Naomi Weisman is a Canadian-Australian and mother of three who loves to Ramble with her dog, cook for family and friends, and laugh whenever possible.
While in Perth, visiting family and waiting out the remnants of a cyclone and the kind of pouring rain that makes you surrender all outdoor plans, we decided to go see Project Hail Mary and find out what all the hype was about.
Now, let me be honest: I am not usually a sci-fi type of gal. Space, aliens, futuristic science jargon… not typically my lane. But I was curious, the buzz was everywhere, and, well… Ryan Gosling. Enough said.
And somehow, despite myself, I got completely pulled in.
Yes, parts of it are a little silly in that big, emotional, Hollywood kind of way. It asks you to suspend disbelief and just go with it. But once I did, I found myself surprisingly invested—not just in the science-fiction spectacle of it all, but in the heart of the story.
At its core, Hail Mary is less about space and more about connection, loneliness, hope, and what it means to trust someone—or something—completely different from yourself.
What caught me off guard most was how emotionally attached I became to the unlikely friendship at the center of the film. The idea of a human forming a meaningful bond with an alien is, of course, wildly far-fetched… and yet, somehow, it worked for me. Maybe because underneath all the cosmic chaos and impossible circumstances was something deeply human: companionship, loyalty, vulnerability, and the need to not feel alone in the universe.
And maybe that hit a nostalgic nerve, too.
I grew up with Steven Spielberg’s Close Encounters of the Third Kind and E.T., stories that made the unknown feel less frightening and more full of wonder. Project Hail Mary taps into some of that same emotional magic. It reminds us that even the strangest stories can still tell us something familiar and tender about ourselves.
Ryan Gosling brings just the right mix of charm, confusion, humour, and heart. He makes the ridiculous feel believable enough to carry you through, and more importantly, he makes you care—a lot.
It may not be perfect, and hard sci-fi fans may roll their eyes at some of its more polished, cinematic choices, but for someone like me—someone who came for the hype and stayed for the feelings—it absolutely landed.
⭐⭐⭐⭐Nomi’s Verdict
Project Hail Mary is part sci-fi adventure, part heart-tugging friendship story, and far more emotional than I expected. A little far-fetched? Absolutely. But sometimes a movie doesn’t need to be believable to make you feel something real.
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