I haven’t been able to sleep much since watching this movie. It’s been three days since I’ve seen it (eight since the day this article was published); three days to think of what to write in this article; three days for “Project Hail Mary” to simmer in my mind. It still haunts me in the same way as it did when I left the theater with dried tears on my face.
I first saw the trailer for it when I saw another movie in the theaters. I don’t remember what I went to see, maybe “Anaconda” or “Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die” (another great movie of the year) but it was interesting enough to capture my attention. It had space, it had what looked like (and definitely was) a practical set and a friendly alien rock that said: “fist my bump.” What was there not to like?
I then learned more about it in a magazine called American Cinematographer, a monthly magazine that goes in depth about the making of films popularized or timely that month. The April edition had “Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die,” “Wuthering Heights,” “The Bride!” and other such films, but the cover was taken up by Ryan Gosling, the main actor of “Project Hail Mary.” The article inside, written by Noah Kadner, was a fascinating read for a film major like me. I won’t go into crazy detail about the article itself, but it went into details about the sets, especially the screen-lined chamber titled the “Don’t Go Crazy Room” which I found fascinating. This was at the beginning of the month, a few weeks ago. It made me ecstatic to see it in theaters.
It was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.
As a rough synopsis of this film (yes, this article contains some spoilers. I’m going to stay vague when I can to preserve your own theater experience, but I’m not perfect), a middle school teacher/molecular biologist played by Gosling goes on a mission to keep the sun from dying. We later learn he was forced onto the one-way mission to a star far away from Earth as his memory clears up. At one point, a friendly and lonely alien named Rocky crosses paths with Gosling, and he learns that Rocky is on the same mission to save his planet. They quickly become friends, even with how pestering Rocky is, and start solving the dying-star problem at the center of the mission together.
The storytelling is unorthodox, but in a way that makes it a lot more powerful. It starts with Gosling waking up from an induced coma on the spaceship with no memory as to how or why he got there, as well as no recollection of who he is. Slowly, we get flashbacks of his past up until the very end of the movie.
This movie is two hours and 36 minutes long. That’s 25 minutes less than “Avengers: Endgame” and 15 minutes less than “Avatar.” But the story is so madly captivating, I didn’t even realize how long the movie was until I checked my phone after the movie–and even then I thought my clock was wrong.
And man, did this movie look good. I believe all of the sets were practical and little CGI was used for Rocky, which I adored. It gave the character so much more life and animation than actual animation could have ever done.
And the score? Forget about it. The music in this movie was absolutely perfect, whether it was song choices or actual compositions for the movie. Half the times I cried were probably sparked by the music.
It’s been a long time since I’ve cried at a movie. A very long time. And yes, I do have a soul, but it takes a good movie to tug on someone’s heartstrings, especially mine. This movie broke my streak four times in its run time. It’s easy to say I’ll never listen to “Sign of the Times” by Harry Styles the same ever again. I’ll never be able to watch another space movie and think it can compete. Maybe “Spaceballs: The New One” can, but that’s in another division.
I went into it thinking I was going to see a film about a man and an alien being best buddies. The film did entail that, but it ended up being one of the most meaningful films I have ever seen. “Project Hail Mary” is a beautiful movie, a powerful movie. This is a movie every film-lover should strive to see, and every filmmaker should strive to be.
Hayley Doda can be contacted at
