History Film / FirstMan

* DeadpanSnarker: When asked at an Apollo 11 pre-launch press conference what he would like to take to the moon (after Buzz Aldrin gives a sentimental crowd-pleasing answer) Neil remarks if he had a choice he'd take "more fuel". Subverted because, while it sounds like a snarky response, he actually meant it.

* TheEngineer: Neil's profession as an engineer is a major focus and one of the reasons he's chosen to be an astronaut. One of the military pilot candidates refers to him as an "egghead," which sounds amusingly odd given that the audience has already seen him as an AcePilot.

* AFatherToHisMen: Deke Slayton, one of the original Mercury Seven astronauts, deeply cares for the Gemini and Apollo crews. He is nearly brought to tears when going over the "worst case scenario" brief for Apollo 11. Incidentally, Slayton was the only one of the Mercury Seven who, at that time, had not gone into space. He was diagnosed with erratic heart rhythm shortly before his own space flight and was grounded. He finally did go into space in 1975 as part of the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project.

* HappilyEverBefore: The film ends on a hopeful note, showing that Neil and Janet's marriage remains strong despite the incredible stress his career put on the family. In real life, the marriage was on tenuous ground and the two eventually divorced[[note]]In retrospectives, family and friends noted that that the two had difficulty relating to one another (in part, due to Neil's taciturn nature) and that Neil had a tendency to take Janet for granted (such as leaving her in charge of managing their farm while he went off to do more glamorous business work)[[/note]].

* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Buzz Aldrin is insensitive and arrogant, but he's still competent and charismatic, and he and Neil get along long enough to get to the moon together.

* OutlivingOnesOffspring: The film opens with the death of Armstrong's daughter, Karen, from a brain tumor.

* TheStoic: Not only are most of the pilots stoic (particularly Neil, who was famously quiet and enigmatic in real life), but their wives are as well, even during funerals ([[JustifiedTrope justified]] by Janet when she mentions that she and Neil got "good" at attending funerals do to a number of pilot deaths in previous years). When Janet finally sees Neil in quarantine after he comes back from the mission, she hardly changes expression.

The movie is stylistically unique in how precise it is with the visual and audio depiction of spaceflight, there are no broader establishing shots of any aircraft or spacecraft in flight but instead stays inside the cockpit or with inferred "cameras" mounted on the outside. A rocket liftoff is depicted in RealTime from [[[[POVCam viewpoint of the crew]] with only audio cues and what can be glimpsed through the windows.

* AcePilot: The Gemini and Apollo astronauts certainly count. In the opening scene, Neil takes an X-15 to the edge of the atmosphere and avoids bouncing off into space.

** While Neil really did head over to the West crater off the mission plan, it's speculation that he might have [[spoiler:left anything in it, let alone any of Karen's possessions]]. No-one else in the astronaut program has confirmed this, and his list of personal items taken to the moon is under seal until 2020. Other astronauts did leave personal items on the Moon.

* BrickJoke: A [[BlackComedy dark one]], as it turns out. At a press conference, the astronauts are asked what else they'd like to take to the Moon, and Armstrong answers "More fuel". The Lunar Module almost ran out of fuel during the landing.[[note]]The intended landing area turned out to be scattered with boulders, so Armstrong had to take manual control and fly further downrange until they found a clear patch of ground. The descent engine had less than 30 seconds worth of fuel remaining when they finally landed.[[/note]]

* DeathOfAChild: As in real life. Neil's very young daughter dies of brain cancer early on in the film.

* TheEngineer: Neil's profession and one of the reasons he's chosen to be an astronaut. One of the military pilot candidates refers to him as an "egghead," which sounds amusingly odd given that the audience has already seen him as an AcePilot.

* NervesOfSteel: You don't get to become an astronaut unless you are absolutely cool under pressure, as Armstrong demonstrates multiple times.

* AdultFear:
** The film opens with the death of Armstrong's daughter, Karen, from a brain tumor.
** The dangerous nature of Neil's work, and the resulting strain that the possibility of his death places on his relationship with his wife and family, is a theme that runs throughout the movie.

** The film gives the impression that the American public opinion was against strongly against the Apollo program. While there was a vocal segment of the population who felt it was a waste of money, the American public was overwhelmingly ''in support'' of the mission.

** The film gives the impression that the American public opinion was against strongly against the Apollo program. While there was a vocal segment of the population who felt it was a waste of money, the American population was overwhelmingly ''in support'' of the mission.

''First Man'' is a 2018 {{biopic}} film about the [[TitleDrop first man]] to walk on the moon, UsefulNotes/NeilArmstrong, starring Creator/RyanGosling as Armstrong, with Creator/ClaireFoy, Creator/CoreyStoll, Creator/PabloSchreiber and Creator/JasonClarke. The film was directed by Creator/DamienChazelle, who previously directed ''Film/{{Whiplash}}'' and ''Film/LaLaLand''.

!!''First Man'' contains examples of:

--> '''Janet:''' What are the chances that you're not coming back?

** While Neil really did head over to the West crater off the mission plan, it's speculation that he might have [[spoiler:left anything in it, let alone any of Karen's possessions]]. No one else in the astronaut program has confirmed this, and his list of personal items taken to the moon is under seal until 2020. Other astronauts did leave personal items on the Moon.

--> '''Neil:''' We need to fail down here, so we don't fail up there.

--> '''Mission Control: '''Gemini 8, can we get a status update?
--> '''Neil:''' [''Busy writing out a course correction''] No. Got too much to do.

* AFatherToHisMen: Deke Slayton, one of the original Mercury Seven astronauts, deeply cares for the Gemini and Apollo crews. He is nearly brought to tears when going over the "worst case scenario" brief for Apollo 11.
** Incidentally, Slayton was the only one of the Mercury Seven who, at that time, had not gone into space. He was diagnosed with erratic heart rhythm shortly before his own space flight and was grounded. He finally did go into space in 1975 as part of the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project.

** Neil and Janet Armstrong, mostly, despite the stress of the astronaut training. In real life, they would divorce in 1994

--> '''Dave Scott:''' Neil, we're in a bank.

->''"That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind."''

* HeroOfAnotherStory: Chuck Yeager and Gus Grissom (''Film/TheRightStuff''), and Jim Lovell (''Film/Apollo13'') have essentially cameos here. Deke Slayton, on the other hand, has prominent roles in all three of these films.

''First Man'' is a 2018 {{biopic}} film about the [[TitleDrop first man]] to walk on the moon, Neil Armstrong, starring Creator/RyanGosling as Armstrong, with Creator/ClaireFoy, Creator/CoreyStoll, Creator/PabloSchreiber and Creator/JasonClarke. The film was directed by Creator/DamienChazelle, who previously directed ''Film/{{Whiplash}}'' and ''Film/LaLaLand''.

* AspectRatioSwitch: The movie mostly uses Widescreen 2.39:1, as director Creator/DamienChazelle shot the movie in a mixture of celluloid formats. These include 35mm 2-perf Techniscope, 3-perf Super 35, Super 16mm, and Creator/{{IMAX}} 15-perf 70mm. The latter is used for the scenes on the moon with its taller aspect ratio of 1.43:1, but protected for 1.90:1 for Digital IMAX and 2.39:1. The UsefulNotes/BluRay and UHD Blu-ray releases both show the moon scenes in 16:9, filling the whole TV.

* AspectRatioSwitch: The movie mostly uses Widescreen 2.39:1, as director Creator/DamienChazelle shot the movie in a mixture of celluloid formats. These include 35mm 2-perf Techniscope, 3-perf Super 35, Super 16mm, and Creator/{{IMAX}} 15-perf 70mm. The latter is used for the scenes on the moon with its taller aspect ratio of 1.43:1, but protected for 2.39:1. The UsefulNotes/BluRay and UHD Blu-ray releases both show the moon scenes in 16:9, filling the whole TV.

* SoundtrackDissonance: The unveiling of the iconic Saturn V rocket that would later Apollo 11 to the moon is juxtaposed with a black activist performing the protest song "Whitey's on the Moon". There really wasn't much fanfare in real life, as the program was coming under fire for its financial (and human) costs and wasn't vindicated until after the moon landing.