PHMthoughts

No I don’t think you heard me

GRACE REMEMBERED. THE REASON HE WAS ON PHM IN THE FIRST PLACE. AFTER HE WILLINGLY ASKED TO SEE ROCKY’S SHIP. AND WAS WELCOMED INTO THE COOLEST THING HE’D EVER SEEN ATP. They put that memory and Rocky’s ship next to each other to contrast. They contrasted one of the worst moments of his life with (arguably, at least at that point, pre-Erid) the coolest. They put together the scene where Grace had No Reason and Every Reason.

I think it represents Rocky's crew with those 23 shapes. The 3 big ones might have been the leaders/pilots of the mission, while the 3 trios could be the specialists (scientists, mechanics, doctors...) and the others the general crew.

By the way Rocky points at the panel and Grace's face changes I think Rocky was talking about them and how they decided who went to space.

It's not easy to see, but to me the wall resembles the wall in the Mary with the golden plaques with pictograms of Earth, science and the mission; which at the time helped Grace remember about the project, so this one could help him remember why was him specifically in space.

No I don’t think you heard me

GRACE REMEMBERED. THE REASON HE WAS ON PHM IN THE FIRST PLACE. AFTER HE WILLINGLY ASKED TO SEE ROCKY’S SHIP. AND WAS WELCOMED INTO THE COOLEST THING HE’D EVER SEEN ATP. They put that memory and Rocky’s ship next to each other to contrast. They contrasted one of the worst moments of his life with (arguably, at least at that point, pre-Erid) the coolest. They put together the scene where Grace had No Reason and Every Reason.

except Stratt didn't need to do any of that, did she? she knew exactly who would be the replacement science specialist, grace having the coma resistance gene was a statistical miracle already and anyone else they would find would be unqualified and under prepared.

tags from @flemmboyant

Grace has a warped self-perception. He insists he's not a "people person" but gets along with majority of the crew, is a literal middle school teacher who the kids love

he's so sassy bro. "I seem friendly only bcuz I stood next to Stratt"

also establishes why so many ppl thought Grace was second-in-command, like he's usually always standing next to Stratt

Project Hail Mary (2026)

Directors: Phil Lord and Christopher Miller

Cinematographer: Greig Fraser

Tech Specs:

— Aspect Ratio:

1.43 : 1 (IMAX 70mm & Dual Laser, space scenes)

1.90 : 1 (IMAX Xenon & Single Laser, space scenes)

2.00 : 1

2.39 : 1 (flashback scenes)

— Cameras:

Arri Alexa 65, Atlas Mercury, Arri Heroes T.One and IronGlass Helios Lenses

Arri Alexa Mini LF, Atlas Mercury, Arri Heroes T.One, IronGlass Helios and Viltrox 1.33x Lenses(some scenes)

— Negative Format: Codex

— Cinematographic Process:

ARRIRAW (4.5K, source format, some scenes)

ARRIRAW (6.5K, source format)

I need you all to LOOK AT HOW FREAKING BEAUTIFUL THIS MOVIE IS.

The use of lighting and colour and colour grading is genuinely such a cinematic masterpiece it adds to the vibe of the movie sossososo much in such a way I don’t think I’d really thought about watching other movies until I saw this one

ITS BEAUTIFUL.

earth scenes are beautiful, space scenes are beautiful, like. The light pockets, the colour THE COLOUR PEOPLE THE COLOURRRRR. and the movement to flashback scenes is just so impressive.

everything about this movie is beautiful. the colour is beautiful, the acting is beautiful, the actors are beautiful, there is nothing I don’t like about this movie other than the fact that it ended. you should see my Pinterest (which has been completely taken over by phm btw) and how every single shot is just like. Genuinely a joy to look at. now I’m no movie like. Connoisseur. But I don’t think many movies manage that.

"I'm Slowly Forgetting Your Face"

Flowers:

Roses - Love

Forget Me Nots - Memory

he is often quite skilled in his own right, but his main role ends up being Guy That Everyone Likes. running messages between departments gets a lot easier when nobody wants to shoot the messanger. everyone is happier whrn someone they like is in the room, and meetings go smoother when people are enthused about their work, that kind of thing.

grace was one of these guys.

to me, grace's house on erid looks like it was inspired by organic modern/japandi interior design styles with industrial elements. which makes sense from a set designer's stand point because it has to look like it was made with both natural materials and metals.

but i have so many questions about it. is this grace's interior design style? is this how interior design is on erid? did grace and rocky set up a joint pinboard and spend the trip chucking jpegs in there? he has so many vases, are they gifts from the eridians? is it an eridian cultural thing? did grace take up pottery?

You can see it in so many scenes, but one that especially sticks in my mind is him in that damn sweater vest at the party, looking absolutely besotted as he watches Stratt sing. Watches her open up.

And of course that scene specifically does have to do with the special bond between Stratt and Grace (platonic or romantic or something completely different, take your pick), but I think it also is just a facet of something so crucial to Grace’s character.

Ryland Grace is besotted with earth, and he is besotted with life. He enjoys living and experiencing life so very completely, and you can see it plain as day not just at the party, not just at Tau Ceti, but also in the classroom (engaging his students), in awkward super-classified meetings (cracking jokes), in Home Depot (turning shopping into a game), and so on. He finds ways to enjoy and experience love and happiness in every aspect of his life, especially before he left (was stolen from) earth.

And I think to me that’s what makes what Stratt did to him all the more devastating. Because she does justify it in some way by pointing out that he doesn’t have people, the subtext being that he doesn’t have love in his life to stay for. But he does; he might not have a family or a romantic partner or even a pet, but he lived a life that was so incredibly filled with love, and that just went unappreciated and unrecognized by Stratt.

Part of love is just being a good middle school teacher.

Part of that love is why Grace was such a good middle school science teacher.

You HAVE to fall in love with the world a little bit if you are going to be a good teacher, especially a middle school teacher-

Because all those preteens are just discovering “the horrors” and “the sorrow” and “questioning everything” which is why they have all collectively discovered and fallen in love with “the angst.” Even the funny silly over energetic ones think angst is unironically super cool and will have moments they have to sob or scream to let it all out. All those new hormones plus enough brain to understand some of the bigger world will do that to you.

And as their teacher, you have to convince them, with logic and with empathy but most of all by example that not all the good things you were promised as a younger child are bullshit. That wonder is not only cool but a survival strategy. That curiosity can lead to cool things, not just awful things. Because if you can’t sell them on that, they sulk in a corner and give up on anything and everything you might want to teach them until someone else gives them a reason to care. And more importantly, you have to live with the fact that a somewhat cheerful kid came in at the beginning of the year, and a depressed barely there teen left at the end, and part of that is on you.

So if you are a good teacher you find things that are cool to show your kids. You rework your thinking to make everything a little exciting or interesting. And after awhile, you aren’t doing it intentionally any more, your deep love for things is just baked in now.

Sometimes people look at teachers like they are immature, because they talk a little like the kids they teach. It happens in this movie to Grace multiple times. But what people are actually seeing is the wonder teachers either hold onto or retrain themselves in because their students need it.

You can see it in so many scenes, but one that especially sticks in my mind is him in that damn sweater vest at the party, looking absolutely besotted as he watches Stratt sing. Watches her open up.

And of course that scene specifically does have to do with the special bond between Stratt and Grace (platonic or romantic or something completely different, take your pick), but I think it also is just a facet of something so crucial to Grace’s character.

Ryland Grace is besotted with earth, and he is besotted with life. He enjoys living and experiencing life so very completely, and you can see it plain as day not just at the party, not just at Tau Ceti, but also in the classroom (engaging his students), in awkward super-classified meetings (cracking jokes), in Home Depot (turning shopping into a game), and so on. He finds ways to enjoy and experience love and happiness in every aspect of his life, especially before he left (was stolen from) earth.

And I think to me that’s what makes what Stratt did to him all the more devastating. Because she does justify it in some way by pointing out that he doesn’t have people, the subtext being that he doesn’t have love in his life to stay for. But he does; he might not have a family or a romantic partner or even a pet, but he lived a life that was so incredibly filled with love, and that just went unappreciated and unrecognized by Stratt.

Just the mental image of Carl watching Grace get transported after being sedated. A man, who prior to that moment, his most vivid memory consists of them finding world changing discoveries with plywood, duck tape, and copious amounts of sour skittles. A man who he associates with the exhilarating feeling of wonder and life. A teacher teaching, a scientist finding, a man living.

But suddenly, that's not his most vivid memory. Suddenly, what first comes to mind when he thinks of Dr. Ryland Grace is the image of him running away, of chasing him through the compound, of the look on his face when they do inevitably catch up to him. He can't hear the excited laughter of the previous memories without them eliciting the desperate pleas for life.

I wonder if he ever gets to see the videos. How would he feel if he knew that his name was the first one that Grace remembers. Foggy like the thing he misses most about earth.

Like don't get me wrong, the book one is good (the idea of Grace having to spend multiple days locked up stewing about how he's gonna die before they even knock him out is deliciously angsty, as is Stratt's last attempt to beg him to understand why she has to do this) but fuck.

He like literally starts climbing the walls.

Like he came in there relatively composed. He had a rationalisation for what he was going to do, he probably rehearsed his little speech. He's putting the walls up because he knows he's not doing The Right Thing, but he doesn't want to let on that he knows that. He's probably pretending to himself as much as Stratt. He's doing it For The Kids.

And then the switch to just pure, animal terror when the doctor comes in. Like there's a degree of comedy to it. Grace is always slightly goofy, slightly immature (probably why his students like him so much) and now he's climbing and running like a kid playing tag. Except its not a game and it's not working.

Eva's tone when she tells him to “sit down, we'll do it different”. Like I know I'm murdering you, I know that you're not capable of seeing this any other way, but please at least see sense and spare yourself the trauma of having to be literally dragged kicking and screaming. Please.

The resignation when she says “he's running.” Like, she doesn't have to say who's running, or why. She knew this was a possibility. She knew this was a likely possibility but why couldn't he just fucking be the guy she needs him to be? Doesn't he know how hard this is??

The realisation that, if Carl is by the fence, then it's probably because they were concerned that Grace might actually outrun the guards and would need to be ambushed. The possibility that Carl specifically is there because, in that scenario, Grace would be more easy to catch if he trusted his pursuer.

Like I think one reason I'm attached to Ryland Grace is that I honestly couldn't tell you that I wouldn't behave like that in that scenario. Like sure, we all like to say we'd bravely sacrifice ourselves for humanity, but like it's not like I'm currently chaining myself to rainforest trees or throwing soup at paintings in museums or kidnapping oil execs or whatever it is I'm supposed to do. I don't even really attend protests.

There are significantly more things that I could be doing right now to make the world a better place that I don't do because they would involve upending my life and putting myself at more personal risk than I am comfortable with. I have no room to judge Ryland Grace.

He's terrified and doesn't have a plan. He's being forced into something he doesn't want to do that will kill him and the worst part is that we know he fails