When Ryan Gosling interacts on screen with his alien buddy, which he does for more than half of “Project Hail Mary,” he wasn’t staring at a green screen as cameras rolled. Instead, he was playing off

“Project Hail Mary” may be their biggest challenge yet in breathing life into an improbable concept — and not just Moppy Ringwald. The film, adapted from Andy Weir’s bestseller, stars Gosling as an astronaut sent far into space on a mission to save Earth that brings him into contact with a faceless, rock-based alien whom Ryland nicknames “Rocky.”