Last month, Ryan Gosling came to screen portraying the iconic protagonist Ryland Grace in a film adaptation of the science fiction novel Project Hail Mary (2021) by Andy Weir. Weir is also the author of The Martian (2011) which was a film success in 2015. The movie came out March 20 and has been a box office hit since.
The book, of course, was also a success. Particularly the audiobook, read by Ray Porter, which won the 2022 Audiobook of the Year, and is frequently recommended as a top audio-book pick.
Project Hail Mary follows an astronaut named Ryland Grace who wakes up from a coma in a spaceship. He suffers from amnesia, and must frantically try to remember what his mission is, or who he is at all. He finds his two other crew mates have died in their comas, leaving him all alone in outer space… and responsible for the fate of humanity.
As it follows Grace’s journey, he makes some groundbreaking discoveries that will drastically change the direction of his mission and mankind’s knowledge of space, life, and intelligence.
Going into the theater, I had a few concerns top of mind for this adaption. Mostly, I wanted it to maintain the humor of the novel. The book is funny, and even a little silly at times. It made the high-stakes space-exploration format unique and endearing. Similarly, Grace’s character was very important. His interior thinking is what makes up the narrative, and lays the foundation for the aspects that made this story so enjoyable. Since actors can only do so much to represent a character’s inner thinking, I always watch for how they convey the thoughts and feelings of a character.
Luckily, I think the movie did a fantastic job capturing the heart of this story and keeping the tone from the novel, and was also able to expand upon some of the humor and sentiments from the original story.
Gosling represented Grace’s quirky intelligence really well, and arguably added more layers to the character through his mannerisms, physical behaviors, and line delivery. His facial expressions are hilarious and each line lands the punch perfectly.
Although the jokes in both the books and films are often silly, maybe even a little cringey to some, I found them kind of adorable. The movie even added several jokes and scenes that were not in the book that actually made it even funnier. I think if you go into watching this without a serious lens, and allow yourself to absorb the lighthearted humor without immediate judgement, it can be very entertaining. This humor is also what allows the sentimental aspects to shine, as it endears the viewers/readers to the characters throughout the story.
Yes, this movie made me cry. I did not cry while listening to the audiobook, but something about this movie got me. I think a big aspect of that was the music.
The soundtrack was incredible and atmospheric. It mostly uses a score by Daniel Pemberton, but at all the right moments uses additional songs like “Sign of The Times” by Harry Styles, “Two of Us” by The Beatles, and “Let’s Call The Whole Thing Off” by Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong. The music felt perfectly timed; when The Beatles started playing I could not avoid crying if I tried.
The visuals were, of course, gorgeous. If you’ve seen the promotional images, you are aware of the vibrant shots full of depth, which are consistent throughout the film. It was saturated without being too dark or backlit which I appreciated. Similarly, the space and equipment seemed incredibly well rendered, at least from a non-professional perspective.
Even parts of the setting and/or plot I thought would be challenging to replicate were done in a very satisfactory way. The movie looked and sounded great, no question about it.
Overall, I think the plot was done well and the setting and tone were just what they needed to be. It balances the humor, sentiment, and suspense in a way that keeps this story as a unique, but still amazingly existential space movie.