First Man throws us immediately into the cockpit with Neil Armstrong (Gosling) and his fellow test pilots as they break record after record, hurtling beyond the stratosphere in shaky metal prototypes that can barely take the strain. Each time they take off they risk death, which bonds them in a camaraderie that can be both noble and steely. At home, Armstrong maintains the taciturn logic that keeps him alive as a pilot, but it tears at his relationship with his wife, Janet (Claire Foy), and sons. When he's called on with Buzz Aldrin (Corey Stoll) and Mike Collins (Lukas Haas) to join NASA's Apollo 11 mission to the moon, Armstrong bears down for what might be the ultimate glory… or the ultimate sacrifice.

Academy Award-winning screenwriter Josh Singer (Spotlight) adapted James R. Hansen's book about Armstrong, and gets the texture of his world and details of his character spot on. Chazelle takes that material and makes it viscerally cinematic, keeping the camera close and often using natural light. With Gosling, Foy, and the rest of the cast working at the top of their game, First Man inspires real awe at this story of heroism that is epic, majestic, and true.

FIRST MAN contains a sequence of flashing lights which might affect customers who are susceptible to photosensitive epilepsy.