Full of Grace: ‘Project Hail Mary’ is a Beautiful, Hopeful Adaptation

By Jackson TOYON

When you think of sci-fi films, you usually think of a scarier and darker-toned movie, like an alien invasion, an extraterrestrial pandemic or a monster attack that characters must survive. What isn’t too common to see is optimistic sci-fi – a story that fills you with hope and the spirit of cooperation, despite the presence of bleak circumstances. Directing duo Phil Lord and Christopher Miller have taken up the challenge of adapting “Project Hail Mary,” the latest novel by author and self-described “lifelong space nerd” Andy Weir, whose other work “The Martian” in 2015 also received a film rendition. Today, this film dares to ask, “Can Ryan Gosling have chemistry with a rock?”

Ryland Grace (Ryan Gosling), a scientist and schoolteacher, wakes up aboard a spaceship with no idea who he is or what he’s doing there. Finding his crew mates deceased, he is the lone survivor on a craft that is already incredibly far from home. Slowly, Grace receives flashes of memories about his identity and purpose … and it isn’t good news. The sun is dying and Earth doesn’t have an answer. Scientists are predicting a global ice age and total human extinction within 30-40 years. The discovery of an interstellar microbe called Astrophage, the source of the sun’s woes, at least gives humanity a direction. Earth and its governments band together under the international banner of Project Hail Mary, a desperate space mission with impossible odds. Led by Eva Stratt (Sandra Hüller), a tough woman given authority by the United Nations to do anything necessary to save the human species, the people of Earth sacrifice and throw everything into the effort. The mission: send a spacecraft and her crew on a one-way journey to a star far outside of our solar system that has mysteriously not been infected by Astrophage (as have other stars around it), and send back their findings. With the help of an unlikely ally, Ryland Grace is our planet’s last hope – and the clock is ticking.

Having read and thoroughly enjoyed the novel myself, I went into this with high expectations – and I’m pleased to say this film met them with flying colors. While the story has been somewhat compressed, like most book-to-film adaptations, the film is a wonderful interpretation of the source material. Any film adaptation can cover plot beats correctly, but not all of them can maintain the spirit and heart of the original story, which this movie achieves. What has been trimmed off is mostly fat – lots of scientific explanations and details about why certain things happen. Such things are great fun to read, but could potentially make a film too heavy with exposition.

In addition, the film is a visually dazzling crowd-pleaser with some brilliant technical execution. Impressive, lived-in sets add a tactile realism to the spaceship where Grace spends most of his time while breathtaking visuals capture the terrifying and wondrous nature of deep space. Gosling is a one-man show here but what I most appreciate, perhaps, is the directors’ and writer’s understanding that the most important part of this story is the core relationship between Grace and his mysterious ally (no spoilers here!). Their bond is the emotional center of the film and it’s what really completes this optimistic film about ingenuity and cooperation.

Phil Lord and Christopher Miller are known for their comedic work (“The LEGO Movie,” “21 Jump Street”), but they have made an admirable first directorial foray into drama. “Project Hail Mary” is a gorgeous, humorous and heartfelt space epic that gives you a shot in the arm of hope, coming together as one of the best space films since Christopher Nolan’s “Interstellar.” Dedicated novel readers will be relieved and those jumping into this story for the first time will find plenty that is amazing. It’s enjoyable by older and younger audiences alike, quite re-watchable and, if you can manage it, a pretty fun time to experience in a theater with others. With any luck, it’ll be the type of film that inspires younger generations to turn their heads up to the stars again.

Rated PG-13.