First Man: Neil Armstrong’s Odyssey!

This movie is a very different one than Director Damien Chazelle's two prior films, "Whiplash" and "La La Land."  The screenplay, written by Josh Singer ("Spotlight"), is adapted from the book of the same name by James R. Hanson.  Neil Armstrong (Ryan Gosling) is a happy family man, married to Janet (Claire Foy).  They have a son and a daughter.  Unfortunately, their two-year-old daughter dies from cancer.  Neil can't face the pain of this loss and closes off emotionally.  He gets picked for the Gemini program because he's a great test pilot with an engineering background, and does well in that program, which also serves to distract him from the loss.  He is then chosen for the Apollo program. If you've ever wondered what it would be like to be an astronaut, this film is for you!  One really gets a visceral experience of what it's like to be riding in a space capsule and the view one has from space, thanks to cinematographer Linus Sandgren.  These astronauts are either nuts or the bravest people who ever lived – it's really dangerous and scary up there!  Things go wrong plenty of times, and, if you panic, you're toast!  The film reveals how miraculous it was to be able to get a man to and from the moon and all the technical obstacles the team of engineering geniuses needed to overcome.  The wives had no day-at-the-beach either, wondering if their husband would make it home or not during each mission.  The scene where Neil gets to walk on the moon and say his now-famous quote, "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind" is a majestic one. Although a very good film, it was slow at times and didn't have the emotional depth that would have taken it to another level.  The movie needs to be seen on the BS to get the feeling of what's it's like to be in a rocket and the awesome views from space.  At least for a while, when I look at the moon, I'll think of Neil.