The Right Stuff
Directed by Philip Kaufman
- drama
- history
The story
At the dawn of the Space Race, seven test pilots set out to become the first American astronauts to enter space. However, the road to making history brings momentous challenges.
What it’s like
Wide desert vistas bleached to a hard white glare, blue-black night skies over launch pads, and the scorched orange of rocket exhaust set against cool, dusty interiors of Edwards Air Force Base and the Mercury hangars. Kaufman frames his people in long, unhurried takes, with plenty of space around them, so the restlessness of men who would rather be in the air than in a conference room comes through in their posture. The score swells with brass and patriotic fanfare at key moments but mostly sits in the background, and there is a good deal of rowdy, boozy bar-and-hangar camaraderie with a dry, self-mocking humour. The pacing is leisurely and episodic, running close to three hours, with long stretches of waiting, bureaucratic bickering and quiet preparation punctuated by bursts of flight. The emotional register is wry and warmly nostalgic, with a tender undercurrent about marriage, fear and pride; the arcs follow ambitious men learning what the spotlight costs their families. Intensity is low: there is a fatal crash and some brief, non-graphic peril in the air, but no gore and little violence, and the sexual content is mild. It suits a slow weekend afternoon, a long watch with a drink in hand, or anyone who loves old-fashioned, big-hearted American history and the romance of early flight.
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