Project Hail Mary Review

If you follow me on SpaceHey, you’ll know all about my obsession with Project Hail Mary and today I’m going to tell you why I loved it and why you should check it out too.

The story is about Rylan Grace, who wakes up on a spaceship in deep space with no memory of who he is or why he is there alone, with two dead astronauts beside him.

The film constantly moves back and forth between the present and Grace's memories as they gradually resurface. So the audience receives new information alongside the protagonist.

Grace is a middle-school science teacher recruited by the government to experiment on new space-based life forms called astrophages, which are slowly weakening the sun.

Without even realizing it, he joins an international team of scientists on the Hail Mary project: a suicide mission to the star Tau Ceti, located in another solar system and the only one not infected by astrophages, to study it, without being able to return to Earth, thus dying in space.

Naturally, he doesn't want to go, but he is forced to. He then finds himself without memories aboard a spaceship he doesn't know how to pilot, knowing he will die alone in space, or perhaps not entirely alone, having encountered another spaceship.

The film follows the adventures of Grace and Rocky, an alien from the planet 40 Eridani who, like Grace, is there for the same reason: to understand why Tau Ceti has not been infected by the Astrophage.

The two, both the sole survivors of their respective crews, decide to help each other.

It is a beautiful depiction of an extraterrestrial encounter. The other species is neither inferior nor superior to humans. They stand on equal footing and neither side seeks to dominate the other or acts with hostility.

The two characters complement each other: a scientist and an engineer. They help one another overcome the many obstacles they encounter along the way, while also providing plenty of highly entertaining and funny moments.

It is also a film packed with pure science, a great deal of time is devoted to it. With experiments, hypotheses, and explanations, one could easily get lost in the technical jargon, yet it remains easy to follow and I actually found it very interesting.

The film is a beautiful portrayal of friendship, despite involving two different species.

It also touches on topical issues such as the environment and the threat of a global catastrophe, exacerbated by human behavior that leads to war, famine, and death due to a lack of cooperation.

It addresses the question of justice, prompting reflection on whether it is right to sacrifice some lives to save many others (as Stratt, the head of Operation Hail Mary, does)

From a directorial standpoint, it is a very well-made film, especially the scenes set inside the ship. They convey a clear sense of its layout and spatial arrangement; another remarkable aspect is the set design, particularly the tunnel connecting the two ships.

It is no wonder Ryan mentioned that everyone on set was amazed by the incredible work of production designer Charles Wood. Personally, I loved the decision to use practical sets and effects rather than green screens, such as the ships, the tunnel and the extensive rigging work done with Ryan to simulate zero gravity.

Speaking of which, let's move on to the story's non-human protagonist: our Rocky.

For the entire film, the alien was a puppet operated by the fantastic James Ortiz.

I love the fact that it wasn't all CGI and that Ryan had the chance to work with an actual partner.

And also that Ortiz himself provided the voice for Rocky.

There is no need to even talk about his performance; it is truly fantastic.

The same goes for Ryan Gosling.

For those who don't know, he’s one of my favorite actors; I’m familiar with his impressive range, and he absolutely nailed this character.

It doesn't take long to figure out what kind of person Ryland is, just look at the way he dresses, moves, and speaks. He’s intelligent but awkward, a bit of a loser, yet dedicated to his tasks and always quick with a quip.

Perhaps what made me love this film the most is precisely the funny lines and scenes.

I’ve never been a die-hard sci-fi fan, but I loved this movie. Not only because it is packed with real science, formulas and experiments explained in detail, making them not too difficult to understand, but because it blends the genre with comedy and it does it in a natural and beautiful way I've never seen in any other film.

The parts involving Rocky are the most entertaining, from the time they still can't communicate and Grace seems like the dumber of the two, to when they choose a voice for Rocky, right through to everything that happens inside Grace's ship.

Like when Rocky invites himself over and then teases Grace about the mess, or when he starts eating right in front of him.

I want to use this to talk about the differences compared to the book (which i really loved).

There are quite a few, but as a filmmaker, I can understand the reasons behind them. They did a great job, though.

The last quarter of the film is the most different.

It’s great nonetheless, though I think they had to cut a few things (like the Taumoeba’s leaking and attaching the Beatles to the ship) to avoid making the film, which already runs nearly three hours, even longer (although I would have happily watched four hours of Ryan).

One thing I really liked about the book was all the scientific discussion leading up to the launch, including the explanation involving the Beatles, but I understand the decision to cut those parts rather than others.

Other things differ from the book, such as how Grace realizes he is in space, the three astronauts' desire to end their lives, the moment Grace saves Rocky (a scene that was cut), the whole Beatles and taumoeba sequences, and even the ending.

And, as mentioned earlier, Rocky’s customs are different. For instance, in the book he wears clothes, and eating is actually a private activity for his species; though all this can be overlooked if one considers Rocky to be just a freak who disregards social norms.

That said, it’s a really great movie; it’s about hope and the idea that anything is possible if you truly put your mind to it, even saving a dying sun with the help of a meticulous alien who likes to give you orders. I cried the first, second, and almost even the third time I watched it.

The music is also wonderful. Both the selection of existing tracks, such as the Beatles' "Two of Us," and the original score by composer Daniel Pemberton, who sought to create something new, utilizing any instrument at his disposal, including wood blocks, metal, water, and even the human body.

He said he took every object out of the box to create the perfect blend of wonder and comedy. The sound of a squeaky tap is heard throughout the entire film, as well as the voices of the choir, which were another very important element, all intended to create familiar sounds that connect the audience, who's in space with Grace, back with earth.

An entertaining film that nonetheless deals with serious themes, exploring intergalactic friendship, the idea that our feelings are the most important part of us and the need for compassion toward every living being, even those more than 11 light-years away.

And if a human can become friends with an alien who speaks in musical notes, we can be friends with our neighbor who speaks a different language and has customs different from our own.