First Man (2018)

First: this is a beautiful film that really sets a mood. There are segments of humor and real tension as we watch a group grow from military men to those chosen to make history.

But, that mood is one of melancholy and detachment. Because the movie does such a good job of making us see the world through the eyes of Neil Armstrong, I couldn't help but feel somewhat detached from that world. Neil's wife seems not to know her husband at all, and neither do his children, or his neighbors -- who mostly double as his co-workers. It's almost as though he's an alien in the world of vibrant humanity: living with them, but never being one of them.

So, while I admired the skill involved and the story itself, I was left cold.

B