New ‘First Man’ Trailer Debuts As Oscar Buzz Blasts Off After Venice Premiere

Hot off the heels of world premiering at the Venice Film Festival, as well as debuting on this side of the pond at Telluride and Toronto, “First Man” is shaping up to be a bona fide Best Picture contender this Oscar season. Described as an “often spectacular and satisfyingly old-fashioned epic” in our Venice review, “First Man” has received mostly effusive praise for the performances of Ryan Gosling and Claire Foy, Justin Horowitz’s score, and, of course, Damien Chazelle’s assured direction.

READ MORE: Damien Chazelle’s ‘First Man’ Is An Immaculately Crafted, Old-Fashioned Epic [Venice Review]

Although, it hasn’t been all loving words and speculation over the statues that it’ll walk away with. “First Man” elicited controversy for its decision to eschew a scene depicting Neil Armstrong planting the American flag on the moon. Chazelle has gone on record defending his decision to not include the flag planting, with the support of Armstrong’s sons.

READ MORE: Relax, ‘First Man’ DOES Have American Flags And Isn’t A “Falsification Of History”

Despite the controversy, word-of-mouth surrounding “First Man” suggests the film will have strong awards traction. Ryan Gosling is said to perfectly embody the taciturn Armstrong, as the film ciphers the voyage to the moon as a metaphor for his difficulty processing the difficult feelings his circumstances leave him. Gosling is a master communicator of deeply internalized feeling, as evidenced in last year’s “Blade Runner 2049.” At his side is Claire Foy, said to push beyond the “wife stuck at home” trope in her role as Janet Armstrong, imbuing her with a great agency.

READ MORE: 55 Must-See Films: The 2018 Fall Movie Preview

At the center of it all is Chazelle, synthesizing all of the elements into one acclaimed whole. Those lucky enough to have seen the film say that “First Man” is the display of a filmmaker working at the height of his powers, orchestrating a piece bound for accolades across a wide breadth of categories.

For those who can’t see it at a film festival, “First Man” blasts off on October 12th. Until then, enjoy the new trailer below:

Check out all our coverage from the 2018 Venice Film Festival here.