Based on Andy Weir’s very popular novel, Project Hail Mary stars Ryan Gosling as a man who wakes up alone on a spacecraft a very long way away – he has to work out why he’s there (save humanity!) and makes friends with a rock-like alien creature as he tries to accomplish his mission. The film (in the hands of Phil Lord and Christopher Miller) has proven to be very successful, and it’s quite nice to see a non-franchise science fiction film doing so well.
Just to see what happened, I asked CoPilot to draft this review for me in the style of my usual writing, and this was the opening paragraph of what it came up with:
Daniel Pemberton is one of those composers who seems constitutionally incapable of writing a normal score. Give him a spaceship, a crisis, and Ryan Gosling in a jumpsuit, and instead of the usual sci‑fi drones he turns up with choirs, glass instruments, body percussion, wooden clackers, and what sounds suspiciously like a squeaky tap. It’s like he raided Thomas Newman’s garage, Hans Zimmer’s 1989 synth rack, and a cathedral gift shop, then decided to use all of it. And somehow, it works.
I’m not entirely sure that is in the style of my usual writing (and quite what Hans Zimmer’s 1989 synth rack has to do with anything is beyond me) but I think the point it is trying to make is that Pemberton is an interesting composer – he’s a composer who thrives on just trying stuff out, as far from following the crowd as could be. Yes there are certainly echoes at times of a couple of other contemporary sci-fi scores (Gravity and Interstellar) but the composer’s unique stamp is all over it and even if he uses some ingredients that may be a little familiar, the way he brings them together is certainly not.
Presumably what CoPilot thinks he bought from the cathedral gift shop is the heavenly choir that is heard at several key moments through the score, including the opening “Ryland Grace, Cognition Assessment” and the beautiful “You Were Loved (Burial)”. It highlights an ethereal theme that seems to speak to the hope for humanity at the heart of the story. In “Centrifuge” Pemberton takes an offshoot of this theme and turns it into the most glorious, joyful piece. “A Moment” is an absolute belter, chock full of emotion.
The real soul of the score though is the material that highlights the relationship between the two characters (human and alien, Ryland and Rocky). There’s a theme for their friendship which is developed beautifully through the score, from somewhat tentative beginnings through to some truly glorious presentations nearer the end – in “Tau Amoeba” it reaches a sense of majesty, which is turned on its head in the emotional “Goodbye My Friend”. For the concluding “Amaze Amaze Amaze (Life on Erid)” it provides an appropriately rousing send-off, which features another of the score’s more endearing features, which is the unusual percussion (those of a certain demographic may think they’re about to start listening to Test Match Special when this track in particular starts).
There are some more ambient cues too – even here Pemberton keeps things interesting. Because the composer builds much of the electronic sounds from samples he made himself rather than relying on the standard synth pads, the material retains a very personal touch.
Away from the themes, there is one set-piece cue of real note: the seven-minute “Time Go Fishing” is a real tour-de-force, a highly-layered piece which gradually builds to something epic. Starting with a repeating percussive figure, more keeps being added to the mix with an oft-repeated eight-note motif packing a real punch in the first half before being left behind for a couple of minutes in the middle as tension escalates, returning for the frenzied final section. Yes it’s clearly Pemberton’s take on Interstellar’s “No Time for Caution” but he very much makes it his own.
This is a powerhouse of a film score, quite possibly the crowning achievement of Daniel Pemberton’s career to date. There is so much going on but it’s not just a bunch of interesting ideas being thrown at the wall to see what sticks – there is real development, a story being told through the music, with themes that stick utilised in a way that heightens the drama and conveys real emotion. Some of the different building blocks possibly shouldn’t really work together, but they really do – I love how bold and creative this composer always is, and he’s captured lightning in a bottle this time with how well conceived and executed the score is. I have to say that the album as released, at two hours long, is a bit much – but Pemberton himself has suggested a tighter playlist which really is a tremendous listening experience.
CoPilot’s conclusion is that…
Project Hail Mary is Pemberton at his most exuberant:
- wildly creative,
- thematically rich,
- occasionally deranged,
- and emotionally overwhelming when it counts.
Mine, more simply, is that I think we’ve already found the score of the year and it’s only just past Easter. Never mind hailing Mary, hail D-Pembz!
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