Run, Don't Walk to 'Project Hail Mary'
A life-affirming cinematic masterpiece
NOTE: No true spoilers here.
When my significant other (no, she’s not 2222) informed me we were seeing the new Ryan Gosling movie, Project Hail Mary, last weekend, it barely registered.
Yes, I’m a fan of Gosling’s work, especially the Close Encounter SNL sketches, which have brought me more pure joy than any movie since the Lonely Island’s Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping. But for some reason PHM wasn’t on my radar.
I’m happy to report that not only did I enjoy PHM, but it was a uniquely delightful moviegoing experience and welcome breath of fresh air in the wildly stressful times we live in.
I came into it knowing very little, not having read the source material, a 2021 book of the same name written by Andy Weir, and that definitely enhanced the experience for me. I like knowing as little about a movie as possible before experiencing it, so being in the dark about the plot, especially the ending, was a true value add.
To quickly summarize the basics, Ryland Grace, a certified next-level genius, finds himself working a basic bro existence as an affable grade school teacher (in a bit of a nod to Walter White, I think). Things start moving when Grace is drafted by Eva Stratt, a shadowy and cold but somehow still relatable government operative (her karaoke of Harry Styles’ haunting Sign of the Times is a subtly devastating window into her bleak, closed off soul), who is ultimately tasked with convincing Grace to make a long shot, one way (yep) trip to try and save the world from an environmental disaster ironically involving global cooling.
The movie’s narrative alternates deftly between two timelines, and the second finds Grace awakening alone and totally confused on a ship deep in space and years in the future. Suffice to say, our hero gets his shit together and ultimately starts down the road of trying to find the long shot solution he’s tasked with—determining why one sun is not being drained of its power like Earth’s and so many others.
They say, “it’s the friends you make along the way that help us appreciate the journey” and in this case it’s the weird but lovable “Rocky,” a brave soul from a very different world (Eridian) who’s also trying to solve the fading sun mystery. Watching Grace and Rocky (impressively voiced and puppeteered by James Ortiz) slowly break down barriers to communicate, work together and, ultimately, become besties is beautiful and patient filmmaking by Directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller.
I won’t give away any more of the plot, but I can reveal that this film deeply resonates emotionally and intellectually, making you care about the beings you’re watching without reducing them to heroic archetypes. They’re allowed to have flaws and grow and adapt and it’s mesmerizing to watch. Grace isn’t a typical hero—he’s dragged into it literally kicking and screaming but rises to the challenge because there’s literally no other choice to make, until the end, where one final, deeply emotional call awaits him that will have you hunting for something, anything, to dry your eyes.
But fear not—this is a joyful movie, not an emotionally manipulative one like Armageddon. The laughs, knowing nods, throat lumps, and tears are all well-earned, and you’ll leave the theater with a satisfied smile and a heart that might have grown just a bit in the film’s two and a half hour run time.
That SNL skit never gets old . . .
OK, this is helpful, thanks. I read and enjoyed the book and felt like I didn't need to see the movie on top of that. But now I'll see it.