 2005 book First Man: The Life of Neil A. Armstrong by James R. Hansen, the film stars Ryan Gosling as Neil Armstrong, alongside Claire Foy, Jason Clarke, Kyle Chandler, Corey Stoll, Christopher Abbott, and Ciarán Hinds, and follows the years leading up to the Apollo 11 mission to the Moon in 1969. Steven Spielberg notably serves as an executive producer.

The project was originally announced in 2003, with Clint Eastwood slated to direct. After that rendition fell through, Chazelle, Gosling and Singer all signed on by 2015, and principal photography began in Atlanta, Georgia, in November 2017.

The film opened the 2018 Venice Film Festival on August 29, 2018, and was theatrically released in the United States on October 12, 2018, by Universal Pictures. The film received critical praise, particularly regarding the direction, Gosling and Foy's performances, musical score, and the Moon landing sequence. Before the film's release, the filmmakers' choice not to depict the planting of the U.S. flag on the lunar surface led online conservatives, including the then-President of the United States, to criticize the film for an alleged lack of patriotism.

Despite its positive critical reception, notable cast and crew, and $59 million production budget, the film was considered a box office disappointment, grossing $105 million worldwide. It received numerous accolades, including two nominations at the 76th Golden Globe Awards (winning Best Original Score), ten nominations at the 24th Critics' Choice Awards (winning Best Editing and Best Score), seven nominations at the 72nd British Academy Film Awards, and four nominations at the 91st Academy Awards (winning Best Visual Effects).

Plot

In 1961, NASA test pilot Neil Armstrong is flying the X-15 rocket-powered spaceplane when it inadvertently bounces off the atmosphere. Although he manages to land the plane in the Mojave Desert, his colleagues express concern that his recent record of mishaps is due to distraction.

His 2-year-old daughter, Karen, is undergoing treatment for a brain tumor. Desperate to save her, Armstrong keeps a detailed log of her symptoms and researches possible treatments, but she dies soon afterward. Grief-stricken and suspecting he has been grounded, Armstrong applies for Project Gemini and is accepted to NASA Astronaut Group 2. With his wife Janet, and their son Rick, Armstrong moves to Houston alongside other astronaut families. He befriends Elliot See, another civilian test pilot, and Ed White. As Armstrong begins training, Deke Slayton impresses upon the new astronauts the importance of the Gemini program, as the Soviet Union had reached every milestone in the Space Race ahead of the United States. Armstrong and Janet have a second son, Mark.

In 1965, after the Soviets complete the first extravehicular activity (EVA), Armstrong is informed that he will command Gemini 8, with David Scott as the pilot. Prior to the mission, See and Charles Bassett are killed in a T-38 crash, deepening Armstrong's grief at the string of recent losses. Armstrong and Scott successfully launch on Gemini 8 and dock with the Agena target vehicle, but soon afterward, a malfunction causes the spacecraft to roll at an increasingly dangerous rate. After nearly blacking out, Armstrong activates the RCS thrusters and safely aborts the mission. He initially faces criticism, but NASA determines the crew is not at fault and the mission is rated a "success".

Later, White reveals that he has been selected for the Apollo 1 mission, along with Gus Grissom and Roger Chaffee. During a launch rehearsal test on January 27, 1967, a fire kills White and the Apollo 1 crew. Armstrong learns the news while representing NASA at the White House. The next year, after Armstrong ejects from the Lunar Landing Research Vehicle in an accident that could have killed him, Slayton informs Armstrong that he has been selected to command Apollo 11, which will likely attempt the first lunar landing. As the mission nears, Neil becomes increasingly preoccupied and emotionally distant from his family. Prior to the launch, Janet confronts Armstrong about the possibility that he might not survive the flight and insists that he explain the risks of the mission to their young sons. After telling them about the risks he faces, Armstrong says goodbye to his family.

Three days after launch, Apollo 11 enters lunar orbit. Armstrong and Aldrin undock in the Lunar Module Eagle and begin the landing. The landing site terrain turns out to be much rougher than expected, forcing Armstrong to take manual control of the spacecraft. He lands Eagle successfully at an alternative site with less than 30 seconds of fuel remaining. After setting foot on the Moon, Armstrong utters his famous line, "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." Later he drops Karen's bracelet into Little West crater. With their mission complete, the astronauts return home and are placed in quarantine, where they watch footage of John F. Kennedy's 1962 speech "We choose to go to the Moon" on television, and Armstrong and Janet share a moment of tenderness.

Cast

• Ryan Gosling as Neil Armstrong, the astronaut who became the first person to walk on the Moon during Apollo 11.
• Claire Foy as Janet Armstrong, Neil's first wife.
• Jason Clarke as Ed White, Neil's friend and neighbor, the first American to walk in space, who died during a pre-launch test for Apollo 1, which was to be the first crewed Apollo mission.
• Kyle Chandler as Deke Slayton, one of the original Mercury Seven astronauts, who became NASA's first Chief of the Astronaut Office.
• Corey Stoll as Buzz Aldrin, the second person to walk on the Moon during Apollo 11, and also pilot for Gemini 12.
• Patrick Fugit as Elliot See, partnered with Armstrong as backup crew for Gemini 5. Chosen for command on Gemini 9, See was killed in 1966 when his NASA trainer jet crashed in St. Louis, where he was training for that mission.
• Christopher Abbott as Dave Scott, who flew with Armstrong on the Gemini 8 mission.
• Ciarán Hinds as Bob Gilruth, the first director of NASA's Manned Spacecraft Center.
• Olivia Hamilton as Pat White, Ed's wife.
• Pablo Schreiber as Jim Lovell, Gemini astronaut and backup commander on Armstrong's Apollo 11 mission.
• Shea Whigham as Gus Grissom, one of the original Mercury Seven astronauts. He was killed during a pre-launch test for Apollo 1, which was to be the first crewed Apollo mission.
• Shawn Eric Jones as Wally Schirra, the first astronaut to go into space three times, and the only astronaut to have flown in the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo programs.
• Lukas Haas as Mike Collins, the Command Module Pilot for Apollo 11, who also flew on Gemini 10.
• Ethan Embry as Pete Conrad, Pilot of Gemini 5 and backup commander for Gemini 8.
• Brian d'Arcy James as Joe Walker, Armstrong's fellow X-15 test pilot who became the seventh person in space by taking that plane into space twice.
• Cory Michael Smith as Roger Chaffee, capsule communicator for the Gemini 3 and Gemini 4 missions, and the third crew member who was killed with Grissom and White in the Apollo 1 pre-launch test.
• Kris Swanberg as Marilyn See, Elliot's wife.
• Skyler Bible as Richard F. Gordon Jr., astronaut, the backup pilot for Neil Armstrong during the Gemini 8 mission.
• Gavin Warren as Rick Armstrong, Neil Armstrong's son.
• Leon Bridges as Gil Scott-Heron

Production

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Soundtrack

Main article: First Man (soundtrack)

The musical score for First Man was composed by Justin Hurwitz. The score was performed by a 94-piece orchestra, with instruments such as the electronic theremin and Moog synthesizer, as well as vintage sound-altering machines including Leslie speakers and an Echoplex, in order to balance vintage and electronic sounds. The score album released on October 12, 2018, by Back Lot Music and received praise from critics, especially for its balance of softer melodic passages and powerful themes.

Release

The film had its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival on August 29, 2018. It screened at the Telluride Film Festival on August 31, 2018, and at the Toronto International Film Festival in IMAX at the Ontario Place Cinesphere on September 9, 2018. It was theatrically released in the United States on October 12, 2018 by Universal Pictures.

Reception

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See also

• Apollo 11 in popular culture
• The Right Stuff, a 1983 docudrama film about the U.S. side of the Cold War Space Race.
• Apollo 13, a 1995 docudrama film about the 1970 Apollo 13 disaster.
• From the Earth to the Moon, a 1998 docudrama mini-series based on the Apollo missions.
• Magnificent Desolation: Walking on the Moon 3D, 2005 documentary about the 12 Apollo astronauts who walked on the Moon.
• Gagarin: First in Space, a 2013 docudrama film about the first human spaceflight, undertaken by Yuri Gagarin.
• Spacewalk, a 2017 docudrama film about Alexei Leonov's historic first spacewalk in 1965.
• Salyut 7, a 2017 docudrama film about the 1985 rescue of Soviet space station Salyut 7

External links

• Template:IMDb
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• [TBA First Man] at History vs. Hollywood

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