"Focusing more on the personal traumas unleashed on the test pilot/astronauts involved in the space race, First Man is an at times perplexing blend of dark drama and breathtaking spectacle.
Gosling is subdued and muted as he come to terms with his daughters death by throwing himself into his work to take a man to the moon at the potent cost of his family life.
Dull eyes and monotone inflection riddle every stern sentence half mumbled, perhaps to touch on the unhealthy way of dealing with trauma, but instead comes across as distant and cold but never overcome.
Maybe that's the point, the numerous funerals of deceased pilot friends as wives look on statue like and taut makes you wonder, as one reporter asks in the film, if it's all worth it.
Well, the space scenes are a view to behold. Never before has it felt so visceral, claustrophobic, and dangerous; there is genuine suspense dripping from every shot outside the earth's atmosphere.
The eerie calm of the landing is a poignant finale before the return to earth and reality, a closing shot of husband and wife staring through quarantine glass an uncomfortable reminder of the sacrifice in search of exploration"
- 6/10
No comments:
Post a Comment