Project Hail Mary

What’s it about?

Science teacher Ryland Grace wakes up alone on a spaceship light-years from Earth. As his memory returns, he uncovers a mission to stop a mysterious substance killing the sun, and save Earth. An unexpected friendship may be the key.

The facts

• Directed by Phil Lord, Christopher Miller (Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, The Lego Movie)
• English language
• Runtime: 156 minutes
• Starring Ryan Gosling, Sandra Hüller
• Based on the book by Andy Weir

Why did it get this rating?

This film was cross-rated by the Film and Video Labelling Body. You can find out more about cross-rating here.

Content that may disturb

The film portrays a character going on a one-way space trip. We see him being forced against his will into the role, including being chased and injected with a sedative. We see him dealing with the emotion and discomfort of waking up in space after a long voyage.

In a flashback an astronaut mentions their preferred way to die would be to take a lethal drug with a side of heroin. The context is in preparing for departure the astronauts where they self-select their method of death once they’ve completed their mission and they’re unable to return to Earth.

We see a character with a bag of vodka, who subsequently appears to be intoxicated.

We briefly see the faces of two dead astronauts who have died in transit during a long space voyage.

During a fast-paced space flight that’s out of control we see a pilot’s head smash into the console. There’s blood on their face and it’s not immediately clear if they have survived or not.

We see a character being injected in the neck by a robotic arm.

Offensive language

There is mild language in the film which is mostly used when angry, yelling for emphasis. The strongest language includes ‘piss off’, ‘hell’, and a miscommunication where a character says ‘I fist your bump’.

When content stays with you:

We all have our boundaries, and it’s completely okay if something you’ve watched is weighing on your mind. If certain content lingers with you, consider having a chat with friends or whānau to debrief about what you’ve just seen. But if you’re still feeling affected, please reach out to any of the following helplines for support.

• 1737
• Safe to talk
• Lifeline
• Youthline

Further information

• Why are ratings and content warnings important for me and my whānau?
• Phil Lord and Chris Miller on Project Hail Mary: “We wanted the movie to feel like you were in the guts of a machine” (BFI)