Movie Review – Project Hail Mary

Some books – some stories – stick with you long after you finish the last page. Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir is one of them. When I found out a year ago they had cast Ryan Gosling as Ryland Grace for the film adaptation, my first thought was, one ticket please. I wasn’t disappointed.

If you’ve not read the book, the story follows school teacher and former scientist Ryland Grace as he is tasked by a global collective of scientists to help save our sun from being destroyed by astrophage – a microscopic alien organism taking the sun’s energy to survive. Grace wakes alone of a spaceship in deep space with no memory of why he is there. His memory slowly returns as the movie progresses, but in the beginning he only remembers that he has to figure out why one star isn’t getting destroyed by the astrophage. And he isn’t alone after all. Another alien species is also investigating why this star is surviving the astrophage. Grace befriends the creature and names him Rocky.

The two become friends and even as Grace finally remembers that he was forced on board the space ship against his will because he wasn’t brave enough to go knowing he would never return home, they find that a bacteria on a nearby planet is the reason that the astrophage isn’t able to replicate in a way that destroys the star. Rocky is able to give Grace additional fuel so he can return home and also saves Grace’s life when they are collecting the bacteria from the planet’s atmosphere at great cost to himself since Rocky needs a far different atmosphere to survive than humans.

The themes of this film run deep, from found family and friendship to different species coming together with a common goal. Ryland Grace has one of the best arcs for a character as he finds it in himself to be selfless. To go from refusing to save the human race to giving up his return trip home to save Rocky’s ship and home planet when he discovers a problem with their plan. The human element here, what makes our lives worth living and saving, is beautifully done and I’ll admit to crying more than once in the theater.

Ryan Gosling puts in such a great performance that he has solidified himself as one of the great actors of his generation. I’ll admit to not being much of a fan of him early on in his career, but he has really grown on me in recent years. He brings out the humor, sadness, and uplifting tones of this film so very well that even though this was released so early in the year, he’s going to be in the Best Actor conversation come awards season.

The filmmakers employed practical effects when it comes to Rocky, an alien rock creature who required animatronics and some puppetry. This character is so endearing and so embodies the childlike unconditional love that gives us our humanity that it’s hard to not immediately love him. The filmmakers managed to give this character made of rock with no facial expressions more liveliness and feeling than any CGI I’ve seen in recent memory, and it really is an impressive fete.

Visually, this film is really something to watch. Inside the ship are computers and a laboratory surrounding Ryland Grace in sharp edges, just like the boundaries he puts around himself. Outside, however, is a beautifully rendered version of deep space that is immersive and expansive. These two things juxtaposed go right along with Ryland Grace’s arc as a character. His adventure into space makes him realize that there are larger things than himself and in that he finds the bravery that he thought he lacked.

And, lastly, the costume department deserves so much credit for giving Ryland Grace such a memorable wardrobe. His cardigans and t-shirts throughout the film show as much of his personality as the script does. What great work there, and if Amazon doesn’t offer up some of these to purchase, it’ll be one of the worst marketing fails ever.

5 out of 5 stars. Damn near perfect film and adaptation of a near perfect book.