Ken goes to space and it's amaze, amaze, amaze
Ryan Gosling's interstellar charm in Project Hail Mary catapults him into the movie star stratosphere.
A friend once remarked that I tend to use the phrase “I’m not the kind of person who…” when I start to argue why I am not very interested in, or a big fan of, a given subject only to follow that with examples of just the opposite.
In practice this works like this: I’d say “I am not the kind of person who likes horror films” and when you ask me which films I’ve enjoyed recently, I’ll follow up by sharing three of my favourite films last year were Nosferatu, Sinners and Frankenstein.
I am also the kind of person who believes personal taste shouldn’t dictate our choices because good stories happen across all genres, even the ones we’re not the kind of person who is usually interested in them.
Which leads me to science fiction and Ryan Gosling and more specifically to the modern classic in the making that is Project Hail Mary, the screen adaptation of Andy Weir’s best selling novel of the same name and which Gosling carries on his shoulders with effortless interstellar charm, vulnerability and a very rewarding payoff.
It’s hard to talk about a film I want to encourage more people to see without spoiling it but I’ll do my best to make my argument on why you should all see Project Hail Mary without revealing too much and why only Ryan Gosling could do the job in a career-defining performance that may finally see him win a Best Actor Oscar.
If I am honest with you Project Hail Mary had all the ingredients for me to pass on it both as a book and a film adaptation because, you see, I am not the kind of person who is into science fiction, especially heavy on science as it’s the case of Weir’s novel, and particularly when it is set in space and includes aliens. I prefer my stories to be a bit more grounded in reality.
Although considering that in the span of two weeks I have seen Project Hail Mary five times and read Weir’s novel, the credibility of this statement went out of the window after I typed ‘reality.’ I’ve made my peace with my contradictions because we all contain multitudes of them.
The one thing that Project Hail Mary did have that I am a big fan of is Ryan Gosling and in him I trust to lead me to great stories despite any reserves I may have because he’s proven time and again he can deliver great performances even in the most unlikely of roles.
And yet in the summer of 2023 I had no idea whatsoever what Ryan Gosling had been in and I definitely couldn’t understand all the hype around him because, despite not having seen any of his films, I am the kind of person who never lets her ignorance get in the way of her arrogance.
I had heard about The Notebook but I had never been curious enough to watch it because it seemed rather soppy and I am not the kind of person who enjoys those types of films1. I had also heard of La La Land, but at the time it came out I was not the kind of person who went to the cinema nor watched films everyone was obsessed about. I had also heard of Drive, which sounded rather intriguing and most crucially I didn’t have enough information about it to have any preconceived ideas, so this was my pick for my Ryan Gosling initiation.
To say Drive was a wild ride would be too easy of a pun so let’s say it did not disapoint and it shattered all my unjustified qualms about Gosling, the man and the actor, who punched me in the face with his undefeated coolness and impressive performance. Few people have the ability to be so magnetic saying so little and yet carry with such panache a film that relies as much on what’s not being said as it does on its visual aesthetics. To this day, I still think of the elevator fight scene, which was mind-blowing.
By the time the credits rolled, I had converted to the Ryan Gosling cult but I still struggled to see how this man, an actor who seemed so at ease in the realms of contained emotion and detachment, could play a doll no one gave a damn about. This role would certainly demand a very different set of acting skills. My curiosity had been sparked and since I am the kind of person who can’t rest until I have satisfied it, I booked my ticket for Barbie.
To make a long story short I couldn’t stop thinking about Gosling’s absolutely bedazzling rendition of Ken for days after watching the film for the first time2. Not many people can pull off a relatable self-acceptance journey as a plastic crotchless 70-year old doll and make you care about him. He proved his critics wrong and in the process showed everyone he was Kenough and secured a well deserved Oscar nomination by embracing so wholeheartedly a role that dangerously bordered the ridicule and could have ended the career of a less capable actor. And he did all that at the Oscars too, with a hell of a performance of that modern anthem that is I’m Just Ken, which also received an Oscar nomination for Best Original Song.
After Barbie, I caught up with on Gosling’s filmography quickly3 until one day I finally gathered the courage to see La La Land, which broke my heart in so many ways that I can’t think of that film without crying.
I still can’t believe Gosling didn’t win an Oscar for his portrayal of Sebastian, which was so full of everything that makes the heart flutter yet is so heart-wrenching in the end. It’s not easy to play an endearing cool loser that gets the girl with effortless charm and makes falling in love look as the most natural thing in the world. This is a very specific range that only Gosling can pull off successfully.
Despite it didn’t win Gosling an Oscar, La La Land marked a departure from his previous darker, more psychologically twisted roles, which the actor himself acknowledged was a conscious choice to shift his career towards more fun, luminous acting territory after he became a father.
Along with La La Land, one of the best films that belong to this more joyous Gosling era is the highly underrated The Nice Guys, a gem of a buddy comedy that sees a terrific Russell Crowe and Gosling in a 70s action comedy. Gosling plays Holland March, a recently widowed morose private investigator at a low in his career with a young daughter that isn’t very impressed by his devoted but incompetent father. The tone of the film allowed Gosling to show his physical comedy chops and excellent comic timing. While fans have asked for a sequel on account of the chemistry between Crowe and Gosling, he would remind everyone who is brave enough to advance such request that the movie tanked at the box office because Angry Birds was released at the same time.
Had I watched these two films instead of Drive to get educated on Gosling’s range, my reaction to his performance as Ken would have been much less of a delightful surprise and much more of a “Of course he would smash this role” as this was a natural progression of his new acting choices. Which is what Greta Gerwig must have thought because when Gosling received the script for Barbie it already had ‘Ryan Gosling Ken’ written on it.
It stands to reason then that when Andy Weir started writing Project Hail Mary he too had in mind Gosling as his Ryland Grace for a potential adaptation of his new sci-fi space novel. So much so that he gave his protagonist the same initials and sent a copy of the manuscript to Gosling before it was published to ask if he would be interested in bringing the story to the big screen. Considering the previous success of The Martian, and its humorous undertone, this was probably not too big of an ask as it aligned with Gosling’s new career path. In fact both Weir and Gosling are producers in this film and have been very involved in bringing the novel faifhfully to life.
Which is perhaps why the role of Ryland Grace feels like it is the crystalisation of all those acting choices Gosling started to make years ago, including Lars and the Real Girl, in which Gosling falls in love with a doll, or Half Nelson where he also played a teacher, albeit one with a crack addiction and for which Gosling received his first Best Actor Oscar nomination. Gosling has admitted in press interviews for Project Hail Mary that that his previous roles have been helpful to prepare for his character.
In Project Hail Mary he has distilled years of some of his best performances and fine-tuned them to perfection in a character that fits him like a glove. When you watch this film you can’t think of anyone else who would be able to play Ryland Grace with the same levels of credibility, emotional vulnerability, unassuming charm and comedic timing that are synonymous with Gosling’s acting trademark.
Sebastian, Holland March and most importantly Ken walked so Gosling could run wild towards a brave new acting ground. With these roles he proved he his extraordinary ability to take a character from cool loser to relatable unintentional hero in the span of two hours.
Which is of course why Gosling is the perfect actor to bring to life a former scientist with a PhD in Molecular Biology turned nerdy school teacher and who personifies the truism of how being very good at your job can actually ruin your life as Grace becomes humanity’s last hope to save the planet and in the process befriends a sentient alien that looks very much like a rock. Only someone who has brought to life an inanimate character that was regarded as an accessory at best, and succeeded in making him the real highlight of Barbie, understands what’s a stake with a plot and co-start like this.
Gosling’s Kenergy is stellar throughout the film, in particular when he finally embraces who he is and his purpose on space, accepts his alien friend into his life without judgement and shows him what a beach is, a very Ken-coded detail. Sebastian’s idealism and relentless belief in pursuing his dream distills into Grace’s commitment to fight for what he believes in and find a way to do what he enjoys the most. And like Holland March, Grace’s cowardice is finally transformed into practical heroism when he realises he has someone worth being brave for.
For Gosling fans it’s the universe aligning to give us at once a satisfying ending to La La Land, an unexpected sequel to The Nice Guys (sorry Russell Crowe but you have competition) and the best Ken spin-off we could have dreamed off.
Gosling not only keeps you interested in watching him talk to himself for a big part of the movie (he in fact spent 100 days filming on his own) as he figures out who he is and how he has ended up stranded in space, but more impressively he also succeeds in making you deeply invested in his unlikely yet wholesome bromance with an alien rock, a relationship full of exhilarating and multiple laugh-cry moments. Put this man next to a stone, have them look at a few stars and he’ll break your heart in ways you couldn’t even imagine. That’s a rare talent.
It’d be forgivable if you mistake the character of Ryland Grace for just Ryan Gosling being Ryan Gosling, which is perhaps rather ironically the ultimate praise one can give when acting feels this effortless. That’s when you realise someone has mastered their craft.
It is safe to say Project Hail Mary will mark yet another new era for Gosling, who in the span of less than three hours is catapulted from actor with extraordinary range to movie star status. After barely two weeks in cinemas Project Hail Mary has become Gosling’s best ranked film to date, which confirms the seismic shift this film is in Gosling’s career.
This was bound to happen sooner or later given the choices he’s made over the past 10 years and it has arrived at a time when he doesn’t need to prove himself to anyone, even less so as Project Hail Mary soars at the box office, where it became the highest-grossing non-franchise film in the US, surpassing Oppenheimer (that Kenergy is still holding strong after all these years).
Gosling’s space buddy comedy has even beaten Avatar: Fire and Ash, which had dominated the box office for the first three months of the year. For those of us who have a special place in our hearts for his SNL Papyrus sketch (one of Gosling’s finest performances if I may add) this feels like a personal (and very funny) vindication.
While we’re on the topic of the box office, Ryan Gosling recently surprised the audience at a New York screening of the film and stated that it’s not their job to save cinemas but his (and that of the industry at large) to make things worth coming out for.
After having watched Project Hail Mary five times (including on IMAX) I can confidently say this is the kind of film you want to go to the cinema for. It has a certain nostalgic quality that reminds me of films like Back to the Future, which seamlessly blended comedy, action, high stakes, and an overall satisfying viewing experience full of memorable scenes and lines and iconic soundtrack.
However, Project Hail Mary is much more than a film.
It is the film equivalent to the Oasis reunion (minus the piss pints) as it has brought back the magic of experiencing something for the first time in the company of strangers who are equally delighted to be there and reacting to it in real time, which amplifies your own experience and helps you build a core memory of it. It doesn’t reinvent the wheel but neither did Oasis with their tour and yet they delivered one of the best feel-good collective experiences we’ve witnessed since the arrival of social media and the ensuing fragmented way of enjoying culture in the XXI century.
The first time I saw this film was at a preview and that moment would remain etched in my memory as one of the most special experiences at a cinema. I had no idea of what to expect as I had only seen the trailer and read about 60 pages of Weir’s novel at that time so there was genuine curiosity and anticipation to finally find out what this film, which looked so different from what Gosling had done before, was all about. When I noticed the audience was as involved in the story as I was, and expressed their reactions as one, I felt an inexplicable sense of belonging that is hard to replicate at home.
I’ve now seen people laugh, cry, and laugh-cry (why choose when you can do both, right?) at every single screening and with each of their reactions, often not dissimilar to my own, I felt an invisible thread connecting me to the person who wiped a tear in the dark or the one who snorted after a joke that caught them by surprise.
I am not usually the kind of person who bets but I am confident Project Hail Mary will be showered with award nominations because it is what films that shaped us used to be made of. It carefully blends and successfully assembles the different parts that turn movies into instant modern classics.
A nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay is in the bag for Drew Goddard, who also adapted The Martian. At risk of offending fans of the novel (which I’ve also read) the film does a superb job of capturing the essence of the book, streamlining the copious amount of science in it to a level that makes the lay audience follow without getting lost or confused by making adjustments that make the story work on the screen much better than it does on the page.
I belong to the Denis Villeneuve school of thought and agree with him that cinema is a visual medium above all. Project Hail Mary has achieved the often challenging task of respecting a very detailed, science heavy source material while understanding the medium it was being adapted into and the concessions it has to make for the story to flow and convey a lot of ground visually.
Greig Fraser’s cinematography is absolutely stunning and he will receive a nomination for his excellent work on this film, which Fraser has described as his most challenging to date. It’s even more impressive when you learn no green or blue screens have been used for the film, which relies on the use of ingenious practical effects.
Another nomination that is on the bag is for the always excellent Sandra Hüller for Best Supporting Actress for her portrayal of Eva Stratt, who brings the gravitas that counterbalances Gosling’s character aloofness, imbues the film with a sense of urgency and ultimately delivers the plot twist that explains how Grace has arrived where he is and why.
It’s pretty safe to say that the film’s production design will receive multiple accolades for his outstanding work on the practical sets they created. I’m not sure in which award category James Ortiz -who did an outstanding job bringing Rocky to life- would fall but having a rock puppet outcharm Ryan Gosling is no small achievement4.
And it’d be a crime not to acknowledge the costume design team because there is some serious cosy knitwear game on this film, including a viral fox cardigan that has inspired Tom Daley to knit his own and gift it to Gosling. Further confirmation that we’re witnessing a modern classic in the making because why would you copy the way a character dresses on a film unless it is iconic? Or affordable, that is also a possibility. You won’t see me wearing anything out of The Devil Wears Prada but the kind of jumpers shown in Project Hail Mary’s are right up my styling street and budget.
I anticipate a plausible win for Daniel Pemberton for the excellent score he has composed. One of the things I love about Project Hail Mary is how it makes music instrumental (no pun intended) and very effective to convey emotion and tone throughout the story and sound acts as a link between two different realities and languages, as Pemberton has explained in an interview discussing his creative process. I’ve been listening to the score on repeat and Amaze Amaze Amaze is an instant favourite as it captures the uplifting and hopeful tone of the film so beautifully.
Both the original score by Pemberton and the songs that have been included in the soundtrack are an integral part of the story and each of them serves a specific purpose and evokes a particular emotion.
One of the best additions to the film is in fact an improvised karaoke scene5 where Hüller’s character delivers a moving rendition of Sign of the Times, which comes at a pivotal time in the plot and acts as a very effective device to show us a hidden side of Stratt’s personality and how underneath her diligent armour there is a person who fully grasps the extent of the sacrifices she’s asking everyone to make.
There is also a Maori girls choir that will have you fight off your tears when you hear it. Hopefully by the time the notes of Two of Us by The Beatles start playing you’ll be grinning ear to ear, tapping your feet and most likely shaking in a mix of laugh-cry that has already spread across the audience at the speed of the best covid strain in its heyday.
I am aware of and very excited about the incredible films and performances to look forward to this year, from The Odyssey to Dune Messiah. I am also sure Project Hail Mary will land a nomination for Best Picture and Best Direction for Phil Lord and Christopher Miller in their first non-animated feature regardless of the strong competition ahead. For those who felt the movie drags a bit be thankful it’s not the 3h 45 minutes first cut.
Last but never least Ryan Gosling better receive accolades left, right and centre for his interstellar performance. With the permission of Rocky (which can’t be nominated yet but it’s great to see more Eridian actors represented on screen), his endless reserves of charm, ability to make his character relatable no matter the circumstances you put him into, and ultimately his seamless and almost inevitable transformation from school teacher into a man you’d trust to watch you sleep and save not one but two planets while wearing goofy t-shirts, lopsided slutty little glasses and chunky sexy cardigans are what power this film into the stratosphere where modern classics live.
Besides, having Gosling as a lead in such a big budget film -that is full of hope rather than apocalyptic fear about the future- playing a character who is both emotionally vulnerable and openly affectionate, incredibly smart, capable of great bravery when the occasion demands it, selfless, curious about what he can learn from others and how they can work together despite their differences, and underneath it all is a bit of a goofball is such a great example of what real positive masculinity looks like in these crazy times.
If Project Hail Mary feels somewhat familiar yet fresh is because Gosling nails the classic 80s big blockbuster hero, offering a revised and updated version for XXI century audiences while managing to carve an almost intimate performance against such a mammoth of a story. His Ryland Grace is to Gen Z what Michael J. Fox in Back to the Future was for younger generations. Give this man his flowers and long overdue Oscar at once.
It’s perhaps fitting that Gosling finally receives a Best Actor Oscar in 2027, exactly 20 years after his first nomination for his role in Lars and the Real Girl in 2007 and 10 years after he was robbed for his role in La La Land in 2017. He also received a nomination for Best Supporting Actor for his role in Barbie but Gosling is Best Actor material and the Academy knows it. I’m positive Ken would never be jealous of Gosling for conquering the golden statuette in a leading man’s role he’s nailed thanks to the expansive wave of the Kenergy.
A Best Actor Oscar would be a nice way to send Gosling off to his upcoming movie star era as he will be soon treading into franchise territory with Star Wars: Starfighter (an original story within the Star Wars universe directed by Shawn Levy) and it’s been confirmed he’ll also be starring in The Daniels’ new film, which is rumored to be a sci-fi action comedy.
I am not the kind of person who makes assumptions but it seems Gosling may have found his sweet spot in roles and stories that allow him to show everything he’s capable of as an actor while bringing soul and credibility to the most unlikely of scenarios, and science fiction may prove to be a good vehicle for Gosling to do that in his new movie star era.
Who knows, maybe the next Ryan Gosling iteration is the soulful leading man that will convince studios that well-made, big budget films based on original ideas such as Project Hail Mary can be the solution to the franchise fatigue audiences have been bombarded with. The future of the industry can’t depend on Tom Cruise alone and Gosling’s immediate choices seem to align with his commitment to make movies people want to leave the house for.
Personally, I enjoy this version of Ryan Gosling immensely, not the movie star per se, but the savvy and talented actor/producer who is more intentional about the films he wants to make. Barbie, The Fall Guy and now Project Hail Mary are recent examples of how he’s picking projects and collaborators that feel exciting to him and align with his strengths as an actor and vision for the future. I wouldn’t mind if he also made an incursion every now and then into darker subjects and broodier characters, as he did in Blade Runner 2049, because he is just as excellent in them as he is in more lighthearted roles.
In the meantime, I look forward to seeing him in space again when the time comes. Watching Gosling discuss his interactions with beings from another planet has always put a smile on my face long before Project Hail Mary. I guess I am the kind of person who actually likes this particular combination of space science fiction and Ryan Gosling after all.
Abroad is an independent publication on culture, life in London, creativity, and being human in the age of artificial intelligence.
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Still haven’t watched because against all odds I keep being the kind of person who don’t like soppy films.
Which have raised to five at the time of typing because I couldn’t have Kenough.
To date I’ve seen Drive, The Big Short, Crazy Stupid Love, The Gray Man, The Fall Guy, Blade Runner 2049, La La Land, The Nice Guys, Barbie and Project Hail Mary.
You will have probably noticed I’m not sharing much about Gosling’s co-star because it’s one of the best highlights of this film and I want you to know as little as possible about him until you see Project Hail Mary.
And that’s saying too much because again this is a show-stealing scene and a wonderful use of music in a great “show don’t tell” way.
This is WONDERFUL. I'm a fully paid up member of the cult of Gosling, and fully agree that you'll be even more range wowed when you see Half Nelson and Blue Valentine. La La Land is one of my all-time favourites (not to mention the reason I saved up for a piano 🤣), he matches Emma Stone so well in that stylistic versatility and incredible ease on screen. Also yay for The Nice Guys shout out. I ADORE that film. 100% feels like a training ground for Ken. Cannot wait to see PHM based on your glowing review (and multiple viewings!) even though I'm definitely (cough) somebody who's not really into science fiction!
A delightful love letter to Ryan Gosling, truly one of the most likable movie stars in modern times. If you don't mind a tear-jerker from his earlier, more psychologically-twisted roles, I highly recommend Blue Valentine (2010), I think one of his best performances. He and Michelle Williams should have won all the awards. One slight correction, his first Oscar nomination was for Half Nelson (2006), not Lars and the Real Girl (another beautiful film, for which he was nominated for a Golden Globe).