Film: Project Hail Mary
Cast: Ryan Gosling,
Sandra Hüller
Directed by: Phil Lord, Christopher Miller
Duration: 2 hours 36 minutes
Rating: * * *
Based on the book of the same name by Andy Weir (of The Martian fame), Project Hail Mary is a mixed bag. It promises a lot but doesn't quite deliver. The film relies more on the charm of its lead actor than on the screenplay by Drew Goddard, which reportedly remains very faithful to the book. While there are some new elements in this sci-fi story, much of it feels familiar-a person isolated and stranded in space, echoing films like Moon, The Martian, Interstellar, and more recently, Iron Lung. Similarly, the concept of forming an emotional bond with an alien isn't exactly novel, having been explored in E.T., Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and Arrival.
With relatively little substance on its side, Project Hail Mary shines mostly in its lighter moments, peppered with humour and the camaraderie between the human protagonist and an alien named Rocky, who appears made of what looks like stone. The title of the film refers to the "Hail Mary" pass in American football-a long-shot attempt with hopes of success. Here, the stakes aren't just Houston but the entire planet: the Sun is being "eaten" by a microorganism called astrophage, threatening catastrophic consequences such as a global temperature drop. Clues to the phenomenon are traced along an infrared line from the Sun to Venus, known as the
Petrova line.
The film opens with Ryland Grace (Ryan Gosling), dishevelled and waking aboard a spaceship after an induced coma. He discovers that he is light-years from Earth, yet holds the key to saving humanity from the astrophage. The story starts strong but takes some time before shifting gears. Non-linear editing introduces flashbacks, showing Grace's earlier life as a molecular biologist who turned to teaching at a school, after his theories were ridiculed by the scientific fraternity. Authorities, led by Eva Stratt (Sandra Hüller), reach out because he is humanity's only hope. These flashbacks help break the tempo-after all, there's only so much you can show of one person aboard a spaceship, even if that person is Ryan Gosling.
The bond between Grace and Rocky provides some of the film's most enjoyable moments, mostly comedic. Both are on parallel missions, though Rocky's spaceship is far more sophisticated. The world-building is near-perfect, meeting the high standards set by directors like Christopher Nolan and Denis Villeneuve, and Project Hail Mary manages to compete in that regard. The weak points, however, are pacing and character depth-it takes a while to emotionally connect with the characters, and much of the story's trajectory is predictable. Also the length acts as a deterrent - at 156 minutes the film is not compact and terse and neither does it qualify as a slow burn - the off is not worth the time. Towards the end, it even sort of starts and stops and drags on even after the world is saved - that perhaps could be because of wanting to be faithful to the book.
The soundtrack adds a lively touch, featuring tracks ranging from Kris Kristofferson's 'Sunday Morning Coming Down' to the Beatles' 'Two of Us'. Ryan Gosling is in top form and holds the film together, while Sandra Hüller makes her presence felt in the few scenes she has. On the whole, Project Hail Mary is a long shot that almost land before taking it's sweet time.