There are movies that make you cry over pets and humans. Project Hail Mary makes you cry over a rock alien, aptly named Rocky. Phil Lord and Chris Miller’s adaptation of Andy Weir’s novel follows Ryland Grace, played by Ryan Gosling, who wakes up alone on a spacecraft with no memory of who he is or why he is there. What begins as a mission to save humanity leads to friendship crossing the threshold of species and galaxies.
Visually, each frame of the film is crafted with excellence and passion. With the vastness of endless space outside of the Hail Mary, the spaceship serves as a setting where every human and non-human emotional moment feels more precious. The spacecraft being cramped and maximized for functionality, lit with artificial light, reminds the audience how far from home Grace is. When we are introduced to Rocky’s ship, the design is unlike any other alien vessel in recent science fiction. It is dark and angular, with methods of communication using guitar-like strings. This unique way of showing Rocky’s ship makes Rocky’s encounter seem impossible and makes us love their moments together.
On the other side of the warmth of Grace and Rocky lies Eva Stratt. Stratt embodies the rest of the humans who are dependent on the success of Project Hail Mary. She is given absolute authority, which she exercises to the fullest, to spearhead the project without any sentimentality. She embodies the weight of human survival, making hard, calculated choices that tiptoe the line on ethics. While she only opens herself to Grace a handful of times, she remains a stringent leader of the project who will do anything for it to succeed.
The friendship between Grace and Rocky moves the entire film. They share no common language, culture, or biology beyond the fact that they are both scientists on a mission to save their home by any means necessary. Their first interaction relies purely on math and science, two tools that transcend universal boundaries. Watching them slowly discover how to bridge the gap of language is a moving experience. And by the time they start to understand each other completely, the audience forgets they ever belonged to different worlds.
The Orpheus and Eurydice myth follows Orpheus who descends into the underworld to confront Hades and bring back his love, Eurydice, only to lose her because he cannot stop himself from looking back. Orpheus risking to look behind himself cost everything he wanted. Project Hail Mary mirrors this tragedy closely but diverges from the myth in the end. Orpheus loses Eurydice because he looks back; Grace succeeds because he does. When Grace has to make a decision to return home or warn Rocky, Grace makes the difficult decision of going back to Rocky. The myth calls out for looking back, but Project Hail Mary argues the opposite.
What makes Grace going back for Rocky land is that the film never frames Grace as a traditional hero. He is not saving the world; he is going back to the one creature, further from home, who truly cared about him. His decision is not played with gloomy music but with uplifting music, showing that he made the right decision. Grace simply sends the results back to Earth and goes to help Rocky. Where Orpheus was doomed by turning back, Grace is reunited with his friend for it.
In the end, Project Hail Mary isn’t about a traditional hero saving humanity. It is a story of two beings from opposite sides of the galaxy finding each other in the endlessness of space to save their species. Grace, grounded by Ryan Gosling’s performance, and Rocky, a rock alien who is impossible not to love, become the true center of the movie. Driven by their comedic and heart-touching dynamic, it is easily one of the best films of the year, making you tear up over a rock.
