First Man

(M) ★★★★★

Director: Damien Chazelle.

Cast: Ryan Gosling, Claire Foy, Jason Clarke, Kyle Chandler, Corey Stoll, Ciarán Hinds, Christopher Abbott, Patrick Fugit, Lukas Haas.

Unnoticed, the pen moved into attack position.

We all know who the first man on the moon was, but who was he really? And most people know how he got to the moon, but how did he really get there?

These are the two questions at the heart of this historical biopic. Not only are they interesting questions and well worth asking, but it's kind of a forehead-slapper that they haven't been asked before on the big screen. Neil Armstrong was part of the one of the most amazing - if not the most amazing - feats of the 20th century, yet his personal story has somehow remained untold, at least cinematically speaking.

That story, as shown here, is fascinating, and Chazelle's documentary-style delivery, aided by stunning performances from Gosling and Foy, makes for emotional, powerful, and gripping viewing.

Based on the only authorised Neil Armstrong biography (James R. Hansen's First Man: The Life of Neil A. Armstrong), the film follows the astronaut through some of the key moments in his life and the space program in the eight years preceding his famous moonwalk.

Over this time period, we see the losses that shape Armstrong, the true cost of the US Government's lunar efforts, and the personal impacts the quest to reach the moon has on Armstrong, his family, and the families of the astronauts around them.

First Man, as much as it's about one giant leap for mankind, is very much about the many small steps men and women had to take to get there. And with Armstrong front and centre, we see the path he takes on the way to the moon. Much of this revolves around he and his first wife Janet (Foy).

It's this personal point of view that makes First Man so riveting. Armstrong is a complicated man, and the film is at great pains to show him as a distracted but caring family man, as well as a dedicated but driven astronaut. The possibility of painting him as one-dimensional is avoided by a well-rounded script and a stellar performance from Gosling. He portrays Armstrong as a very restrained and reserved man, yet not devoid of passion or power. It's a wonderfully complex role, beautifully rendered by Gosling.

He's equally matched by Foy, who does a lot of the emotional heavy-lifting in the film. Her performance is worthy of many nominations, as it helps give heart to a story that could have easily become a clinical exploration of the Gemini and Apollo programs.

They head a top-shelf cast - shoutouts in particular to Clarke and Stoll, with the latter getting good laughs at Buzz Aldrin - but as much as this is Gosling and Foy's show, it's Chazelle that deserves the bulk of the credit. On the back of the remarkable one-two jazz combo of Whiplash and La La Land, he has aimed for the heavens and scored a rare hat-trick.

His doco style, filled with shaky cams and POV shots, perfectly places the audience in the thick of it. He selectively uses his big moments, ensuring we don't get a good look at a launch until the whole world is watching on for Apollo 11.

His use of natural-looking light and different visual styles - a washed-out polaroid look for backyard summers, the darkness of a cockpit in space - helps with his sense of biopic realism. While he plays typically lose with some facts and timing of events, Chazelle keeps the pace of the film flowing beautifully, building to a jaw-dropping crescendo, which is awe-inspiring even though we all know where this thing is going.

As with his previous films, Chazelle and his crew nail every aspect of the film-making; from its editing to its production design to its use of music to its lighting to its cinematography. But all of this is in service of a remarkable story that actually succeeds in making one of the most phenomenally huge projects look decidedly small and human, which is why First Man resonates so deeply.