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ItsPennAgain t1_j6oenu5 wrote

Am I crazy? I’ve never heard any controversy with the final scene… most people just talk about elephant feces, the golden shower or how much drug-fuelled hedonism is on display.

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Financial_Wind2675 t1_j6oobl9 wrote

I personally hated the final montage. Felt like he wanted a big finish like La La land but missed all the right notes. Which is surprising because First Man’s final moments have such restraint and great direction.

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OneManFreakShow t1_j6p5vtq wrote

First Man is such a beautiful movie. It's such a tonal shift from Chazelle's other films and it's better for it. It's cold, but not in an isolating way. It really feels like a good reflection of what must have been going through Armstrong's head at the time - having just lost his daughter and then training for a world-changing mission.

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MartinScorsese t1_j6ofmvb wrote

I think some folks eye-rolled at the final scene since it's a little schmaltzy.

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OneManFreakShow t1_j6p5fif wrote

I loved the movie but I think the ending is laughable and just misses the point of the rest of the movie. Chazelle described Babylon as "a hate letter to Hollywood," and the entire movie reflects that, up until that ending. It's a very strange way to end the movie that's about Hollywood ruining and killing its talent throughout the decades. Aside from the tonal issues, I just thought it was cheesy. It's like something I'd watch on YouTube and say "Oh, neat" about and never think of again. It's just very odd all around.

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GoDucks71 t1_j6ogwcy wrote

i didn't think that final montage was controversial, just arrogant. To me, it was the director trying to tell us that his movie should be considered a classic, like many of those he included in the montage. For me it put a This Is Not A Great Movie exclamation mark on the proceedings. Of course, we already knew the director thought he had made a classic when we saw that it was going to run over 3 hours. Maybe it would have been better if he had eliminated half the movie....maybe.

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ItsPennAgain t1_j6omcuf wrote

Well I meant controversial as in people liked it or didn’t — and judging by your response I guess that’s true.

I personally liked it a lot, and felt it wrapped up the movie celebrating cinema as it was doing throughout the film, but I can understand your opinion on it.

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TacticalTuchel t1_j6oscdc wrote

Maybe. I thought it was a way of showing, somewhat abstractly, how the little man played a role in all of these classic movies, seen through the eyes of Manny who was helped create some of the fictional movies (I think) that started the montage off. Maybe this article says something different. I haven't read it. It was definitely the weakest part of the movie imo, seeing it twice.

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