At the time of the release of Interstellar, when everyone was talking about how complicated it was going to be, Christopher Nolan made it simpler for the audience when he revealed his perception. He simplified it, saying it was a movie about a dad fulfilling the promise he made to his daughter. Even though the whole black hole thing and various other hypotheses in physics added those intricate layers to it, the thing that makes us rewatch Interstellar is the emotional journey of that character. Project Hail Mary, from Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, is one movie that tries something very similar to Interstellar on a setting level, as both involve interstellar travel for survival. However, much like the Nolan film, this script also relies on a highly relatable emotion, and that is friendship. With the character quirks continuously giving us humorous bits, Project Hail Mary is a sci-fi film that manages to put a bright smile on your face.
In the near future, our Sun is getting dimmer and dimmer, and this will eventually cause a major issue for the entire solar system because of the drop in temperature. Scientists have discovered that the cause of this phenomenon is a microorganism called astrophage, and they have also realised that in a different star named Tau Ceti, astrophage couldn’t do its damage. What we see here is a suicide mission by human beings to find out how Tau Ceti manages to do that and what all happens to the people involved in that mission, especially our main man, Dr. Ryland Grace.
The movie is based on a novel of the same name by Andy Weir, and he wrote the book that was adapted as the movie The Martian. If you look at Martian, even though it has an evident layer of self-discovery that happens through the lonely challenges in an alien setting, the adventure part of it made things a lot more fun. Project Hail Mary also focuses more on that fun aspect through the reactions of the central character and the alien friend he meets in outer space. However, in this movie, the setting goes into extremely unusual areas of space expedition, and as I said, more than survival, it is a friendship story. The beats are perhaps similar to any other buddy movie. However, the unfamiliar setting calls for newer nuances in building this odd relationship, and that process is hilarious and heartwarming.
One of the challenges of these kinds of movies is that, in some form, they should be able to communicate the complicated science of this whole process to the layman, and it shouldn’t feel like the characters are doing the explanation for the audience. Drew Goddard’s screenplay manages to crack that very effectively. In the flashback bits, he is using this character of Carl, who is a mere security guy with whom Grace occasionally chats, to explain the fundamental concepts of this idea to us. The only area in terms of writing that felt like a challenge to convincingly depict within a small span of time was the communication between Grace and Rocky (the alien). However, by making the language translation initially very patchy and showing us how new words are added during the process, they manage to make us believe that such communication is possible. And it was so fun that some of the elements of this communication, like “question”, “statement”, almost became moments of goosebumps for the audience. Also, the idea of this story moves forward to wilder possibilities, and the movie’s ending was a great example of that.
One of the things that made this project extremely exciting from a filmmaking aspect was the fact that they decided not to go with the typical green screen thing in this movie. The spaceship and the other things with which Ryan Gosling is interacting are mostly real. When it comes to the movie that really adds to the authenticity, it even reflects in the actor’s performance. The alien character Rocky is actually a puppet handled by a team of five, led by James Ortiz. And in today’s visual effects-heavy filmmaking space, such a character that feels real is also making the dynamic of the duo very genuine on screen. The humor is the driving force of the movie in many ways. Even in the most vulnerable bit, like the reaction of Grace to the possibility of returning to Earth, it uses some very hilarious lines to show the raw happiness. The flashback bits also have a lot of humor because of the peculiar central character who just can’t take a compliment. The cinematography inside the spaceship and around it mostly takes this handheld approach, which makes the friendship of Grace and Rocky a lot more intimate. In the outer space visuals, we can see the film opting for a calm and static tone, with the sound design having a muffled or silent treatment to put the audience in a state of tranquility. The background score in those emotionally high moments really helps the film be that warm experience.
Ryan Gosling is playing the part of Ryland Grace, and he is known for his witty charm. That aspect of his filmography makes him the best choice for this part, and the comedy elements in the dialogue are performed hilariously. The tricky part is the areas where this introverted guy, who feels like someone who deals with imposter syndrome, has to make some emotional decisions. It is in those areas that this movie becomes extremely emotional, and Ryan was able to pull it off beautifully. Sandra Huller plays the part of Eva Stratt, the individual who recruited Grace to this project. Even though it is a smaller part in terms of screen time, she performed that character’s restrained vulnerability beautifully.
The science and emotional elements in the story have a small resemblance to what we have seen in something like Interstellar. But here it is more about the concept and the fun factor. So when you look at both films from a lens of profoundness, the Christopher Nolan film still has an edge. The movie is filmed for IMAX, and hence I would highly recommend experiencing it on a premium large screen, as the space sequences are truly breathtaking. So if you want to experience Interstellar with the humor setting of something like The Martian, Project Hail Mary will be a joyful experience.
