Anya Silver Arts Award - First Man Review

First Man is a biopic about the astronaut, Neil Armstrong who was the first man to walk on the moon. Although the film is always building up to when Armstrong finally sets foot on the moon there is also a lot of back story about the main character’s personal life.

The side of the film about Neil Armstrong’s family life made me feel sorry for him because he had a lot of sadness and worry to deal with.   His daughter, Karen died from cancer when she was only a small child and going into space meant he might die too.  The film shows how Armstrong had to carry this with him and how he managed his emotions by being very serious most of the time.

One of the things that I thought was sad about the film was how we got to see a lot from Armstrong’s point of view, especially when he is either training or in space. Seeing from his view point makes the audience feel how claustrophobic it must be being strapped into a small capsule. One scene that was very effective shows Armstrong in a training session floating down in a parachute. It is all from his point of view looking down at the ground until his descent suddenly picks up speed and the film cuts to a tracking shot of him hurtling towards, and the hitting, the ground really hard.

Another scene that I found memorable is where three other astronauts die in a simulation exercise. The three men are strapped into a dark capsule when a small fire breaks out. The fire grows really quickly and the film cuts to outside the capsule which is a large brightly lit room. It is very shocking because the audience realise the astronauts are dying in the training capsule without actually be shown what’s happening. 

The use of sound is was also very effective. There is silence at the start of the film which begins with the Universal Studio logo and then near the end of the film when the astronauts are in space and when they are on the moon.

At the end of the film you would expect lots more POV shots. There is one as Armstrong steps off the ladder onto the moon, but mostly it is God’s eye shots of Armstrong’s face through his space helmet visor. He cries as he throws his daughter’s bracelet into a crater. I thought it was surprising because you would have expected to see him planting an American flag.

Although the film does feel a bit long at times overall I thought it was a good representation of history because it shows an important historical event in a very personal way.