The scene comes in the run-up to a planet-saving space mission in which a crew of astronauts is sent millions of miles away to find a cure for a dying Sun. It\u2019s obviously a stressful endeavor, one that ensnares some of the most talented and intelligent minds in the entire world. Leading that effort is Eva Stratt (Sandra H\u00fcller), a pragmatic government bureaucrat tasked with putting a team together that will save humanity. There\u2019s a lot of planning, impossible science to solve, and arms to twist to get that ship (literally) off the ground. Stratt has to be pragmatic, dogmatic, and unsparing in her pursuit, which is what makes the karaoke scene so jarring. <\/p>\n
In a break from the strain of figuring out a way to prevent the Sun from going dark, Stratt and her colleagues take a brief moment to knock back a few beers and sing some tunes. Stratt, who thus far has been resolute with regard to the task at hand, stands before her colleagues and lets loose on Harry Styles\u2019s pop anthem. The scene may seem a bit out of place at first but is actually perfect for the moment. And it shows why H\u00fcller is the absolute MVP of the movie. <\/p>\n
Perhaps known best for her double whammy performances in 2023\u2019s Anatomy of a Fall and The Zone of Interest, H\u00fcller is perfectly cast as Stratt. In scene after scene, she puts on a clinic in how to portray a character that\u2019s at once abrasive and sympathetic. She plays Stratt as someone you absolutely want to hate but just can\u2019t because deep-down you\u2019re relieved she\u2019s there, cracking skulls and making sure the mission stays on track. <\/p>\n As Stratt, H\u00fcller often earns that sympathy with simply a look, often directed toward Gosling\u2019s reluctant astronaut Ryland Grace. You sometimes disagree with the methods she uses to achieve her goal, but you can\u2019t hate her. After all, the fate of humanity hangs in the balance. Never is this more evident than when, after a catastrophic accident that killed some of the Hail Mary team, Stratt attempts to dragoon Grace into leaving Earth and joining the crew. It\u2019s a one-way mission and she\u2019s basically asking him to sacrifice himself for the greater good. Grace demures with a mealy-mouthed excuse and, well, that\u2019s where things get interesting. <\/p>\n In the movie\u2019s big twist, we discover that Grace, who woke up at the beginning of the movie with a pretty bad case of amnesia and slowly regains his memories, was physically compelled (read: drugged) by Stratt and forced onto the mission against his will. She basically sent him to die, and yet we don\u2019t hate her for it. Cut back to H\u00fcller-as-Stratt performing \u201cSign of the Times.\u201d<\/p>\n In our 8\/10 review of Project Hail Mary<\/a>, IGN\u2019s Tom Jorgensen noted that he felt the movie didn\u2019t invest quite enough in the Stratt character to make moments like the karaoke performance resonate, but I disagree. (Sorry, Tom!) We may not get a lot of Stratt\u2019s back story or many big character moments in the first part of the movie, but the karaoke scene and H\u00fcller\u2019s performance are most valuable for what comes after, not before. <\/p>\n Without that scene, Stratt\u2019s \u201cbetrayal\u201d of Grace would seem infinitely more barbaric and simple. She\u2019d just be a run-of-the-mill government baddie condemning our likeable hero to death. Instead, H\u00fcller\u2019s nuanced portrayal of Stratt makes her damn-the-torpedoes treatment of Grace more understandable and heartbreaking and supports the overarching hope and optimism of the movie<\/a>. <\/p>\n<\/a>Sandra H\u00fcller in Project Hail Mary <\/p>\n