#ProjectHailMary (🌟🌟🌟🌟) washed over me. I laughed. I cried. I fucking felt something. There are at least two reasons you should change your weekend plans to see this film in theaters. The first reason is Ryan Gosling. He is impossibly great in this movie. Whatever expectations I had of Gosling going in- he grabbed those expectations by the throat and squeezed. One of Gosling’s best performances in a career filled with amazing films. The second reason is that this film is visually stunning. It doesn’t just deserve to be seen in IMAX- it demands it. The filmmaking carries the day. Following in the footsteps of films like The Martian & Interstellar, Project Hail Mary is an immediately iconic space film. I entered this film knowing nothing about the plot. I think that benefited me. I say that to suggest I won’t spend loads of time on plot here: Gosling is a middle school teacher named Ryland Grace (shades of Half-Nelson!) who is essentially scouted/pouched/picked by Sandra Hüller & other world leaders in a “last-ditch, one-way, suicidal mission” to uncover a solution to stop a bacteria called “astrophage”. The whole idea here is that astrophage is blocking out the sun & draining stars in the galaxy. Grace is basically tasked with finding the one star in the galaxy that isn’t being killed by astrophage & to send some sort of solution back to Earth. As is the case with many of my favorite outer space films, there are definitely portions of the story I didn’t understand or went over my head. But none of that really matters. Similar to Cooper’s plight in Interstellar, the essence of the story is that Grace is being asked to do something bigger than himself: step outside of your own life, walk a higher path, and take a mission that could save millions. Ordinary man is given an extraordinary mission. That is the theme & the heartbeat of this film. But one of the biggest differentiators between Project Hail Mary & other space films I’ve seen is the presence of Rocky- an alien that Grace meets in space and befriends. Rocky & Grace develop a relationship that is just simply outstanding. It’s believable as hell & you grow so emotionally attached to their friendship. I loved the dialogue & banter between the two, I loved all of the early sequences when they tried to learn about one another. It’s an added dimension to the story that makes this film more than just about Grace’s mission. This is about a brotherhood that develops in service of said mission. And that brotherhood is basically Ryan Gosling acting with himself. The emotional range Gosling gives in this film is exceptional. He holds down this entire movie almost entirely without a scene partner. All of his moments with Rocky were basically done without anyone acting alongside Gosling. Yet Gosling still gives such an emotionally powerful performance. It really reminds me of Tom Hanks in Cast Away- it was the biggest comp I could think of the entire time watching this unfold. Only a movie star- yes, I’m going there, I’m using that term, damn it- could do the things Gosling does in this film. Consider how loaded Gosling’s filmography is to this point. Now consider that he just added another great film to that list. What a fucking career. But like I mentioned in my opener, it’s not just Gosling that makes this movie so powerful, it’s the fact that this is a visual masterpiece. I think the screenplay is a little weak here & tries a little too hard to be funny at certain points. I also think the film is a little long. But those issues are totally forgiven by the quality of filmmaking. The colors. The light. Every last sequence shot in actual outer space. The ships- the different stars Gosling comes across. That’s all without mentioning the amazing CGI done to bring Rocky to life. I thought Rocky was part of this film’s visual success. I honestly don’t remember seeing a science fiction film that looked this good in quite some time. I don’t know how this was made or how so many of these sequences in space were captured…but it took my breath away. I don’t care that the Oscars are a year away, I would be shocked if this film didn’t receive Best Cinematography consideration. Project Hail Mary energized me after such a trying week. It was like a shot of adrenaline & inspiration right to my chest. It’s the exact reason why I’m seeing this film a second time this weekend.
