Directed by Damien Chazelle (La La Land; Whiplash) and starring Ryan Gosling (Blue Valentine; La La Land; The Notebook; Blade Runner 2049; The Place Beyond the Pines), Claire Foy (The Crown; The Girl in the Spider's Web; The Lady in the Van), Kyle Chandler (Super 8; Manchester by the Sea; Argo; The Wolf of Wall Street) and Corey Stoll (Midnight in Paris; Ant-Man; The Bourne Legacy; Café Society).
Biopic; 141 mins; 12+
Based on ther true story of Neil Armstrong (Ryan Gosling), the first man to set foot on the moon on 20 July 1968, and the legendary Apollo space mission that got him, Buzz Aldrin (Corey Stoll ) and Michael Collins to the moon and back.
The storyline look at the lead-up to the historic occasion, and the mission itself, from the his perspective and that of his family, particularly his wife Janet (Claire Foy). It explores the sacrifices and costs of both the USA as a nation and of Armstrong himself and his family, durng what is now considered to be one of the most dangerous of all missions in the history of space travel.
Along with other astronauts, some of which were civilians including Armstrong but most of which were from the US Air Force, including Ed White (Jason Clarke) and Deke Slayton (Kyle Chandler), Neil Armstrong displayed his tenacity and scientific excellence in simulators and in real-life situations while on mission. He put himself in pole position to not only be on the three-man mission but to be its commander and become the first person to set foot on the surface of the moon. He also had to play the role of politician when presenting the case of the NASA programme to Congress and beat the Russians to the moon's surface.
This is a human story rather than a space story. Yes, there are certainly numerous space-related scenes, including the iconic moment when he steps onto the moon's surface and utters those immortal words, and also the riveting scenes of the shuddering capsule when escaping and entering atmosphere which were gripping to say the very least, but it is much more the story of the person and his family. It deals with the emotional highs and lows, both in space and on the ground, and also how it affected Neil Armstrong emotionally and psychologically, with the scenes trying to press the case of space exploration funding to Congress some of the most memorable - for the right reasons.
The dated look - of the costumes and make-up / hair styling, the building and offices, the home and interiors, together with the graining applied in post-production, all combine to create a semblance of a fly-on-the-wall documentary set in the 1960s. This is what sets the film apart.
