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Review of First Man (Justin Hurwitz)
FILMTRACKS RECOMMENDS:
Buy it... only if you connected with Justin Hurwitz's mostly
ambient, introspective score in context and are therefore prepared for
the somber and sparse atmosphere he brings to the film's highly personal
drama.
Avoid it... if you expect the score to raise the dramatic appeal of the film, the music instead serving in a secondary role as an underplayed bystander outside of a few fully symphonic cues of a derivative nature.
FILMTRACKS EDITORIAL REVIEW:
First Man: (Justin Hurwitz) Despite all the heroic
accolades bestowed upon American astronaut Neil Armstrong, the man's
personal life was not at peace during his years of space travel. The
2018 movie First Man examines Armstrong's inner demons during the
period of his life leading up to the famed Apollo 11 mission on which he
became the first man to set foot on the moon. His relationship with his
wife was never the warmest (the two would eventually divorce), but the
loss of his two-year-old daughter had the most lasting impact on the man
and, for a while, potentially interfered with his concentration on NASA
missions. At one time a project for Clint Eastwood, First Man was
ultimately directed by Damien Chazelle, and his intense concentration on
Armstrong's personal journey rather than emphasizing the accomplishments
of NASA and America made the movie a target for criticism going all the
way up to Donald J. Trump, who, in trademark ridiculous fashion,
denounced the film by refusing to watch it. While First Man
earned widespread praise from critics, the political backlash may have
yielded the lower-than-expected audience turnout. The intimate character
portion of the film may have proven too intense or dissatisfying for
some viewers, and this personality carries over directly to the score
for the movie by Justin Hurwitz. After the Chazelle and Hurwitz
collaboration on La La Land produced countless awards and
mainstream hype two years earlier, expectations for the relatively
novice composer on the dramatic historical space story were varied.
There was never any consideration that this assignment could compete
with James Horner's genre-defining classic, Apollo 13, despite
similar topics and depictions. But the comparisons are inevitable and,
in some ways, necessary, the composers' approach to the horrors and
stresses of space flight and the risky but rewarding triumph of survival
not automatically demanding unique perspectives. The lack of patriotism
in First Man is overwhelming, NASA itself afforded a persevering
theme but the more momentous material, anchored by two or three
distracting temp-track emulations, fall outside of the dominant
personality of the score. Hurwitz clearly sought to provide a highly
introspective and personal accompaniment for Armstrong and his wife on
this journey, and the results are touching at times, adequate in most
parts, and sadly insufficient in depth for much of it.
The score for First Man is the kind of music that strives for the "less in more" approach, but in a story of a character involved in such major scientific and political events, the score is ultimately carried by the film's other production elements rather than contributing a convincingly deep, evolving layer to the narrative. The sparseness of the music has a certain appeal intellectually, but it also suggests psychosis and detachment from reality that is overplayed. The music needed to connect Armstrong's deep sense of loss, fear of failing his family, and occasional alienation with his determination to succeed at his work, and the score does nothing to achieve that end. The music either wallows in despair or undulates forcefully in its duties on behalf of space travel; there really is nothing in between. There is some satisfying development of character in Hurwitz's handling of his major themes, especially in the final three or four cues, but otherwise a moment of family drama in the score sounds exactly the same at the end as it did in the beginning. An orchestra is employed, but only as means of supplying gravity to the NASA and/or space-oriented moments. The heart of First Man is Hurwitz's slew of vintage synthetic tones, led by theremin (acquired and performed by the composer himself), Moog, Echoplex, and other tools of yesteryear. These items provide a background for the daunting technology and environment of suspense with stereotypical otherworldliness that is rather tired here. The theremin, however, is utilized to connect this foreign world to Armstrong's family, the primary thematic passages of the movie often featuring the instrument as a substitute for a solo vocalist. Fortunately, all the performances of the theremin here are on the soft and subtle end of its sonic spectrum; never does Hurwitz succumb to the temptation to wail away with the instrument in Bernard Herrmann or Danny Elfman zeal. It is joined by a harp to form the dominant duo in expressing the two introverted themes for the Armstrongs. The first of these ideas is the heart of the score melodically, introduced on tender harp in "Karen" and representing Neil Armstrong's feeling of loss towards his daughter and separation from his remaining family. This idea is raised throughout the score in extremely somber, almost inaudible performances and only finally receives more engaging performances as counterpoint in the launch scene and especially on theremin in "Crater" and "Quarantine." The greater depth of the idea heard in "Crater" is something of a catharsis for Armstrong, though the music remains quite restrained in even this passage. Even in the family theme for First Man, nagging similarities to existing works persist. In "Crater," don't be surprised if the theme reveals itself to be a pale leftover from the far more powerful melody of "Who Will Take My Dreams Away?" by Angelo Badalamenti for The City of Lost Children. One notable sidetrack in the path of this theme is "Docking Waltz," which places the idea in a Richard Strauss-like 2001: A Space Odyssey environment for strings and woodwinds that is so awkwardly removed from the remainder of the score that it is actually quite obnoxious. The second theme for First Man highlights harp and involves Armstrong's own perseverance, introduced in "Armstrong Cabin" and extending similarly to "Sextant" before driving the cyclical rhythm of "The Landing," where its inspiration from Trevor Jones, Philip Glass, and Max Richter becomes more apparent. A third theme in the score is afforded to NASA and the astronauts' preparation for missions. The most notable performances of this idea are its two brightest and most optimistic: "Houston," where the sprightly rhythm is joined by enthusiastic percussion, and "End Credits," where the proper melody of the identity is expressed the fuller symphonic shades. An almost cool electric bass riff opening this cue is heard elsewhere in the theme's performances, as in "First to Dock." The other standalone thematic presence in First Man exists for the gripping "Apollo 11 Launch" sequence, in which the score's melodies clash with a slow crescendo of progressions seemingly informed by John Powell's United 93. The synthetic effects of this cue are unnecessary sweeteners that sound like a desperate attempt by the composer to insert the dangers of space into a sequence that Horner proved was served quite adequately by more tonal expressions. Mixed in between all these moments of interest are a slew of short cues of synthetic ambience that add little to the narrative, yielding a rather arduous 68-minute presentation on album. Some of these passages, as in "X-15" right off the bat, resemble the buzzing of insects in a most irritating fashion. Combined with two songs in the presentation on album, the score for First Man is basically sufficient and occasionally inspiring. But the drama of this tale demanded a more potent, less ambient score. Not the nobility of Apollo 13, but something in between. The greater empathy conveyed in "Crater" would have been a good starting point for the work. In the end, First Man serves its purpose at a bare minimum of depth and with occasionally suspect inspiration, and that outcome will suffice for many, but the ingredients in this score could have conveyed so much more. ***
TRACK LISTINGS:
Total Time: 68:15
NOTES & QUOTES:
The insert includes a list of performers but no extra information about the score or film.
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