This is now a Project Hail Mary fan account x

It’s been three weeks since my first viewing of Project Hail Mary. I have now seen it 5 times, and it has quite literally taken over my life. As I write this, I’m listening to the score on repeat. Last night, I finished crocheting my third variant of Rocky. I’m considering purchasing the knitting pattern of Grace’s famous fox cardigan; it is safe to say that I am obsessed. In my original review, I gave the film a 4.5-star rating. Now, I wish I could give it an unlimited rating and all the stars in the universe, Tau Ceti included; it has even wormed its way into my top 4 on Letterboxd. I’m not quite sure how to handle myself. 

I would argue that one of the main themes within this film is hope, and what an uplifting and delicious form of hopecore it is. It’s found in Rocky, in the way that he lives his life, he is incredibly caring and generous, in which he does everything in his power to save Grace, “Rocky watch whole crew die. Rocky not fix. Grace say Grace will die. Rocky fix” I’m just completely obsessed with that little bunch of rocks, I find him adorable, no matter what it is that he is doing, and I know I’m not the only one, Rocky has stolen the hearts of the nation…I think it’s only right that we get the 4-hour Rocky cut; it doesn’t even need a plot. I just want to see him live out his day-to-day life. For those who want some rocky action when they’re away from the cinema, I highly recommend this video. I currently have it on whilst I’m writing this piece, and it’s holding me accountable for my productivity (side note, I’m also obsessed with the score of PHM, specifically “centrifuge”, for me that is joy encapsulated in an arrangement).

The same goes for Grace. Ryan Gosling has also stolen my heart in more ways than one; however, his portrayal of Ryland Grace will stay with me forever. Throughout the film, particularly in the flashback/memory scenes, it is highlighted numerous times that he is, in fact, a coward, a trait that is detrimental to his character. In a conversation with Yao, they discuss the bravery it takes to risk one’s life and go into space: “You just need to find someone to be brave for.” This is one of the most important quotes in the film and highlights the aforementioned theme of hope, without giving any spoilers to those who have not seen the film yet (what are you doing? Stop reading this and head down to your local cinema right now!), we learn that the Yao’s slice of advice was the ultimate lesson and rule to live by, and is proven correct by the end of the film. 

Slight tangent, however, the synchronicity of the release of Project Hail Mary and the launch of Artemis II is something for the history books, I’m almost 100% certain that these two things were not planned to coincide with each other, but it was a fantastic coincidence anyways, it has genuinely made me engrossed in space – what can I say, I’m in my space era right now! 

With all these space-related incidents happening around us, whether in real life or pop culture, it really puts into perspective that we are all literally just on a floating rock in space, so maybe we should just be nice to each other? Given how popular Project Hail Mary is at the moment, it’s a message people need to hear, especially in times of such uncertainty and hardship.