First Man

Right now you can watch First Man in Australia on Amazon Prime Video, and in the UK on Amazon Prime Video — and it holds up to as much attention as you give it. It knows exactly what kind of film it is from the opening scene, and never loses that thread. 5,705 viewers have already rated it on TMDB — the kind of consensus that does not happen by accident. Ryan Gosling leads a cast that never overplays its hand. Start it on Amazon Prime Video whenever you need something guaranteed to land.

First Man is not trying to be everything to everyone, and that focus is exactly what makes it work. The writing in First Man treats its characters as people first, plot devices second. A look at the life of the astronaut, Neil Armstrong, and the legendary space mission that led him to become the first man to walk on the Moon on July 20, 1969. The performances from Ryan Gosling and Claire Foy give it more weight than the premise alone would suggest. It hit screens in 2018. The performances in First Man do a lot of work in the silences between the dialogue. There is real craft here, even in the moments that do not fully land.

For anyone looking for storytelling that takes its characters seriously, First Man delivers. It has built its own audience without needing a direct comparison. A contained runtime means every scene is doing real work. Ryan Gosling is the centre of it, and it is one of their strongest performances on record. The patience it asks of you early on is paid back with interest.