The first thing I did after watching “First Man” was to frantically search for heartily smiling pictures of Neil Armstrong . Did that man ever smile from the heart? And after watching Damien Chazelle’s ‘First Man’, I could look deeper into those silent, not so amused eyes of Neil Armstrong holding his astronaut helmet , posing before the large backdrop of Moon.

First Man is a Biopic very different from the typical movies of it’s genre, not celebratory neither inspirational. It’s an extremely personal account of an astronaut and his tragedies who in spite of having never wanted to be in the limelight ended up becoming the first man of the major astronomical accomplishment of mankind. A man who just couldn’t recover from the loss of his beloved 2 years old daughter and went to the moon as an escape from his pain and a man who witnessed loss of lives of his colleagues , his friends ,over obsession of one nation for reaching the moon before its rival ,USSR.

You need to have gone through some personal tragedy, some loss, to fully appreciate ‘First Man’ otherwise it could be little underwhelming to sit through a 2 hrs 14 mints movie of a protagonist who is not so easy to love let alone to live with. It’s not another larger than life space exploration story, there are no elaborate space shots, no fancy, seducing space crafts. Chazelle wisely or maturely or being a minimalist filmmaker never drags a single chapter of his life , like the whole death sequence of his daughter, or the preparations for space mission or the political scenario or the celebrations of first steps on the moon instead he chooses to bring forth the very essence of characters i.e. what they are made of. Like when a group of interviewers ask Neil that whether his daughter’s death would have any effect on his journey to the moon; and he answers that it would be unreasonable to assume that it won’t have some effect. That’s Neil Armstrong for you, a man of few words, no nonsense yet who faces the difficulties with integrity or Janet Armstrong whose life is not easy to have lost her infant daughter and practically raising her boys alone both emotionally and physically yet she demands her husband’s accountability to talk with his boys before leaving for the space mission and explain to them that they might not see him again or the extrovert, not-so-politically correct Buzz Aldrin who intervenes the press conference on sensing Neil not being very comfortable and answers their questions with his charm.

Ryan Gosling gives a performance with great control and restraint as stoic and poignant Armstrong, a man incapable of showing his emotions. Ryan Gosling with his poker face is perfect for playing a man whose only escape from his daughter’s death is outer space, whose achievement has come at the cost of many lives. In one of the best moments of the film where Neil is confronting his sons about his journey ahead and ends up explaining them the technical aspects of a space exploration instead of pouring his heart out. His is so far from the real emotions that he ends the conversation by repeating his statement from the press conference, “Does anyone have anymore questions.” One has to catch the slight blinking of eyes, stealing eye contact or twitch of lips to notice Gosling’s mannerisms of performing that character. Clair Foy brings drama, anxiety , emotions and strength to the table. She has more scope of acting out there and she does surpasses Gosling with her portrayal of emotionally struggling spouse of a man who craved normal life but ended up making sacrifices for her husband and nation’s obsession of stepping on the moon before the world. A special mention to the casting of Corey Stoll as Buzz Aldrin. He has an uncanny resemblance to Aldrin and brings little humor and sassiness to the otherwise heavily melancholic world.

Unlike his other two movies ‘Whiplash’ and “La La Land” ,the soundtrack of ‘First Man’ acts as the part of Neil’s journey both physical and emotional and his memories of his happier, simpler times with his wife. The music uplifts the visuals what we are watching on screen and plays with our anxiety, fear and sense of achievement. The soundtrack of ‘The Landing’ with its slowly rising crescendo sounds like the final act of some orchestra.