First Man: The Depiction of an American Hero [REVIEW]

Hollywood producers are masters in shaping heroes. This is visible on several blockbusters that helped to shape American society in the 20th century.

That’s very much the case of “First Man”, a 2018 production that tells the story of Neil Armstrong – the first human to step on the moon, in 1969.

However, by telling this story to an audience that was not even close to being alive during the Cold War, and therefore couldn’t see the neurotic power races, the director Damien Chazelle was able to create a story with fewer flags and more particular drama.

Neil (Ryan Gosling) is portrayed apathetically, as someone who suffered from the events that life imposed on him. He found on work a way of taking ‘a small step for a man, and a giant leap for mankind’ (do I need to quote the author ?).

The script, however, was not that elaborated and seemed to be too simplified. The eight-year cut, where the story takes place, it’s too big. Some very dramatic events that could have lead to create more empathy with the character end up not being used.

Janet Armstrong’s (Claire Foy) role on the film could have been much more important in creating ‘bridge’ between Neil’s work and private life. In the end,

In terms of the cinematography, however, it is very well-done a production.

The scenes on Earth portray a calm suburban life. They also express some of the common problems that happened to families during that time.

The space shots, however, gave emotion and an understanding of how big was his work. The camera shakes and the viewer enters into the despair of someone being catapulted off the earth. Space takes to make some references to “2001”.

The heroic ending, of the great challenge, is wasted with the scenes back home. The beauty of the movie might have been that it ended on the Moon.