Hedda, 2025.
Written and Directed by Nia DaCosta.
Starring Tessa Thompson, Nina Hoss, Imogen Poots, Nicholas Pinnock, Tom Bateman, Finbar Lynch, Mirren Mack, Jamael Westman, Saffron Hocking, Kathryn Hunter, Michelle Crane, Sam Hoare, Stacey Gough, and Mark Oosterveen.
SYNOPSIS:
Hedda Gabler finds herself torn between the lingering ache of a past love and the quiet suffocation of her present life. Over the course of one charged night, long-repressed desires and hidden tensions erupt—pulling her and everyone around her into a spiral of manipulation, passion, and betrayal.
Writer/director Nia DaCosta’s Hedda (a reimagining of Henrik Ibsen’s stage play) is more psychologically compelling than dramatically engaging. It is a film that is, at times, emotionally dull (despite some outstanding scenery-chewing, layered, and tragedy-laced performances from both Tessa Thompson and Nina Hoss), but not without intrigue as the stage is set for the eponymous Hedda Gabler to become increasingly unhinged and manipulative in an effort to procure a comfortable future for her and her husband George Tesman (Tom Bateman).
This is a meaty role for Tessa Thompson and she indeed revels in it, deploying monstrous behavior to get what she wants, which is currying favor for her husband to receive a professorship, but what’s far more rewarding is taking in the “why” of it all beyond the surface value premise of one woman trying to destroy the life of another (and former friend), to the point of instigating a relapse into alcoholism.
Except for a friend in Judge Roland (Nicholas Pinnock), Hedda isn’t just surrounded by white company in the 1950s, but also married into a white family. Even with some degree of wealth (although there is some financial uncertainty, placing much stress on George earning the professorship), it has made her somewhat invisible to her own circle, leaving her throwing parties in a manor that satisfy an itch for attention on some level, but don’t necessarily make her the center of it.
When Hedda learns from party guest Thea (Imogen Poots) that former friend and disgraced novelist Eileen (Nina Hoss) will be joining her, there is a conflicted reaction, as there is naturally a complicated history that plays into class, sexuality, and race. Much to Hedda’s surprise, Eileen has also kicked her drinking habit, which had tarnished some of her reputation. Collaborating with Thea, Eileen has also finished another manuscript for a book on modern sex, expected to be a hit, which suggests that she and Hedda might have been lovers in the past and that some jealousy is brewing over this new partnership. However, the worst news for Hedda is that Eileen is also here to make her case for the same professorship position as George.
With all that said, there isn’t just one motive for why Hedda does any of the abhorrent things she begins to do here. There are also dynamics at play between Hedda and George, and whether they actually love each other or if it’s all a marriage of convenience. Hedda is somewhere at the intersection of jealousy and love, effectively being driven mad. While there are no justifiable excuses for her actions, the film makes clear the mechanisms around her that have pushed her into this rage.
There is also the possibility that she has always been a sociopath and that everything happening over this long night is only enabling that behavior to become increasingly hostile and disturbing. It wouldn’t be accurate to say that there is empathy for Hedda here, but one does come to see her actions as a response to particular circumstances that seem more glamorous at face value rather than what’s actually going on in her life.
And yet, for some reason, despite ravishing production design and dazzling costumes (there is an entire sequence where Hedda gives Thea different dresses to try on, as if the filmmakers are flexing their muscles for awards nominations in that category) and unquestionably rich characters, it takes a frustratingly long time for Hedda as a film to overcome some stiffness and push some dramatic buttons. Even then, there is a slight disconnect—not necessarily because it’s difficult to root for Hedda (her amorality is fascinating and gives her complexity), but also because one is left a bit horrified by everything Eileen is being manipulated into doing.
Essentially, viewers become spectators in these devious mind games, enchanted and disturbed by Hedda, yet understanding her despicable actions. In that sense, it’s refreshing how demented the film becomes.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★ ★
Robert Kojder
