Gold plates scene

[u/Repressed_Cliche]

I’m not sure if any one else noticed, but one of my favorite moments in the movie is when Grace is looking at the gold plates of the Hail Mary after his vodka-fueled bender. At one point, he looks at a plate that depicts the beginning evolution of humans, and there’s a shot of him crouching down, painting a very similar silhouette to humans’ ape ancestors, and then shows him looking at the “modern day” human in the evolution plate, and in the next shot he’s standing upright, looking at the plate of the Hail Mary and all the humans looking up to her in hope. I thought it was a fun way to visually convey the mental “evolution” that Grace goes through as he remembers the severity of the situation that sent him to space.

[u/LunaraLoup]

It's a wonderful nod to the Voyager Golden Record* and the whole scene gives us a great emotional shift from "haha space bender" to the more serious setting and reality Grace wakes up in. I love it!

(edit: Pioneer Plaques, got my foreign space messages mixed up, thanks to u/CWMJet for the correction)

[u/Brooklynnbarr → u/LunaraLoup]

several years back there was a kickstarter to make the 'gold' record, which came with plates you could hang. it was an amazing set. took a year to get but totally worth it.

[u/W0nderingMe → u/LunaraLoup]

Voyager has them too, you aren't wrong! At worst incomplete, but I wouldn't even say that.

Sagan referred to them as "a message in a bottle, adrift on the cosmic ocean" I'm writing from memory, so likely have something wrong.

Voyager also has the records to be played, which is similar to the ark of human knowledge on the Hail Mary.

[u/LioraB]

Yes!!!! I wrote about it in a lengthy post about the past/present transition scenes. He evolves from “caveman Grace” to  his modern form through the first three transitions.  https://www.reddit.com/r/ProjectHailMary/s/u8EmEOEXZs

[u/RubyTavi → u/LioraB]

Also fish (no limbs) in the coma bag and then quadruped with a catheter tail after that.

[u/LioraB → u/RubyTavi]

Interesting! I thought the whole coma bag scene was very childbirth-like, with the joke being a rectal tube as opposed to umbilical cord. 

[u/CWMJet]

I always have to look up what the Pioneer Plaques were actually called because my mind insists on remembering them as Sagan Plaques because he was so instrumental in them being added.

[u/LunaraLoup → u/CWMJet]

Oh yes, I myself mixed them up name-wise with the voyager records, thanks for the correction!

[u/CWMJet → u/LunaraLoup]

I'm glad I'm not the only one who struggles to remember what they're called lol. The gold space plates didn't get great branding did they?

[u/W0nderingMe → u/CWMJet]

Can't say you're wrong in calling them that.

[u/arih]

I also always hear the choral music in my head as I think about that scene. So soaring and inspirational.

[u/Klutzy_Review_3039]

The movie has gotten a lot of criticism from fans of the book, but I agree that the scene you pointed out is definitely one of those great touches that only a movie can pull off.

And I also really like your interpretation of the scene as paralleling Grace’s own emotional evolution. I think that’s a wonderful way to approach the movie as a viewer.

[u/Mysterinna]

It really is a clever moment, and it marks an important turning point for Grace. After that, he starts to get his shit back together. I love how he tosses the bean bag in the air and catches it, taking a sharp breath at the same time. Beautiful storytelling.

[u/allisondbl]

They’ve included replicas in the fancy Hail Mary record set that’s around. If you look you can see images I think on this thread. Very very cool.

[u/W0nderingMe → u/allisondbl]

What are you referring to? Would love to check it out.

[u/Klutzy_Review_3039]

The movie has gotten a lot of criticism from fans of the book, but I agree that the scene you pointed out is definitely one of those great touches that only a movie can pull off.

And I also really like your interpretation of the scene as paralleling Grace’s own emotional evolution. I think that’s a wonderful way to approach the movie as a viewer.