We All Need A Rocky
What the little alien in Project Hail Mary teaches us about ourselves and the rise of "sincere cinema"
Our contemporary news cycle is short-lived and fractured. The sheer volume of information, when paired with the seemingly endless points of view all vying for our finite attention, can leave us feeling hollow and helpless.
And, perhaps it’s a sign of the times*, but I find myself craving earnest storytelling that pushes against that unbearable unpredictability.
There has been a rise in films of a contemporary canon that have managed to successfully illustrate an earnest response to this societal chaos. For the sake of simplifying things (and because I have an affinity for alliteration), I will hence forth call this “sincere cinema”.
Rather than shy away from some of the biggest issues of the day, sincere cinema offers an alternative that asks — what if, in the face of society’s most complicated and difficult problems, we meet them with hope?
Films like Everything, Everywhere All At Once and 2025’s Superman come to mind as recent entries into this canon of sincere cinema. The protagonists in these films (I think of Waymond and Clark Kent, respectively) deal with real problems — generational trauma, financial instability, political corruption — but those same protagonists truly believe that the ills of the world can be overcome by being good.
Goodness is not a liability, it’s a strength.
Project Hail Mary is the latest and, arguably, most effective entry into this (admittedly made-up) genre. Ryan Gosling’s Ryland Grace is an imperfect character who struggles to access the kind of bravery that other sci-fi films might take for granted in a character like his.
He isn’t a bad guy, and I’d argue his concerns about being a part of Project Hail Mary would be shared amongst most of us. Bravery sounds good on paper, but it falls apart for a lot of us when it rubs against our inherent desire for self-preservation.
But, this brings me to my favorite line of the film, when the pilot, Yao, says:
“You just need to find someone to be brave for.”
Which brings me to Rocky.
Rocky is the true heart of Project Hail Mary.
The care that was taken to bring this faceless alien to life is a testament to the wonderful blend of digital and practical effects that is increasingly rare on contemporary film sets.
James Ortiz, a puppet designer and stage performer with no previous feature film credits, is the soul behind this endearing spider-like rock alien.
In interviews about the process, Ortiz talks about the process of finding Rocky’s personality through the puppet design itself. Little imperfections in Rocky’s movements, his slight, unstable wobble when one arm would lift, for example, all played into Ortiz’s performance. When Ortiz noticed the puppet’s instability, he noted, “oh, maybe he’s just anxious.”
The real physicality of the puppetry informed his personality on screen, and it’s important the filmmakers nail that personality because Rocky is arguably the co-lead of much of this film.
Now, it should be noted, I think Rocky works at least partly because his scene partner, Ryan Gosling, is one of the most compelling physical actors in contemporary cinema. He can emote with wordless clarity, and he has complete control of his body, Much of this film relies on Gosling’s physicality as much as that of Rocky’s to sell the emotions of any given moment.
And it’s those quiet, physical moments, that moved me the most.
The fist bumps, the thumbs down (a good thing), the little dances they mimic to one another. There’s a physical language at play that extends beyond the limitations of their respective spoken languages. There’s a connection that ignores the countless differences in favor of the simple gestures that make them the same.
It’s in that connection that Grace finds his bravery.
Grace may not have joined the mission on his own terms. But he found something worth fighting for. He found someone to be brave for.
He found Rocky.
The world can be an overwhelming place, and it can be hard to know how to be brave in the face of it all.
Just remember, bravery often looks different to different people.
And films like Project Hail Mary remind us that we’re more alike than we often acknowledge. When you stop to notice, when you lead with earnest kindness, you might just see beyond the differences to something more.
If you try, you might see a friend.
*pun intended (if you know, you know)