Project Hail Mary: When Aliens Remind Us How to be Human
By John Kirk
Rating: A-
Project Hail Mary, the latest cinematic adaptation of an Andy Weir novel, is a crowd-pleaser loaded with humour, charm, and tropes galore. In the best tradition of sci-fi, there’s also a lesson in being the best a human can be, as shown by an alien teacher.
There are no surprises in this film. Even if you haven’t read Weir’s book, the trailers lay out the premise fairly clearly.
The sun has been infected by a lifeform that has spread by infrared light to other stars, devouring its energy. Ryland Grace (Ryan Gosling) is a middle-school science teacher with a doctorate in molecular biology. He holds the key to sun’s survival but must travel to the only uninfected star about 11 lightyears away to discover why.
In the process, he encounters a fellow traveller from another star with the same mission in mind. Despite their physiological differences, they join forces and discover a new friendship.
Despite Gosling’s billing, Rocky — an alien from Eridani 40, puppeteered and voiced by James Ortiz — is the real star in this film. The relationship developed between the two space travellers is the heart of the story. Not only are they relieved of their painful loneliness, but they also create a friendship that both desperately need.
Rocky’s need for alliance is a biological one, based on his alien physiology. Grace’s though, is self-imposed, borne out a deep-seated sense of inferiority and cowardice. Though he is an inquisitive and brilliant scientist, his isolation prevents him from connecting with others. It is this mission and his friendship with Rocky that reminds him of the value in those connections with others.
We all face challenges, dangers, and overcome adversity through our shared connections. No one person is an island, and though this may be a human concept, it is Rocky, the small, stony, and spider-like alien that reminds Grace of that.
Those moments keep the pace of the film. When the audience isn’t laughing at the unexpected humour of the two reluctant astronauts learning to communicate with each other, they are relishing the sweet moments when the protagonists realize how much they mean to each other.
The story remains pretty true to the original novel, if a bit abridged. The full extent of the sun’s impending demise isn’t really fleshed out. In the novel, we learn about the environmental and political effects back on Earth which adds a rushed intensity to the pacing of the story.
Eva Stratt (Sandra Hüller) is the ruthless overseer to whom the Hail Mary project has been entrusted, but while she has complete oversight and authority to make things happen in the novel, we don’t get that same sense of power from her in the film. Here, she is more human and approachable.
If there’s a criticism that stands out, it’s how little of the science explanations Weir is known for are included in the film. In the book, there is an abundance of descriptive information that would appeal to true space-science nerds.
The same was true in his earlier novel The Martian, also adapted into a film, in which the scientific survival thinking was laid out. In Project Hail Mary, a lot of that thinking is replaced by doing accompanied by a casual explanation.
Maybe that’s for the best. After all, the audience doesn’t lack for oohs and aahs during hectic space flight scenes or epic views from space. There is enough eye candy with special effects and the witty dialogue between Rocky and Grace to keep everyone sufficiently entertained. Like I said, definitely a crowd-pleaser film.
Emotionally, the film hits all the right notes. It’s the friendship, the realization of the importance of sacrifice, discovery about a person’s limits, and the need to face adversity with someone in your corner that is the real thrust of the story. These are the things that make us human.
An alien teaching us how to be better humans. That’s what science-fiction is supposed to do.
Project Hail Mary. Directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller. Starring Ryan Gosling, Sandra Hüller, James Ortiz, Lionel Boyce, Ken Leung, Milana Vayntrub, and Priya Kansara. In theatres March 20.