When watching the film First Man, something shocked me. While most films about America’s first expeditions into space place elevated importance on the grander story of the space race or about America’s developing space program, this film took its focus in a different direction. The main difference the plot underwent is that in the movie First Man, the focus was from the viewpoint of Armstrong and his ability to cope with the death of his daughter. This unorthodox focus is fostered while juxtaposing Armstrong’s life struggles with working to get to space with the other astronauts such as Buzz Aldrin. It seemed that by framing the focus of the film in this manner, the movie captured a more relatable experience for the viewer, one which I definitely appreciated.

In my view, the movie elicited a previously nonexistent appreciation for the mortal life concerns that I never knew existed for such a heroic figure in American history as Neil Armstrong. Without this film, I would only have seen him in the version of the mythological man who made it first to space for America during the space race. I hope that anyone who does not already have an understanding of the personal life struggles Neil Armstrong had watches the film First Man by Damien Chazelle.