By Jim Reed/SMN

On Jan. 3, the Tybee Post Theater begins a three-day run of Oscar-winning Best Director (for 2016′s retro-nouveau romantic musical “La La Land”) Damien Chazelle’s latest motion picture — and his second to star Ryan Gosling — “First Man,” a biopic of astronaut Neil Armstrong that focuses on his early days as a test pilot and the preparations for his historic 1969 Apollo 11 moon mission. The film has won near-universal praise for its execution and for the performances of both Gosling (as Armstrong) and Claire Foy (as the astronaut’s first wife Janet).

Variety Magazine said of the lengthy (141-minute) film that it was “so revelatory in its realism, so gritty in its physicality, that it becomes a drama of thrillingly hellbent danger and obsession.” By all accounts, it’s a picture whose scope and subject matter demand that it be seen in a true theatrical environment, which makes the cozy, 200-seat Tybee Post a wonderful spot to catch the picture. The film, which was released in October, has grossed over $100 million to date at the box office. 7 p.m. showtimes Jan. 3-5, with a 3 p.m. matinee Jan. 5.