“Project Hail Mary” is the film the world needs right now
By Kate Norrish
Staff Writer
When I first saw that Andy Weir’s novel, “Project Hail Mary,” was being made into a film, my first thought was “Oh cool, I loved that book.” That slowly snowballed into realizing that the book was a lot better than I remember, making me wonder if Hollywood would be able to adapt a book with such a morally complex view of humanity. “Project Hail Mary” is one of the best films I’ve ever seen. After waking up on a space ship several light years from Earth, Ryland Grace (played by Ryan Gosling) considers how he got there. This leads to a nonlinear story, cutting between him being drafted by politician Eva Stratt (Sandra Hüller) to prevent an alien microorganism called the astrophage from blocking the sun, and therefore killing most life on Earth, and him continuing his studies in space. His mission? To research a solar system that is not being affected by the organism. While Andy Weir, author of the book “Project Hail Mary,” has become famous for his ability to write hard science fiction, I would argue that he is just as skilled at cosmic hope - a type of sci-fi meant to portray the beauty of life within the scale of the universe. This is something which the film boosts into an overwhelming level of emotional complexity. The role of globalism in this story cannot be emphasized enough, and I would make the bold argument that the film is better than the book. While the book was already an emotional roller coaster, I felt every moment of this film in my soul. Every single character is extremely complex and likable. One of Grace’s first scenes shows that he works as a middle school science teacher, and everything about him screams “the fun teacher.” His ability to break down the complex science of the astrophage to Stratt is invaluable, and he is also extremely skilled in de-escalating the stress of the other characters. For example, one of my favorite scenes in all of cinema is when he attempts to connect to Stratt without dismissing her uptight personality, leading her to sing karaoke during a party, abruptly changing the room’s tone. The writing of Stratt’s character is improved in the film. While still authoritarian, her compassion is made more obvious as she fights tooth and nail for humanity. Details such as her implied Catholic faith and struggle to understand jokes made the difficult decisions she makes throughout the film even more of a gut punch, which I did not think was possible after reading the book. Now let’s talk about the deserved fan-favorite character. Rocky, the name Grace gives to the alien he teams up with in space, is played by puppeteer James Ortiz. Every person I’ve said this to is shocked that most of the alien’s scenes are not pure CGI. Rocky is an endlessly enjoyable character, who serves to form a funky chemistry with Grace that I have never seen before. While he may be easily frustrated, Rocky comes from an incredibly social culture, possibly more social than humans. Therefore, after being alone on his spaceship for decades, he clings to Grace, and the excitement he portrays with his communication device is infectious, making you see human life through new eyes. He is also psychologically, as well as physically, different from humans, confused by various basic scientific and cultural concepts, while also having a near perfect memory. The only possible flaw I can see in this film is that a horrifying scene from the book taking place in Antarctica is cut. I will not give specifics, as it is a huge spoiler, but it is somewhat famous. However, if my biggest critique is a controversial moment that those who have only seen the film would not know about, this is some scary good writing. I tried to find other things wrong with the film, but every time I thought I did, I realized that the film explained them. Even the elements they added, such as a moment where Grace and security guard Carl (Lionel Boyce) play with duct tape, and the symbolism, ranging from Grace’s quilt to the repeated use of circles in the imagery, is something I could talk about for hours. Everything about this film screams that the entire cast and crew worked their butts off to make this the best art they possibly could. While I rewatched the movie for this article, wildfires in Canada were leading to smoke in my area so bad that my eyes watered and I could taste it when I stepped outside. It really helped with my anxiety, and as an AAC user, Rocky has already become a bit of a mascot in our community. This entire story just ties together themes of environmentalism, communication, faith, and too many more to count amazingly. I have no doubt it will go down as one of the masterpieces of sci-fi filmmaking. Watch “Project Hail Mary” and prepare to experience the joy of outer space and friendship. Rating: A+ Amaze! Amaze! Amaze!
