Screen Dragon: First Man – Guildford Odeon

Published on: 20 Oct, 2018
Updated on: 20 Oct, 2018

Ryan Gosling stars as Neil Armstrong in the space drama First Man

By Dennis Harvey-Hepherd

I have been waiting for this film since it was first announced because the subject, Neil Armstrong, was one of my boyhood heroes. I booked for the first day, but an unforeseeable circumstance prevented my getting to see it.

On the second occasion, the gridlocked town centre delayed the bus service so much that I gave up and returned home.

Third time lucky then. Made it!

Was it worth the effort?

Heaving a great sigh of relief, I can report it most certainly was.

This film is a biography of Armstrong and his family from the birth of his first child to his return from the moon.

The story is skilfully crafted and gives a good insight into the stress of family life when one member is involved in a dangerous occupation.

A lot of the focus is therefore on the lives of Neil’s wife, Janet, and their three children. There is also focus on Neil’s second family, the cadre of astronauts on the Gemini and Apollo missions.

We see an interesting movement in Neil’s priorities between these families over time and the effects this has on the other people involved.

The training for the eventual moon mission is created with stunning effects and skilful tension building.

I was quite familiar with his story, especially the major steps on his lunar journey, but the director still managed to raise my heartbeat and relief over and over again.

By the end of the film, I felt choked up, exhausted and exhilarated, all at the same time.

I think this film is fully deserving of the 5 stars I am giving it.

I hope you agree.