Film Review: “Project Hail Mary” — The Sweet Smell of Science Fiction Wonder
By Michael Marano
Project Hail Mary is an antidote to dystopias, real and imagined.
Project Hail Mary, directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller. Screening at AMC Boston Common 19, the Alamo Drafthouse Seaport, and other area cinemas.
Ryan Gosling in Project Hail Mary. Photo: Amazon MGM
A “scent memory” or a “Proustian memory” is the neurological term for when olfactory stimuli trigger strong recollection.
I’m not sure what the neurological term is for something that stimulates memories of a smell, but … for me, the new science fiction movie Project Hail Mary has that in spades. As I watched the movie, I was overwhelmed by a formative and foundational scent from my youth: the way new science fiction paperbacks smelled back when I was 11 to 13 … that scent of clean, fresh paper and ink. Yeah, most of my reading material in those days was used paperbacks that I bought for less than a buck. They were infused with yellowing, old paper smells — maybe of Camels or Pall Malls, if the previous owner was a chain smoker. But now and then I could afford new science fiction books, and that heady smell is one I will forever associate with that “Gosh! Wow!” sense of wonder I felt reading Hal Clement, Arthur C. Clarke, Larry Niven, Frederik Pohl, etc. back in the post-Apollo time when space exploration seemed an American birthright.
The premise of Project Hail Mary, based on Andy Weir’s bestselling novel, is that microscopic critters are eating the Sun, which will lead to a dimming that will wreck the Earth’s economy and ecosystem and result in global mass extinctions. Down-and-out high school science teacher Ryland Grace (Ryan Gosling) is recruited by an international team of poindexters to help solve the problem. (We are definitely in a realm of pure science fiction — a reality where Ryan Gosling can’t get laid.) Grace eventually winds up alone on the spaceship Hail Mary … and yeah, it’s a groaner that the Hail Mary is carrying “Grace”… to investigate exactly why the star Tau Ceti is not falling prey to the same phenomenon that’s killing our Sun along with a number of other stars in our celestial neighborhood.
Like I said, “Gosh! Wow!”
And it’s hugely refreshing to have that nifty, teen nerd aesthetic in a major science fiction release. Why? Because, living in an actual dystopia, it’s kind of a bummer to sit through another SF premise like the latest Hunger Games installment, The Long Walk, Mickey 17, and that Running Man remake. All the dystopian shit I grew up on is no longer futuristic fantasy, it’s reportage. Ballard, Atwood, Butler, Lafferty, Dick, Russ, Tiptree, Aldiss, Brunner, Sheckley, Cronenberg. The cacotopian shit has all come true.
Project Hail Mary is an antidote to dystopias, real and imagined. The simple fact that it focuses on smart people, the best minds on earth cooperating on an international team, makes it a “fuck you” to Trumpist anti-intellectual, isolationist horseshit. There are utopian seeds in this flick, the first glimmers of a real Starfleet. A cultural glint of hope and optimism.
The great achievement of Project Hail Mary is how it presents its “Gosh! Wow!” ideas. While I was a kid, reading those wonderful-smelling, intoxicating, new SF paperbacks, I was overcome by a sense of wonder even though I knew it was clunky storytelling. The narratives would stop dead, to allow Arthur C. Clarke or Larry Niven to jump on a soapbox and explain the physics of an ion drive or the workings of gravity near a neutron star. Project Hail Mary is an object lesson in how science fiction can deliver those “Gosh! Wow!” nuggets without stopping the narrative dead in its tracks. I haven’t read the book, so I’m not sure if Andy Weir does this, as well.
Project Hail Mary begins with the classic trope of “The Lonely Astronaut,” a Robinson Crusoe-like motif that harkens back to Twilight Zone episodes like “The Long Morrow,” Stanislaw Lem’s Solaris, and Bester’s The Stars My Destination, and a bunch of others. Gosling’s Grace wakes up alone on the Hail Mary, his brain and memories swiss‑cheesed as a result of suspended animation. The genius of the storytelling here is that the filling in and reconstruction of Grace’s mind are so beautifully multitasked.
As Grace remembers who he is, he is also remembering all the backstory, exposition, and science that the audience needs to get up to speed in the narrative of Project Hail Mary. The mystery of what is killing the sun is revealed to us at the same time that Grace is figuring out the mystery of who he is. As a result, all these nuggets of “Gosh! Wow!” science fictional information, that ordinarily would (in other movies) be explained by a guy in a lab coat to a bunch of Pentagon officers, serve to illuminate character. And that is vital because so much of this film is, of necessity, focused on character — which is what gives Project Hail Mary so much damned heart.
Still, for all of this careful construction of character and exposition, Project Hail Mary has a vibe that feels kind of … improvised? There’s a looseness and easygoingness to the storytelling that makes it feel comfortable, even though so much of it takes place on a sterile spaceship light years from Earth. I refuse to give spoilers, but Project Hail Mary proves, irrefutably, that more science fiction films could use karaoke scenes. Directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller were fired from that really bland Han Solo movie a few years back, reportedly for encouraging too much improvisation on set. We get a sense here of the Han Solo movie we could have had.
The downside to Project Hail Mary — and it’s a big one — is that it’s easily half an hour too long. Some judicious cutting and Thelma-Schoonmaker-type rearranging and restructuring of scenes could improve it hugely.
But that’s a quibble. The movie’s heart and sense of wonder make up for that excess 30 minutes. To say nothing of its shimmers of hope, which, these days especially, feels like something to be treasured.
Author, critic, and personal trainer Michael Marano got a stack of science fiction paperbacks as a Christmas gift from his older sister, and will forever associate the smell of a new copy of Arthur C. Clarke’s Rendezvous with Rama with learning about the mechanics of space travel.
Why did you feel the need to bring Trump into this? Stopped reading after that sentence. Get enough of that crap at the Oscars!
He’s right, though. If our government had access to autophages right now and our sun was dying…they’d weaponize it. Or give it to billionaires so THEY could get to Mars. They’d definitely not collaborate with other countries and use it to save the earth and everything on it.
Hear hear. Pompous pseudo intellectual Leftists. Stick to the plot of the movie, not irrelevant ideology.
Me to. They just can’t help themselves.
We need a thread of hope to get us through the dark days of Trump. The fuhrer has taken over the government. There are show trials of political opponents. The brown shirts are killing people on the streets . Undesireables are being sent to camps.. And on top of that, we have a war going sideways. It is because of Trump we need some comic relief.
The fact that this offends you says more about you than it does about the author. Science, intellect and facts are scary when you don’t understand them or they don’t align with your maga worldview.
Same!! Like Trump or hate him. How could you take anything seriously from someone with TDS neurosis. For that matter, anyone that can be deranged by the idea of someone else should be avoided.
Update: it was a great movie though!
Yes, I agree with you . I stopped reading right there also. Very poorly written and unnecessary vulgar language.
Unnecessary vulgar language? I don’t recall any such thing. I enjoyed the move although it was too long.
Ron might not have liked that sentence but I was even more invested once you said that. It’s exactly how I feel too and why I cant wait to see this. Great review!
Good review, spot on about Trump! Highly recommend reading the book. I got way more out of the movie having done so.
A brilliant review with much Deja vu for me.
I think the addition 30 minutes was editing team’s effort to well establish an unlikely friendship and working relationship. In fact they probably omitted some of the story’s facts. ie. Why there were deaths among an explosion, and why some crew members were found diseased. One may consider 2 hours and 36 minutes long, but that is what they told the Beatles about “Hey Jude” being longer than the standard 3 minute songs back in the day. You can’t restrict art.
It was ‘Across the Universe’.
The movie followed the book fairly well except for two things-fewer scientific details (I had to google a lot!) and more comedy. Gosling was amazing.
Can’t just enjoy and review the movie. Have to throw in some politics. I am not supporting ANY administration we have had for many years but the minute I hit that I stopped reading. Hope you did too.
I thought the movie did a good job of representing the book. They had to absolutely skip or speed through a few things, breeding the Taumoeba and it escaping through the xenonite, but overall I thought the run-time was perfect. If readers want more detail, I’d suggest they do the audiobook, which was the right mix of detail and liveliness of character.
I also agree that the themes, like exploration, logically solving problems, and optimism really made the movie shine. And the kinds of themes in PHM were exactly why I started writing my own sci-fi, such as Space Ants: Never Say Die, which would also fit in with the yellowed tomes of yesteryear.
It was great. They concentrated on the relationship instead of action. Loved the special effects and tech and it felt like they assumed the audience had a brain. Heartily recommend the audio book also.
I’m sorry, did you imply that “Solo” is a bland movie? It’s super entertaining, so watch it again without looking down your nose at it.
Love the review Michael. I was that 70’s sci fi book nerd who loved the smell, look, and feel of a fresh Arthur C Clarke paperback. Having read the Project Hail Mary book and seen the movie, I do feel part of the intent was to harken back to the days when the “Big Blue Marble” would unite against a common foe. I’m sure the authors and screen writers have had a bit of wink and nod about how their narrative contrasts against the current political landscape. I can understand those that oppose mentioning Trump. Doesn’t add anything, but I’ve also noticed that when you though a rock into the MAGAland crowd. The guy who gets hit, will definitely holler. I can also see why a review might point to our current administration. Several times I found myself wondering what our President’s take would be on this movie. As a consumer though, loved it! Made me remember those days of old when hope and optimism weren’t a bad or political thing and science and exploration helped show us the way.
Both my husband and I agree it was TOO LONG! At 2.5 hours it could have benefited from at least an hour cut out.
I saw this trailer and I thought…no. A space rock buddy movie?
My wife and went to see it and I thought it was awesome. I didn’t think it was too long…I never thought about the length actually.
I enjoyed it so much I didn’t even criticize plot holes — like how does Rocky live in a habitrail ball indefinitely? Or why is there gravity sometimes and sometimes not from one scene to the next?
Who cares? It was a fun movie and I never once pondered real life politics while watching it. I never once thought “Der Trumpenfurher would execute Rocky as an illegal!!!!”
Instead, I chose to be a happy person and watch an enjoyable movie.
They have gravity when they activate the centrifuge mode of the space ship, but they don’t want to do that all the time because they already have not enough “fuel.” Rocky possibly must eat less often than humans. We do see him eat once, probably he was back in his ship a few times to get stuff.
Anyone who stops reading should refrain from typing.