--- title: "First Man" year: 2018 kind: "film" canonical: "https://film.one/film/first-man" fi1m_score: 80 critics_score: 77 critics_reviews: 27 published: "2026-09-17T08:56:32.869221+00:00" updated: "2026-09-18T08:38:43.773964+00:00" region: "US" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # First Man (2018) Directed by Damien Chazelle · 2h 21m · MPA PG-13 · History, Drama **Fi1m score: 80** · Critics 77 from 27 reviews *In a sentence:* We would like those spacecraft checked once more before anyone gets in > *First Man* is a gripping account of spaceflight, led by Ryan Gosling and Claire Foy, that makes the risks painfully immediate. Its insistence on explaining Neil Armstrong through grief is the one substantial frustration. ## Synopsis Neil Armstrong (Ryan Gosling) is a test pilot whose work is taking him towards the American space programme and a possible journey to the Moon. At home, he and his wife, Janet Shearon (Claire Foy), grieve for their daughter. A test flight nearly fails, making the risks of his profession immediate rather than theoretical. Ed White (Jason Clarke) is among the men sharing the demands of the programme. Neil wants to carry on with the work, but his reserve leaves Janet struggling to reach him as the couple face the prospect of further loss. ## Review Damien Chazelle approaches *First Man* with a useful suspicion of how reassuring a familiar achievement can become. Neil Armstrong’s story is easy to reduce to courage, competence and a destination; this film spends its time on the danger of the work and the difficulty of living alongside someone committed to it. We recommend it, with a reservation about how insistently it explains its central man through grief. The flights are gruelling, and the domestic scenes make clear how much his work asks of the family. The near-disastrous test flight frightened us, because the confined space leaves so little room between a pilot and the machinery on which his life depends. Linus Sandgren’s cinematography makes us feel boxed in, denying us a comfortable distance from the danger. Tom Cross gives the flight sequences an urgent, unsettled rhythm while preserving the sense of people trying to do precise work. The tension comes from having to concentrate when everything around them feels threatening. Familiarity with the history offers surprisingly little comfort. Nathan Crowley’s production design helps by making the spacecraft feel like working spaces with barely enough room for the people operating them. The cramped machinery earns our attention because it is what the men must trust. Sound makes that trust harder: spaceflight is punishing to listen to, and we never forget the effort involved in keeping these machines under control. Justin Hurwitz’s music supplies some of the tenderness that the central performance keeps contained. It is effective, though it sometimes presses an emotional point that the performances have already made. Ryan Gosling gives Neil Armstrong a reserve that can be mistaken for a lack of feeling, and makes that mistake part of the performance. His concentration is convincing; we understand why this man might be trusted with dangerous work. With Janet Shearon, that same restraint becomes frustrating, because professional steadiness offers limited comfort to a grieving wife. The performance gives us enough to sense the effort of keeping emotion contained. A few of the quieter stretches still feel blank. Claire Foy is essential here, bringing force and impatience to a part that could easily have been confined to worrying at home. She makes Janet Shearon’s need for a response seem reasonable even when the film is absorbed in what her husband has to do. Her impatience stops these scenes becoming a series of respectful looks at a troubled man. The supporting characters receive less room to develop, leaving the marriage to carry most of the film’s personal stakes. The difficulty lies in Josh Singer’s screenplay, which returns to grief so often that it begins to narrow our understanding of its subject. The film gives too little attention to what else might drive this man towards such difficult work. Ryan Gosling can suggest private thought, but he cannot supply all the curiosity and contradictions that the writing leaves unexplored. At 141 minutes, the quieter passages can feel repetitive, despite Tom Cross’s control of the flight sequences. As a space drama, *First Man* is unusually alert to how uncomfortable the work must be, and how much patience it demands before courage gets a chance. It also resists turning the people involved into a collection of speeches about national greatness. That restraint is welcome, even when the private drama leans too heavily on the same explanation. Save it for an evening when being frightened by machinery sounds more appealing than being cheered up. *Fi1m score 80, published 17 September 2026.* ## What the critics say Most critics respond warmly to First Man’s sober, intimate account of Armstrong and the space race. Praise centres on the claustrophobic flight sequences, with sound, cinematography and editing making the machinery feel precarious and the danger immediate. Gosling’s restraint and Foy’s portrayal of shared grief draw frequent approval. The reviews also welcome Chazelle’s attention to personal sacrifice and his avoidance of patriotic self-congratulation. Reservations concern the emotional distance of the central character, slow stretches between missions and supporting relationships that receive too little attention. The spread is wide despite the strongly positive majority: some critics find the grief moving, while others think the film presses it too insistently. The New York Times finds Armstrong’s inner life elusive despite the strong performances; The New Yorker goes further, arguing that the emphasis on repression and sentimentality misrepresents his modesty. Even these dissenters acknowledge the convincing depiction of technical detail or danger. ### Reviews we read (27) - **Empire**, John Nugent (90/100, inferred): The film is a serious, dour study of obsession and ambition that marks a giant leap in Chazelle's cinematic scope. It succeeds through immersive craft, visceral sequences and intimate focus on Armstrong's personal sacrifices, with Gosling and Foy excelling. [Read](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/first-man-review/) - **Sight and Sound**, John Bleasdale (90/100, inferred): The critic praises Chazelle’s elegant, intimate approach that makes the familiar Moon landing story feel fresh, highlighting Gosling’s mature performance as Armstrong and the film’s focus on personal grief alongside technical peril. [Read](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/first-man-first-look-elegant-intimate-epic-about-moon-landing) - **The Hollywood Reporter**, David Rooney (90/100, inferred): Praises the sober, contemplative picture for its emotional involvement, visceral tension, suspense, and stunning technical craft. Singles out the film's refusal to engage in expected jingoistic self-celebration. [Read](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/first-man-venice-2018-1138214/) - **The Times**, Kevin Maher (★★★★☆): The critic calls it a full-bodied space weepie that reconstitutes Armstrong as a man riven with grief, delivering a visually exquisite period drama with an emotional payoff. They single out the ending's image of parental grief as a perfect apotheosis. [Read](https://www.thetimes.com/article/film-review-first-man-f6b0699zr) - **Vulture**, David Edelstein (85/100, inferred): Describes it as laborious yet stupendous, the most grounded space movie ever made. Singles out the intimate focus on family tensions and the exultant silence of the lunar landing. [Read](https://www.vulture.com/2018/10/first-man-review-a-laborious-stupendous-space-movie.html) - **IndieWire**, Michael Nordine (B+): Calls it a thrilling Neil Armstrong biopic that meets sky-high expectations. Highlights the right stuff in Chazelle and Gosling's collaboration. [Read](https://www.indiewire.com/features/general/first-man-review-ryan-gosling-damien-chazelle-venice-1201998370/) - **Radio Times**, Terry Staunton (★★★★): Gosling and Foy deliver magnificent performances in Chazelle’s elegantly drawn, intimate portrait that humanizes Armstrong’s motivations and the couple’s shared grief while balancing personal drama with tense space sequences. [Read](https://www.radiotimes.com/movies/first-man-review-gosling-and-foy-are-magnificent-in-an-elegantly-drawn-portrait-of-the-star-voyager-who-took-that-one-small-step/) - **Time Out**, Joshua Rothkopf (4/5): Chazelle transforms the lunar landing into breathtaking visual poetry through Armstrong’s stoic reserve and internalized grief, creating a provocative statement about pursuing excellence and big dreams rather than flag-waving spectacle. [Read](https://www.timeout.com/movies/first-man) - **Total Film** (80/100, inferred): Chazelle delivers a buttoned-down but authentic account of the space race and Armstrong's story. The blend of kitchen-sink drama and science fact is ambitious and artful, leaving viewers in awe despite its sombre tone. [Read](https://www.gamesradar.com/first-man-review/) - **The AV Club**, A.A. Dowd (B): Notes the film's ambivalence toward American ambition and the space program, praising its portrayal of determination alongside the human costs. Singles out the chilling scene where Armstrong prepares his children for possible death. [Read](https://www.avclub.com/neither-right-nor-left-wing-first-man-plants-its-flag-1829853311) - **Slant Magazine**, Paul O'Callaghan (3/4): Praises the tactile action set pieces that highlight the perils of the space race and the un-jingoistic appraisal. Complains about the script's over-fixation on the death of Armstrong's daughter. [Read](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/first-man/) - **Evening Standard**, Matthew Norman (70/100, inferred): The film is deliberately gruelling and claustrophobic, succeeding brilliantly at conveying the visceral experience of space flight but struggling to engage the heart. It commands admiration more than love through its technical achievements and focus on Armstrong's reserve. [Read](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/first-man-review-ryan-goslings-biopic-finds-the-dark-side-of-neil-armstrong-a3960206.html) - **Los Angeles Times**, Justin Chang (70/100, inferred): The lunar landing sequence is a sublime, technically masterful highlight that evokes awe through visuals and sound design. The film is an idiosyncratic, viscerally intense portrait that thrills and moves through its focus on rupture, sacrifice, and one man's quiet reckoning, though it sometimes over-insists on emotional undercurrents. [Read](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-first-man-review-20181009-story.html) - **Screen Daily** (70/100, inferred): A beautifully made film with an impeccable lead performance from Gosling, though it takes elegant flight but stalls in its extended closing sequences and neglects fuller development of supporting characters. [Read](https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/first-man-venice-review/5132087.article) - **The Guardian**, Mark Kermode (70/100, inferred): The critic describes the film as a sombre, low-key study of grief that turns the space adventure into a moving tale of loss and peril. They single out the empathetic performance by Claire Foy and the technical choices that evoke claustrophobia and isolation. [Read](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2018/oct/14/first-man-review-damien-chazelle-ryan-gosling-claire-foy-apollo-11-neil-armstrong) - **The New Yorker**, Anthony Lane (30/100, inferred): The film captures the otherness and risks of the Apollo missions effectively but fails to convey Neil Armstrong's Midwestern modesty, instead imposing modern emotional repression and sentimentality on him. Gosling's casting and the emphasis on personal grief undermine the historical authenticity of the stoic hero. [Read](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2018/10/15/damien-chazelles-moon-shot-in-first-man) - **The New York Times**, A.O. Scott (30/100, inferred): The critic finds the film a careful, earthbound character study that gets technical details right but falls short of deeper grandeur or meaning. It portrays Armstrong as an enigmatic, diffident figure whose inner life remains elusive despite strong performances. [Read](https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/10/movies/first-man-review-ryan-gosling-damien-chazelle.html) - **HeyUGuys**, Linda Marric (5/5): The critic praises Chazelle's immersive character study of Neil Armstrong's quiet determination amid personal tragedy and the space race, highlighting Gosling and Foy's performances along with Sandgren's evocative cinematography. [Read](https://www.heyuguys.com/first-man-review/) - **Deadline**, Pete Hammond (85/100, inferred): The critic praises Chazelle's versatile direction in tackling the story of Neil Armstrong and the Apollo 11 mission. Gosling delivers a restrained, authentic performance that brings emotional depth to the otherwise sober film, supported by strong technical credits. [Read](https://deadline.com/2018/10/first-man-review-damien-chazelle-ryan-gosling-neil-armstrong-movie-video-1202478825/) - **Eye for Film**, Andrew Robertson (85/100, inferred): The review emphasizes the film's focus on grief, loneliness, and technical precision in depicting spaceflight, commending the direction, sound design, editing, and performances by Gosling and Foy as a compelling portrait beyond mere rockets. [Read](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/first-man-2018-film-review-by-andrew-robertson) - **The Ringer**, Sean Fennessey (85/100, inferred): The review highlights the film's technical magnificence and quiet, restrained approach to portraying Neil Armstrong's stoic dedication, contrasting it with more bombastic space films. [Read](https://www.theringer.com/2018/10/11/movies/first-man-ryan-gosling-damien-chazelle-neil-armstrong-nasa-claire-foy-apollo-missions) - **The Playlist**, Jessica Kiang (B+): The critic lauds the film's immaculate craftsmanship, immersive recreation of the Apollo mission, and Chazelle's command of technique as a grand, classic epic that becomes the definitive moon-landing movie despite its reserved central figure. [Read](https://theplaylist.net/damien-chazelle-first-man-venice-review-20180829/) - **Den of Geek**, Simon Reynolds (4/5): The critic finds it a gripping account of the moon landing that emphasizes the brutal endurance test of space travel and the personal costs, praising the intense practical effects and performances especially Claire Foy, but notes the central character remains enigmatic. [Read](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/first-man-review-giant-leap-or-outer-space-stumble/) - **Polygon**, Matt Patches (80/100, inferred): The film is an immersive, nerve-wracking simulation of spaceflight that excels in its technical and visceral depiction of missions but falters in its handling of the protagonist's personal relationships. [Read](https://www.polygon.com/2018/10/11/17964478/first-man-review/) - **The Wrap**, Alonso Duralde (80/100, inferred): The critic calls the film a haunting, thrilling space saga that reminds viewers of the risks and chaos involved in the moon landing. It stands out for its intimate portrait of Armstrong, visceral depiction of space travel, and impressive technical achievements. [Read](https://www.thewrap.com/first-man-film-review-ryan-gosling-damien-chazelle/) - **Collider**, Matt Goldberg (B): The critic praises the film's immersive portrayal of the dangers and details of space missions but criticizes the distant portrayal of Neil Armstrong himself. [Read](https://collider.com/first-man-review/) - **/Film**, Chris Evangelista (7/10): The review notes strong performances and stunning moon-landing sequences but finds the old-fashioned drama often inert and slow between set pieces, making it a mixed but worthwhile watch. [Read](https://www.slashfilm.com/560869/first-man-review/) ## Details - **Director:** Damien Chazelle - **Director:** Damien Chazelle - **Screenplay:** Josh Singer - **Cinematography:** Linus Sandgren - **Editor:** Tom Cross - **Music:** Justin Hurwitz - **Production design:** Nathan Crowley - **Costume design:** Mary Zophres - **Producer:** Isaac Klausner, Marty Bowen, Damien Chazelle - **Cast:** Ryan Gosling as Neil Armstrong; Claire Foy as Janet Shearon; Jason Clarke as Ed White; Kyle Chandler as Deke Slayton; Corey Stoll as Buzz Aldrin; Patrick Fugit as Elliot See; Christopher Abbott as David Scott; Ciarán Hinds as Robert R. Gilruth - **Runtime:** 2h 21m - **Certificate (MPA):** PG-13 - **Release (the US):** 12 October 2018 - **Genres:** History, Drama - **Budget:** $70 million - **Box office:** $106 million - **Trailer:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TVowQ4LgwLk ## Where to watch in the US - Amazon Prime Video: rent $3.99, uhd - Apple TV: rent $3.99, hd - Apple TV: buy $14.99, hd - Amazon Prime Video: buy $14.99, uhd *Checked 2026-09-17.* Also available in: AE, AR, AT, AU, BE, BG, BR, CA, CH, CL, CO, CZ, DE, DK, EC, EE, ES, FI, FR, GB, GR, HK, HU, ID, IE, IL, IN, IS, IT, JP, KR, LT, MX, MY, NL, NO, NZ, PA, PE, PH, PL, PT, RO, RS, SE, SG, TH, TR, UA, US, VN, ZA. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country. ## Awards - Academy Awards 2019: Best Visual Effects (won) ## If you liked this - *Apollo 13* (1995), Fi1m 84: The practical terror of spaceflight, with more warmth among the people enduring it — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/apollo-13.md) - *The Wages of Fear* (1953), Fi1m 90: Men depend on dangerous machinery, and every small movement becomes difficult to watch — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-wages-of-fear.md) - *The Wind Rises* (2013), Fi1m 77: An engineer’s devotion to flight strains his private life, with consequences beyond it — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-wind-rises.md) - *Solaris* (1972): In space again, with grief even harder to escape and considerably fewer reassurances - *The Straight Story* (1999), Fi1m 88: Another reserved man makes an improbable journey, with considerably less terrifying transport — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-straight-story.md) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/first-man