Project Hail Mary Movie Review:
JRR Tolkien, author of The Lord of the Rings, once said, “Human stories are practically about one thing: death.” By that, I don’t think the author of a classic ‘good vs evil’ fantasy story means that stories are, at a thematic level, morbid ruminations. Full of whimsy, magic, and hope, Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings stories follow an unlikely group of friends teaming up to fight against what seems to be insurmountable evil, an embodiment of death’s finality. Yes, sometimes it can feel like everything is about to end. But that doesn’t mean we have to accept it, mirror the feeling of oblivion we are presented with, or even strive against it alone. In many ways, Project Hail Mary resurrects this philosophy of optimism through a modern adventure.
Director: Phil Lord and Christopher Miller
Cast: Ryan Gosling, Sandra Hüller, James Ortiz
Based on Andy Weir’s (author of The Martian) novel of the same name, Project Hail Mary adapts everything great about the adventure genre through a hard science fiction lens: from a grand sweeping odyssey (interstellar travel), teaming up with an unlikely ally (alien buddy), learning the courage to be selfless, and figuring out how to save home (Earth). A microscopic organism named astrophage is infecting our sun, which could lead to a catastrophic ice age and end life on Earth as we know it. High school teacher Ryland Grace (Ryan Gosling) is sent to a star light-years away to figure out how to stop this sun-eating micro-organism, only to meet an alien (who looks like, and is appropriately named, Rocky) there to save his home planet as well. Like any hard sci-fi, Project Hail Mary has to navigate a sea of logical questions, and it answers them all without resorting to infodumping. Why would they send a school teacher on such an important mission? How is light-speed travel possible? Does the astrophage have believable properties? How is Rocky different from the countless other aliens we’ve seen on screen? The film excels at beautifully unraveling its several layers of exposition without overwhelming us. While Grace teams up with Rocky to solve the riddle of the astrophage, we are shown flashes of all that transpired on Earth leading up to the events in space. Even though it is a celebration of simple, old-fashioned ideals, the biggest strength of Project Hail Mary is that it is the exact opposite of cinematic conveniences, going out of its way to impose several restrictions on itself. For everything that goes right for the characters, there are three more problems presented. Take the immensely affable Rocky; the film could have benefitted from making him a cute Star Wars-esque creature. But no, he is an arachnid who looks like a rock. Rocky is also from a planet with different atmospheric pressure and composition, so he cannot directly interact with Grace, further complicating things. But that is exactly the beauty of first-contact stories. It shows how you can become friends with a four-legged sentient rock, set aside your (planet-sized) differences, and work on world-ending problems.
Ryan Gosling anchors the film, portraying Grace’s vulnerability, weakness, empathy, and courage with grace. On the other hand, Sandra Huller effectively embodies the impending doom and humanity's insurmountable will to survive against all odds. Her character, Eva Stratt, could have easily fallen into the stereotype of the hardened leader who has to make the tough decisions, a personification of the trolley problem. Hüller shows that the strength to make tough decisions can also come from deep empathy. Directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, along with cinematographer Greig Fraser, craft one of the most visually stunning science fiction films. Starkly different from recent science fiction films like Interstellar and the Dune films, Project Hail Mary opts for a vibrant colour pattern. It is the exact opposite of cosmic nihilism. The astrophage might be killing our sun, but it doesn’t mean it can’t take your breath away with how magnificent it looks.
As cheesy as it might sound, the heart of Project Hail Mary is love, and how the ultimate act of heroism is the willingness to sacrifice oneself for the ones they love. Grace is the exact opposite of a valiant hero. The most poignant and surprising part of the film is when we find out he didn’t willingly join the mission to sacrifice himself. But, as he bonds with Rocky, the friendship reminds Grace of everything he cares about. Everything, including the children he taught at school, the friends he made working on the mission centre on Earth, and his home planet itself, might perish if the sun dies. Project Hail Mary leaves a warm feeling in you because it presents its core message, even if it might sound cheesy or old-fashioned, with conviction. Like Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings, Project Hail Mary reminds us that stories of heroes fighting the inevitability of death don’t necessarily have to be gloomy. Maybe hope and optimism are cool after all.