Words by JANE CROWTHER

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In our current world of political polarisation, rage baiting, click farming and war, Project Hail Mary – with its belief in cooperation, kindness, self-sacrifice, friendship, and the healing nature of karaoke – is the film we need now. An old-fashioned, four-quadrant, feelgood MOVIE, built for the big screen and for a communal experience, it might not solve world problems but it will certainly provide welcome respite from them. 

Like Andy Weir’s previous bestseller adaptation, The Martian, PHM put audiences in an interstellar situation with a lone everyman, trying to figure out how to survive in a hostile environment. This time around it’s Cleveland science teacher and purveyor of great cardies and retro t-shirts, Dr Ryland Grace (Ryan Gosling) who wakes from a medical coma on a US spaceship 113.9 years from Earth, his colleagues dead and his mission unclear. As the brain fog clears, Grace recalls the threat to Earth that brought him into a galaxy far, far away. Space bugs called astrophage have systematically gone through planets, sucking their lifeforce and our spinning rock is next. Deep in space there’s a single planet, Tau Ceti, that seems immune, so a team is sent on a one-way ticket to find the cure and send it back home. 

Clearly other civilisations have had the same idea, because as Grace nears the planet in question he meets a version of himself, a stone-looking alien he calls ‘Rocky’. Refreshingly, their relationship begins with mutual respect and curiosity, and as the duo develop ways of communication, work together in their make-shift lab and explain the joys of each other’s worlds they form a bromance of the ages. In-between Gosling’s deft physical comedy, the rock/man banter and Neil Scanlon’s tangible puppet design, something emerges that recalls ET and Wall-E: the simple beauty of friendship that crosses species, space and time – between two beings that value each other for their heart, not their provenance. 

Largely powered by Gosling’s considerable charm (with a side helping of Sandra Hüller as the sort of calm, pragmatic commander we might all wish was in control of the world, especially when she starts belting out Harry Styles songs at karaoke), Project Hail Mary is serious enough with the science for a global threat to feel feasible, but skips over logistics to put Grace in some perilous emotional and physical moments. A sequence where the good doctor space walks, tethered to his ship in the great void is reminiscent of the tension of Gravity, while flashbacks of what led him to be part of the crew gives grounding context to heroism. It helps that Rocky is a physical presence and not CGI regurg; voiced by lead puppeteer James Ortiz and played like a super-smart labrador, he’s a warm, sincere character that promises to prompt tears. And there’s a lightness of touch from 12 Jump Street directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller and Drew Goddard’s screenplay that manages to make Grace’ critical adventures both funny and heartfelt. Though the final coda feels unnecessary, it won’t offend, and most viewers will leave the cinema buoyed by the belief in collaboration and teamwork. One can only hope some of our world leaders catch a show…

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Words by JANE CROWTHER
Pictures courtesy of Amazon MGM Studios
Project Hail Mary is out in cinemas now