By Dwight Brown
Contributing Writer
He’s a space cowboy. Well, not exactly. He’s an eighth-grade science teacher who’s lost in space.
If you’re going to strand an audience in the heavens above with a thespian, many would choose Ryan Gosling. Why? He’s got charm to spare (see “La La Land”). He’s self-effacing (“Barbie”). Has a great sense of humor (“Step Brothers”). And can command the screen (“Half Nelson”).
So, when author Andy Weir, who wrote “The Martian,” finished his new book “Project Hail Mary,” he got Gosling attached to the project. The rest is “his story.”
Screenwriter Drew Goddard (“The Martian”) wrote a hefty, long-winded screenplay that directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller (“Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse”) brought to the screen. Clocking in at 156 minutes, not every single second seems accounted for. Some stretches in space drag and could have used a menacing meteor shower or another bolt of energy.
Also, the film has trouble finding its rightful ending. Still, nearly every frame carries charm — sweetness, vibrancy or urgency. Ryland Grace (Gosling’s character) wakes up in a spaceship, bewildered. What the hell? All on board are dead. It’s just him.
Grace wonders, “I can’t be the only one here!” Why is this happening and where is he? That’s a good question for Grace and his fellow passengers — the audience.
Slowly he pulls himself together and unravels his precarious situation in bits and pieces. For those along for the ride in theater seats, the details unfold gradually, through flashbacks. Not cryptic ones. Clear recollections that set the story, characters and mission in place while emphasizing what’s at stake.
As Grace’s journey continues, his vessel comes in contact with another. Or at least some other object. A connection is made. Eventually, a mysterious being asserts itself, giving Earth’s representative an opportunity to engage. Grace calls on all his people skills to break the ice with someone/something that isn’t human.
As with any introduction, there’s an exchange of names, IDing each other and a lot of staring. It’s hard to describe the being, and anyway, its physicality is not important. Discovering why each is in the middle of oblivion is the objective. They meet, they court, they converse and work on a common problem.
Weir’s touching story and Goddard’s sensitive script and dialogue have a disarming effect on all who witness this meeting of beings. Both are from different spectrums. Both bent on saving their worlds from destruction.
The bonding and working together on view is a lesson in humanity that’s timely. Lord and Miller give the proceedings a light, humorous touch with bits of pathos, fear and hope. Viewers’ emotional reactions will follow the lead given by the characters and narrative. Most will enjoy the journey, as commanded by Gosling, their guide.
The spaceship with its nooks and crannies is a marvelous place to be stranded thanks to the work of production designer Charles Wood (“Guardians of the Galaxy”). Whether Grace is in astronaut gear or boring teacher clothes, costume designers David Crossman and Glyn Dillon clothe him appropriately for all settings.
Interior shots of the ship, explosions on earth and intimate scenes between human and nonhuman characters are fascinating because cinematographer Greig Fraser (“Dune”) shoots it all like it was a life-or-death matter. Cleverly, the sound track includes Elton John’s “Rocket Man,” David Bowie’s “Starman” and a score by Daniel Pemberton (“Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse”) that’s energetic or mysterious with haunting choral music.
The only recent space-themed movie that rivals this production quality is “Gravity,” Alfonso Cuarón’s Oscar-winning sci-fi drama. It was a serious film. This is pure entertainment.
Still, the heart of the movie is an ordinary teacher with a PhD in molecular biology. Gosling plays Grace as sheepish, brave, humble and crazed throughout. Almost like if you were drafted for an immensely important task you thought was way above your pay grade, but its success was bigger than your fears and anxiety.
He’s the everyman and believable in the part from beginning to end. His character is diametrically opposed to that of the pragmatic, Dutch administrator who was selected by the United Nations to form the mission. Eva Stratt (Sandra Hüller, “Anatomy of a Fall”) is all business. She doesn’t just recruit Grace, she traffics him against his will.
Grace jokes, “I put the ‘not’ in astronaut!”
Focused and not letting anything get in her way, Hüller knows her assignment and gets under the skin of the stern-face leader. Her heartlessness is countered by the Clark character (Lionel Boyce, “The Bear”),” who’s assigned to shepherd the very nervous science teacher. Milana Vayntrub, Ken Leung, Liz Kingsman and James Ortiz, who supplies the voice of Rocky the not so human being, round out a cast that knows their parts and do the work.
The science behind what’s happening to Earth might be beyond some filmgoers, especially young ones. All they need to know is that humanity is in trouble and providence has picked an unlikely person to save all. That’s it.
Grace is in space for a reason and Ryan Gosling tells us so. His mission is a duality. Help mankind live another day. Show how breaking barriers, cooperating and showing mutual respect can lead to friendships that last beyond 156 minutes.
Credit filmmakers Lord and Miller for the buoyant feel that never subsides and the science lesson that goes down easy. Praise Gosling for carrying the film and taking inquisitive folks along with him. But that’s what space cowboys do. Or science-teachers.
Dwight Brown is the film critic for the National Newspaper Publishers’ Association.
