Released on Mar. 20, “Project Hail Mary” is a two and a half hour long sci-fi adventure film based on the Andy Weir novel. It follows Dr. Ryland Grace, played by Ryan Gosling, a scientist specializing in molecular cell biology, tasked with saving Earth. The film starts with a bang, throwing audiences right into the action: Grace wakes up from a medically induced coma in a space ship far from Earth with no memories of how, or why he is there. Panic begins to set in as he finds the other two crew members who have died in their sleep.
As his memories come back, Grace remembers the goal of his mission. The Sun is dying from a single-celled organism called Astrophage that eats at the Sun’s energy. Over time, the Astrophage will eventually kill the Sun, bringing upon the end of life on Earth.
The reason Grace and the rest of the crew aboard the Hail Mary had been sent so far from Earth was to reach the planet Tau Ceti. Being 11.9 light years away from Earth, Tau Centi is a star with Astrophage, however its energy is not being depleted. For unknown reasons, the star is able to withstand the Astrophage. The Hail Mary’s mission was to figure out the reason for this resistivity to Astrophage, and send their research back to Earth.
“Project Hail Mary” primarily focuses on Grace’s voyage while on the Hail Mary, a spacecraft, as he comes into contact with an alien. A big focus of the film is Grace’s connection and friendship with an alien, he names “Rocky,” because of his rock-like appearance. At first, Grace avoids contact with the alien, but eventually the two interact, and form a strong bond. Similarly to Grace, Rocky is also the last member of his crew, and was sent to save his planet from Astrophage. There are many buddy-buddy moments that add a comedic element to the film. Yes, a central theme of the film is sacrifice and perseverance, but another is the power friendship can have.
The film also tells the backstory of Grace through a series of vignettes. Originally, Grace was a researcher and published an article arguing life did not require water. He was mocked and ousted for this idea, which led to his becoming a middle school science teacher. However, his unique research was the reason he was scouted for the Hail Mary mission by administrator Eva Stratt. By revealing bits and pieces of who Grace was compared to who he is now, there is a clear development of character that inspires audiences. In order to grow and reach one’s full potential, a person has to be pushed outside their comfort zone.
Directed by Christopher Miller and Phil Lord, what makes “Project Hail Mary” so unique is that it does not use any green or blue screens. Miller said, “The whole ship was built as a set from the inside. We had a huge section of the exterior of the ship on the outside that we built.” The directors both wanted the film to feel more authentic and realistic to audiences. Even the alien, Rocky was created in real life. Rather than use CGI effects, the directors chose to use a puppet, with James Ortiz serving as both puppeteer and voice actor. Although, the directors did clarify that visual effects were used throughout the film in order to create the setting of outer space. For example, shots of planets and exteriors of the ships were created digitally.
The film had a budget of $200 million, but has already grossed $80.5 million domestically and $141 million globally. Critics and audiences are raving about the film and its being praised for its humanity. It is a large scale, Hollywood movie, that focuses on an out of this world problem, but at its heart, “Project Hail Mary” has a much more intimate theme: friendship.
In the vast emptiness of space, the stakes of survival are highlighted, but so is the bond between Grace and Rocky. Even though they are two completely different living beings, the two find a way to understand each other and form a strong connection. It serves as a lesson to audiences to not be so quick to judge someone and give them a chance. You might be surprised with what you learn and the relationship that develops.
