‘Hedda’ is Intoxicating
Tessa Thompson in Hedda | Credit: Amazon MGM Studios
A party at newly married Hedda Gabler’s (Tessa Thompson) home takes a dramatic turn when an old flame appears.
Nia DaCosta’s Hedda is a vibe movie. If you’re into the vibe, it’s going to be a riveting time. If the vibes aren’t working for you, the movie will probably feel rather tedious. The film also takes some liberties with Henrik Ibsen's story that may affect your experience if you’re familiar with the play.
I haven’t read or seen Henrik Ibsen's play, so I had nothing to compare this film to. And I had an absolute blast!
Hedda is so incredibly immersive. The music really helps set the stage for everything that we see on screen. There are moments when everything is silent, and you’re really able to hear what’s going on in the room, but other times the score comes blaring in, overwhelming the senses. The drums are so propulsive that you feel this constant push forward, this frenetic energy as Hedda moves through this party.
The cinematography is also fantastic. I was particularly struck by how we see Hedda. Though she is our protagonist, there are many times that she is shot from behind or through a window—there’s something separating us from her. She’s this unknowable person who we’re watching shift and mold herself to fit each new scenario. There are also moments when the camera follows people through all of the different rooms in this opulent house, the movement of the camera emphasizing just how fantastical this home is.
As the film goes on, the pace picks up, each moment, interaction, note, and movement becoming more tense. There’s this feeling that everything’s going to fall apart soon; the only question is: what will be the breaking point?
Tessa Thompson, Nina Hoss, and Imogen Poots in Hedda | Credit: Amazon MGM Studios
This film is so indulgent, matching how Hedda moves about her life. It’s intoxicating to watch her operate in her element, even in her most devastating and sinister moments.
One of my favorite aspects of Hedda is watching the titular character’s constant plotting. There are so many moments where you can see her off to the side, just taking everything in. She’s always watching, always plotting her next move. Nothing escapes her gaze, and you feel her near-omnipresence throughout the film. Even when she’s not in a particular scene, you know that her decisions were what led the other characters to this point.
Tessa Thompson is able to embody all of these different traits of Hedda. She delights in her ability to manipulate everyone around her and bend them all to her will. There’s also depth there. You can feel the grief and the trauma, even, that she has experienced throughout her life. While we might not know all of the details, we can make some inferences. There’s also a deep-seated discontentment in her that other characters touch on, but we can feel from Tessa Thompson’s performance. There’s an ache in Hedda that will never be satisfied, so she’s just doing her best to get what she can out of each situation.
But the highlight of Hedda is Nina Hoss as Eileen. Throughout the film, she goes toe-to-toe with Hedda, each of these two women harming the other, along with other partygoers who just happen to be collateral damage. Both women are headstrong and determined to get what they want. Nina Hoss brings such a powerful emotional performance to this film. There are moments of tenderness and moments of pain, but they all feel appropriate for this character who has been through so much.
Before we even see her on screen, Eileen looms large over Hedda and her guests. We know that there is an emotional and tense history between Eileen and Hedda; we just don’t know what it is until she makes a very grand entrance to the party. And she does not disappoint.
Tessa Thompson in Hedda | Credit: Amazon MGM Studios
Hedda is definitely not for everyone, but this film absolutely worked for me. The cinematography, score, set design, and costume design create this incredible world to be immersed in. I was intoxicated by Hedda and her deranged and manipulative actions, but I also understood why she was doing this.
The film gets more and more frenetic the longer it goes on, taking you on an adrenaline rush from start to finish. And I was happy to be along for the ride.