By Jasmine Ong
Let me preface this by saying that I’m not really someone who enjoys astronaut-themed movies. I’ve always found them either too intellectual for a film, or just downright cheesy by playing into the stereotype of “sacrificing for the greater good”.
So, it definitely surprised me when I found myself on the edge of my seat and deeply immersed as Project Hail Mary began.
From the get-go, the film kicked off with Dr Ryland Grace (played by Ryan Gosling), already in space; stumbling around as he tried to come to grips with the new reality he awoke to.
While I would usually be less receptive to this sort of abrupt opening for a film, I felt that this played very much to the film’s strength as the audience was almost thrust into the same confusion as the lead, and we were both uncovering clues to how Dr Grace ended up in space.
As we weave in and out from the past and present of Dr Grace’s memory, we learn about the events that led him to be a part of Project Hail Mary, a project that was designed to find a solution to the dying sun.
Despite the scientific jargons and explanations that pepper the dialogue, it was still easy to digest the exchanges in the film which were full of wit and quips that had me chuckling even when I was in the middle of crying.
Beyond the big “saving Planet Earth” idea, Project Hail Mary is really a heartfelt story about what basic human things like friendship and what it means to be brave, even in the loneliest and desperate of moments when every road leads to the possibility of self-sacrifice.
This idea of being brave permeates through every part of the film, as we see different analogies and examples of this to illustrate the point. It is also something that we would ultimately see Dr Grace struggle with, when it came to the pivotal reveal of the real reason that brought him to space.
But, prior to the realisation due to his lack of memories, we see the slow development of Dr Grace’s bravery as he (spoiler alert) befriends a rock-type alien who was also on his own mission to save his planet.
This friendship, in my opinion, really felt like a callback to the exchange he had with Commander Yao (played by Ken Leung) when he said, “You just need someone to be brave for”.
From being cautious of the alien to eventually forming a deep bond with it, we see how this changed the way Dr Grace viewed his life and how he eventually learned to be brave, even at his own expense.
More than just the story, I felt like another reason for why the film worked was the acting prowess of Ryan Gosling.
We all know Ryan’s a versatile actor from his many acting credits, but the ability to carry multiple scenes on your own where you’re basically talking to no one? That’s tough.
Despite not having a real scene partner for almost two-thirds of the film, I just admired how Ryan was still able to deliver his lines with such wit and charisma, while also being able to tug at the heart strings with his raw emotions during moments of hopelessness.
Another stunner of the film that I have to mention, is the gorgeous visual effects of space. While none of us can attest to how space actually looks like, Project Hail Mary does a brilliant job in illustrating the solar system with crisp colours, in a poignant and beautiful way.
Unlike your average space-themed film, Project Hail Mary is more than just the space talk and science stuff with a lot of heart, wit, laughs, and tears; which, in my opinion, makes it stand out on a league of its own.
So, when you head to the cinemas to catch this, don’t think that you’re watching just another sci-fi film, instead, think that you might just be watching a possible contender for the Oscars next year.
You can watch the trailer here.
