Andy Weir, author of the wildly successful novel The Martian, along with co-screenwriter Drew Goddard bring us Project Hail Mary, starring Ryan Gosling and directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller (Spiderman: Into the Spiderverse and 21 Jump Street). Weir’s work is known for its easy-to-digest scientific concepts and his wide-ranging space adventures. Lord and Miller are known for their physical buddy comedies. Together, they gave us a grand, yet approachable, scientific space adventure with physical, tender, comedic relationships.
The story of Project Hail Mary is simple. Dr. Ryland Grace (Gosling) is a middle school science teacher whose dissertation draws the attention of Eva Stratt (Sandra Hüller), a scientist leading the secretive, titular “Project Hail Mary.” Dr. Grace is recruited to help conduct research on space dots that may be eating the Earth’s sun. Through a sequence of events, Dr. Grace is sent on a one-way mission to space to further study the space dots and to hopefully save life on Earth. Along the way, Dr. Grace encounters an alien (Rocky, voiced by puppeteer James Ortiz), who is also trying to save his species.
Just as Dr. Grace shoulders the weight of the world in his mission, Gosling shoulders the weight of cinema in this film. At a time when critics and movie-goers are lamenting the loss of “Movie Stars” as we know and love them, it’s a huge undertaking for an actor to lead a stripped down cast in a high-budget space blockbuster. I’m pleased to report that Gosling is, in fact, a Movie Star to the highest degree. Gosling’s performance reminds us that the key to any great performance is vulnerability and shamelessness. He delivers a physically comedic performance full of tenderness, even when he’s the only living being on screen, or when he’s playing opposite a rock puppet.
This doesn’t come as a surprise, as Gosling’s resume has been leading to this exact moment. We’ve seen him play the heartwrenching Noah in The Notebook, the charming ladies man Jake Palmer in Crazy, Stupid, Love, a seedy banker in The Big Short, a stoic, steady Neil Armstrong in First Man, a loveable (and quite stupid) Ken in Barbie, and a charming, confident stuntman in The Fall Guy. Lord and Miller pulled pieces from each of these performances into Gosling’s portrayal of Dr. Grace, and it’s a miracle to witness. Gosling delivers a hesitant, unlikely hero with none of the usual motivations. He doesn’t have a wife waiting for him, no kids on the way, no dying parents he’s taking care of. He’s just a guy who’s asked to put the survival of the world before his own, and he steps up, even when he isn’t feeling so brave.
The film’s success is simple. It’s a faithful adaptation of the novel, hitting all of the important beats, and matching Weir’s voice, which feels particularly well suited for movies. It gives me hope for the upcoming Artemis adaptation (also directed by Lord and Miller), based on Weir’s 2017 moon heist novel. But the film is also a faithful adaption of great movies. Project Hail Mary takes us back to the basics—it’s an ode to 2001: A Space Odyssey, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, E.T., and Interstellar. So much so that certain sequences in Project Hail Mary felt like watching the cinema montage from Babylon. At one point, I was crying because it made me think about how much I love movies. It’s teeming with practical effects, despite having sweeping space sequences and taking place primarily on a spaceship. It’s a high-stakes story with a likable protagonist, an adorable sidekick, and the propulsion of an old-school (and quite eclectic) score composed by Daniel Pemberton.
Film critics, pundits, podcasters, and casual fans have long declared blockbusters dead. Movies are considered flops if they don’t earn back their budgets on opening weekend. Moviegoers are blaming everyone from directors to movie stars to streaming services. No one seems to be able to agree on why the industry is crumbling, but universally the consensus seems to be that the golden age of movies is over. But watching Project Hail Mary in an analog format with 750 other people on a Friday night felt like the moment in the movies when you think the hero is dead and the heart rate monitor suddenly spikes. You could practically hear whispers of “maybe we’re going to be okay,” feel tendrils of hope blossoming, and sense people exhaling as they settled in for the ride.
Project Hail Mary is the antithesis of a “streaming movie.” It trusts its audience to stay engaged despite having long stretches without dialogue. It would be a hard movie to watch while scrolling on your phone. It’s sometimes quiet. It’s sometimes still. And it’s long, coming in just under 3 hours. And yet, my entire screening was locked in, gasping, laughing, crying, and applauding.
Audiences are responding because the filmmaking has as much heart as the story, and the camerawork is caring as the characters. Project Hail Mary seems solely aimed at making its audience feel good. And right now, feeling good and feeling hopeful (about the world and about cinema) may be exactly what we need. Maybe we, too, can be brave and face our existential threats with bravery and care for humanity simply because we have to.
