Ep. 4: Project Hail Mary Discussion | Sci-Fi Storytelling & Adaptation Breakdown

In this episode, we dive into the world of Project Hail Mary, exploring its story, themes, and what makes it such a compelling science fiction narrative.

Miguel, Nic, Hunter, and Jack break down the emotional core of the story, its scientific ideas, and how it fits into the legacy of modern sci-fi storytelling.

We also discuss adaptation potential and what makes great science fiction resonate beyond spectacle.

Topics Include:
• Story and themes of Project Hail Mary
• Character dynamics
• Sci-fi storytelling at its best
• Adaptation expectations

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Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Welcome to the Cinefile Mind. And today the topic of conversation is the massive hit that is Project Hail Mary starring Ryan Gosling. Project Hail Mary follows molecular biologist turned middle school teacher who gets recruited into a top secret mission to save Earth's dying son. He wakes up alone on a spaceship with no memory, realizes he's humanity's last hope, and then meets an alien who's doing this exact same thing for his own planet. So what starts as a survival puzzle slowly becomes this really emotional story about friendship, sacrifice, and two beings from completely different worlds trying to save everything they love. So listen, I went in completely blind into this. All I knew was that the book was extremely popular and that it was about a teacher sent out into space. And I was skeptical of yet another space movie, really. And not only because of the amount of space movies we've had over the last decade or two, but also because of the amount of great space movies we've had in that time span: Interstellar, Gravity, Arrival, First Man, which also starred Ryan Gosling, and The Martian, which was also adapted from an Andy Weir novel. I was thinking, what are the chances this will get added to that canon of modern classics? Plus, I'm thinking some of these movies are also directed by masters of filmmaking: Gravity by Alfonso Coron, Interstellar, Christopher Nolan, Arrival, Denny Villanov, which I just realized I learned his how to pronounce his name because I've been pronouncing it wrong this entire time. First Man by Damien Chazelle and The Martian by Ridley Scott. So this one comes from co-directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, who might not belong in the same category as those directors, but they also directed 21 and 22 Jump Street, which, you know, both I love. The Spider-Verse franchise, which are probably some of the best Spider-Man films ever created, which says a lot because Spider-Man films have been the strongest and most consistently good superhero films out there. And so you quickly realize that these two are actually the perfect directors for this specific emotional but also whimsical and funny and witty story. So what are y'all's thoughts? Sure.

SPEAKER_02 2:30

Well, so obviously you pointed out kind of going in blind. And I think before we even get into like anything about the plot or production or anything, I didn't read the book, so I can't really speak to it from that point of view. The thing that I wish for myself is either I had read the book or that I had gone in not having seen the trailer because the trailer revealed Rocky's presence. And you know, that's not a bad thing because obviously that takes up a significant portion of the film, but I think I would have rather just known nothing about it other than maybe you know it was adapted from a book and same writer as The Martian, that sort of thing.

SPEAKER_03 3:12

I'd love to dive. I think that I do think Nick, you said I also didn't really know anything about it. I did it, it appears that Andy Ware kind of wrote the book for Ryan Gosling. Like the rights for the book were picked up before even being released as a book, which I thought was kind of interesting. I was not prepared for the amount of irony that kind of was required to carry the plot forward, and so that that took a second for me to get used to.

SPEAKER_00 3:41

Yeah, I'm kind of the same boat as Jag. I I kind of found this movie a little frustrating, but it it's also like the highs in this movie for me are very, very high. But I think this is a movie where you have to forgive a decent amount of its shortcomings, and if you can do that, which I think a general audience will easily do, it's like the movie to take your entire family to. Like it's gonna be the sinners of this year, it's gonna make a billion dollars, and I think a lot of people are really going to enjoy this movie if they go they go and see it. And I'll do a disclaimer that like I think me and Jack might dislike this movie a little bit, but you you can like this movie, it's okay.

SPEAKER_03 4:22

Yeah, I think I I had a moment realizing I was taking it too seriously when we were exiting the theater and there were multiple like 12-year-olds. And I was like, okay, I I'd I've been watching, you know, like the night before I saw Daisies, like a you know, like avant-garde 60s masterpiece, and so then I was coming into Project Hail Mary, maybe a a bit too much ego. And so that makes me want to go see it. I saw it at Alamo. I kind of now want to go see it on the biggest IMAX I can find and really let loose and enjoy it. I think I there there's I I catch myself a lot in the theater being a little stuck up, and I think that was me yesterday. So I'm I'm still working through the movie because it was just fun, it looked beautiful, and very, very little green screen. There was so much practical, which which really makes me excited for like a big blockbuster like this, for them to have kind of you know spent so much effort on making it as real as possible, even if you're in space.

SPEAKER_01 5:24

I really love the movie. Something ended up making me really liking the movie, and I was very moved by it. And going back to what we were saying in the previous episode before Hunter, we've become skeptical as film enthusiasts of any strong emotions we feel when watching movies. We ask if we're being manipulated into feeling a certain way, as if we were watching like Hallmark level movies, but this obviously isn't one of them. But here we didn't have Grace do a long monologue about him being alone, not having anyone in his life, and not having found a meaning of life during his time on Earth. It was very casually presented when Sandra Uhler's character told him that he had no other choice but to go on this one-way mission to save his son in order to save Earth and reminded him that he has no immediate family nor kids and not even a dog to stop him from doing so. And the state of his love life was also mentioned once when Rocky, after telling Grace about the love of their life back in their own planet, asked if Grace had anyone to go back home to, to which Ryan Dawslin quietly says no, and that his previous marriage didn't work out. The film also doesn't demand us to like Sandra Uller's character. She's ice cold, barely mentions anything about her own personal life, and gave Ryan Dawslin no choice but to go on this trip to save Earth. But her subtle characterizations throughout, and that karaoke scene alone where she sings Harry Style's Son of the Times, when she chooses to sing it in the most straightforward way, completely devoid of any sentimentality. We then understood and empathized for her character and the tough decisions she's had to make throughout the film. So I feel like it is a testament to the filmmakers and most especially Sandra Wooler's performance, who, by the way, you know, was my personal pit to win Oscar for Best Actress for an Adam Eva Fall a couple years ago. I hope she finds her way back to the Oscar stage this time around. And since I'm talking about that scene, I also have to mention uh the specific sequence that I love, which includes the one scene that I mentioned. First, I love the way it was revealed later in the film how he ended up going to space. Once we've gotten to know more about each character, which gave us enough time to get to know these people, that the mission and the motivations of the people involved are more complex by the time it's shown to us. And second, that scene was sandwiched in between the scenes where Grace and Rocky's friendship was becoming deeper in the scene where Rocky ends up saving Grace. In this specific sequence, and the scenes that came after made it more apparent that Grace's apprehension to go out to space to save Earth wasn't really about him not being brave enough per se, but has more to do with the fact that knowing this is a one-way mission and he was abruptly told of his fate, he was feeling like probably an array of emotions right at that moment that included his realization that he simply not had a fulfilled life on Earth and he's being forced to let go of whatever his dreams may be. He's being forced out with his life unfulfilled. And so going back and forth with his growing friendship with Rocky, him being told that he was leaving Earth and Rocky saving his life. We learned that what he's been wanting his whole life on Earth that he didn't really obtain until he left Earth was a deep connection with another being, which he found in his relationship with Rocky. And that relationship to me was very moving. Probably the my favorite relationship with another being since ET.

SPEAKER_00 9:03

I was I was gonna say, I was comparing this movie originally. I was like, oh, this is like a arrival. But this movie is a lot more like E.T. to me. Yeah. In terms of like how that relationship plays out.

SPEAKER_02 9:14

Yeah, I think Arrival and ET are definitely the the clearest, like benevolent extraterrestrial films. And so you know, obviously, we're getting that with this as well. I feel like, and again, I haven't read either The Martian or Project Hill Mary, but based on viewing those movies, it seems like he does subvert certain expectations that we have from the genre as far as like people's ambitions to save humanity or find themselves, those sorts of things. And then, you know, the other thing being like we were talking about E.T. and it's like the ending of that film being more bittersweet, and you know the alien leaving Earth and they're kind of saying their goodbyes and stuff. Whereas this really isn't that, it's actually he finds his peace and happiness and goes to live on the same planet with Rocky. So they do kind of subvert some of those expectations as well in an interesting way.

SPEAKER_00 10:09

I want to get into things I didn't like about this movie. Uh although it'd be one of the disabilities here. Go ahead. Go ahead. This movie in the intro, I said this is a frustrating movie, and it it still is frustrating me that I think it's paced a little insanely from the director specifically. Like it is paced like a comedy movie almost. I think a lot about the intro where he's waking up, and but there's just so many scenes like the beginning where I would have liked them to have omitted a score, omitted dialogue to just like let me sit in these moments, and they're punctuated by like bits the entire time, whether it's like just tripping over something or like the first line of dialogue we get is the Ryan Gosling scream, which like immediately took me out of the movie right before it started. This movie has really great production value and really good cinematography, and I was getting really mad sometimes that I wasn't allowed to like sit for a little bit with some of these scenes, especially the infrared scene is what I'm thinking about. We're like, that's probably one of the more beautiful shots in the movie, and there's just dialogue and punctuating it the whole time. And I guess that's what I'm always thinking about with this movie, is I just wish it would have mellowed out a little bit more so I could sit with like some of the amazing production value. I don't need keys, you know, jingled in front of my head. I it I felt a little disrespected that like I don't think the directors thought that I could just sit with the movie like it was. They needed to jingle keys in front of my face for a lot of the movie. And I don't need that. I'm an adult, I can watch the movie just fine.

SPEAKER_02 11:52

Jack. Thoughts are loading.

SPEAKER_03 11:59

This this is where I like it reminds me of I saw Thunderbolts with my mom last year. And her her thoughts ended up being, she's like, uh, I went to the theater with Jack today. I think this is my first Marvel movie I ever saw. It was so cute and fun and was a story about friendship. And I my thoughts are like, oh man, I hate Marvel. This is this is outrageous to cinema. And then like I talked to my mom, and I'm like, oh my gosh, yeah, it was a cute movie about friendship. It's it's a really sweet movie. So it again, I like sometimes, yeah. I just I do need these lighthearted blockbusters to kind of yeah, confront my my own ego. Because it's like, what's the point of them? Like, not every movie has to be some deep existential, and maybe it's just because space, space is literally so existential, like the thought of being trapped in space. You you kind of want to have that as a vessel to explore, to explore that, but I don't know, you know, it's March, it's summer's getting started, so probably is the perfect movie to be releasing right now. And like I said, I think I might have to go see it again. It's one that I would love to challenge myself to to laugh out loud a little bit more. I kind of wish I'll just go watch the drama. I I wish I wish you're giving this movie the same grace you did to F1, but and I might you you might be catching a longer article about my thoughts on that because trust me, last night I was sitting in my backyard thinking, why did I like F1 so much and why am I struggling to like this? So actively working through that, and we'll we'll we'll continue exploring that upon each blockbuster release.

SPEAKER_01 13:49

Yeah, I mean this will most likely fill that spot in the Oscar race next year for Best Picture as uh F1 and Top Gun Maverick a few years prior. If you think about it, probably more closer to Frankenstein, really, something that a lot of people enjoyed. A lot of the like the Cinephiles kind of hated.

SPEAKER_02 14:10

I think the couple things that we have to acknowledge though are one, you we hear so many complaints about like reboots and sequels and not having original ideas and stories, and here's a massive original idea and story, and I feel like that has to be championed quite a bit because we want more of that. And then the other thing is Jack touched on earlier, and I think Honor as well, is the actual production and lack of like CG elements in a movie that basically would be begging or screaming for those elements from any other studio and with this budget. The fact that we're getting practical, like puppeteered effects, no blue screen or green screen backgrounds for most of the film is exciting, especially at that scale. And I want to go back and see it in IMAX for sure because again, I think it's made for the big screen, it's made for spectacle, it's made to kind of you know tune out certain things and not think too deeply or existentially, but yeah.

SPEAKER_00 15:24

The the story is a little odd. One of the oddest parts of the movie to me that me and Jack were talking about is why he is on the ship at the you know at the beginning of the movie. Like he is drugged and forced onto the spaceship, and uh that feels like it comes out of nowhere. That that is the reveal of why he's there. You almost expect like a cliche thing where he's like, Oh, like, you know, I I want to save the world. Like, actually, I I'm I'm worth something better here. I'm gonna do something for the greater good. And then they're just like they grab, they drag him kicking and screaming onto the ship. But it's almost a horrifying scene when she tells him, like, we're just gonna put you on there. His performance is really good, like he's on the verge of tears. And I couldn't get over it. That the audience was laughing the entire time. Um, and I like that's that was a scary scene for me. I was like, Oh my god, like they're effectively killing this guy right now. He's about to die, and the entire audience is laughing because he's like jumping on the tables and running away from these guys.

SPEAKER_02 16:36

See, I think the only reason it works is because that's a flashback. So we already knew he's existing and thriving on the ship and on his journey to discovering, you know, his purpose. Whereas if the movie opened with the kidnapping part, it would be truly like a horror film. It still kind of is, I guess.

SPEAKER_00 16:58

It's just it's existentially very scary still, to me at least. It felt like a weird just vibe shift in the theater where I'm like, this is a very dramatic scene, and then everyone's like, This is funny. I'm like, no, it's not funny.

SPEAKER_01 17:16

He also kind of just plays the the role in a slightly comedic way throughout, which works on a lot of scenes because it doesn't go overboard with the sentimental Hallmark value of it, right? When he's reunited with Rocky, and rather than ramping up the score and having like a very tearful moment, he simply just hugs him, which is I thought was pretty nice.

SPEAKER_00 17:40

That's the core of the movie. Like uh, this movie does not work at any level if that relationship isn't good. And oh, for sure. With all my criticisms, I still like while I was watching the movie, I was like, I don't know how he's gonna like leave this dude. Like, I can't imagine that's possible. Like this character would rather kill himself than have to leave this character.

SPEAKER_01 18:05

Maybe the other details of the movie are not working for a lot of people because probably the main reason for the movie is the friendship itself. So the filmmakers were just trying to get to that part of the story.

SPEAKER_02 18:18

The comedic aspect is interesting, and like the one scene that kind of jumped out to me tonally where I was like, sure, we'll just go along with this, was when he looks out and sees the other ship. And it's like, I think probably most people would immediately be freaking out beyond the reaction that we're seeing from him. So he's kind of like no, no, no, and then trying to drive the ship away and stuff. Again, presenting it in like a comedic way, and that moment I was like, okay, this is the tone we have for the movie. It's a family-friendly outer space film. Yeah. Y'all are haters.

SPEAKER_00 19:04

Those are those are not criticisms of. Those are criticisms.

SPEAKER_01 19:07

I'm kidding.

SPEAKER_00 19:09

Oh, those are criticisms. Family friendly shouldn't be a criticism.

SPEAKER_01 19:12

No, it's not.

SPEAKER_00 19:15

Friendly.

SPEAKER_01 19:15

Um, no. Yeah. I mean, E.T. was family friendly, and that's a classic. You're right, of course.

SPEAKER_00 19:20

Jack's got some cooking in here.

SPEAKER_03 19:24

No, I think he's holding back. Yeah, reflecting in the mirror for the rest of the day.

SPEAKER_00 19:32

This movie is has been troubling for the two of us, I think. Um, we're both a little conflicted on it. It is, I'll reiterate again, it is so good. Like it's a movie that you should go see for sure. I think I'm just done with quippiness at this point. I I I want I wanted this movie to be more serious than it was, and maybe that's a level of my expectations not matching it, and that's where the bias comes from. But I this movie is very serious, stakes, has very, very good actors, and I and very good production value, and I kind of wish we would would have dwelled on those things a little more than than just like it's kind of like an ADHD style of of directing the movie. Let me chill for a second while I'm watching this movie. It's got so much going on for it.

SPEAKER_03 20:20

And it's also interesting to look at, and I I know it's just like it's it's impossible to have a true ranking, but if you look on the Letterboxd top 500 movies of all time list, and you look at some of the movies that this has now been ranked better than that's sometimes that's sometimes interesting for me to wrap my head around and try to figure out like it, you know, it comes down to the audiences, so it's like what do the audiences want to see? But then you you also start to think, well, like what's the what's the point of anything?

SPEAKER_00 20:49

It's kill this is killing Jack, this movie. It should be a space movie that makes you existential, though. I think that's a good sign. Like in terms of like movies that are like very mass appeal, this is one of the better one of those movies. It might be one of the best like mass appeal movies that that ever existed. It's it's amazing still, despite being like a little like not risk-taking at all. Yeah, it's still like one of the best movies. It's not it's not a Marvel movie, still. It's it's an astoundingly good movie, and I'm not I don't like the movie that much.

SPEAKER_03 21:29

And it's bad in the theaters, which it's that's what Hunter and I were talking about. It's hard to get mad at a movie that's selling so many tickets because that that does support you know the the the like riskier ones to just kind of be be put out there as well and get funded. So it kind of is good for just the the industry itself.

SPEAKER_01 21:50

Yeah. Listen, it'll be everybody's favorite movie leading up to next year's Oscar season, and it's gonna be the Oscar villain on film Twitter. Where everyone's questioning why this is the front runner when all these other great filmmakers have come out with like new films this past year.

SPEAKER_00 22:08

This this movie has kind of made me think differently about Sinners, though. Like this is a those are both movies that are made to like sell tickets.

SPEAKER_01 22:16

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 22:16

And I'm like, uh yeah, these are both really good movies still in terms of they're not that pandering and they are accessible, but they're not bad movies in any way. And yeah, like Jack said, it's awesome that people are going to watch it. Please go to your movie theater. There's something special. I don't know. We were sitting next to a lady at the bar after we watched this movie, and we were both about to just lay into it. And she kind of told us that she was a book reader, and like she would also just got out of the movie. And there's something about talking to people who like really like something that makes me like it so much more, or at least levels me out a little bit where I'm like, it's still so awesome like that you have had a positive experience with art at this point, and like makes me like why am I even we only criticize these movies just because there's gotta be some level between them, but it's still phenomenal if you go see this movie and it resonates with you and you went to the movie theater. That's awesome.

SPEAKER_01 23:18

Alright, let's give this film a letter grade. I'm gonna start with myself. I give it a minus.

SPEAKER_00 23:25

I'm hitting a B then on this movie.

SPEAKER_02 23:27

Interesting. I was actually gonna go B minus, but no, I'm like, I think I liked it more than you, so maybe a B also.

SPEAKER_03 23:35

Yeah, I was going B minus.

SPEAKER_02 23:38

Because we have to.

SPEAKER_00 23:40

Well, talking to Miguel has made me like the movie more, so I think that I can I can have a little higher move rating than you guys then.

SPEAKER_01 23:49

Well, honestly, I was not prepared to have to defend this movie today. I was so sure all of us would love it, but boy was I wrong. Not every film has to challenge us intellectually or be groundbreaking in its approach. Sometimes all we really need is a movie that connects with us emotionally, and I don't mean in a sappy, manipulative kind of way. Something we can truly take in, even as skeptics, and we've all become skeptical of everything. Every emotion the film elicited from us as an audience felt earned, genuine, and deeply real. If you're someone who needs an escape from all the bad things happening in the real world, this is your movie. If you are someone who has longed for a real connection with anyone, or feel like you have someone in your life that you are truly connected to in a deep level, whether that be your spouse, your parents, your grandparents, even your pets like myself, who is very connected with my golden retriever, this is your movie. And if you're someone who needs to be convinced of the magic of Hollywood, once again, buy that ticket and allow yourself to feel all the emotions where it always feels safe to cry in the darkness of a movie theater. This is your movie. All I know is this movie will stay with both audiences and Oscar voters alike. They will remember this movie. And I believe that Project Hail Mary will be nominated for a boatload of Oscars, including Best Picture. And that is all I have to say in this matter. All right. Thank you for watching The Cinephile Mind. Please subscribe to our podcast and follow us on Instagram and TikTok. See you guys on the next episode.