Hedda

I found this film so disappointing - so much potential was wasted on modernizing it.

With one of the finest pedigrees of directors and, especially, actresses playing the leading role, I was so excited for for this film. Ingmar Bergman once directed this play with Maggie Smith as the lead. Some of the best actresses of the last 100 years have played the title role, more modern adaptions with Ruth Wilson and Cate Blanchett.

I feel it's wasted on Tessa. I love her, especially in Westworld, but this iconic role on stage deserved someone with a fantastic pedigree and longer career would've been significantly better. As I mentioned, Ruth Wilson and Cate Blanchett have done productions as Hedda. Gillian Anderson spoke of wanting to play her. When I first read the play, I thought Anne Hathaway would have been great (like she was in Les Mis and Rachel Getting Married), though I think it may have been wasted on her at this point at her career during this production and release.

I hate that they changed the Elliott character to a female, Eileen. I think this modernization isn't effective, and distracts from this fantastic material.

I also hate the ending. Without giving it away, I hate that the ending was changed from its original source material. I always thought it was a beautiful, poetic, and stunning ending for a stage production, and was excited to see it on screen and how it'd be filmed/directed and interpreted. The play gives such a, for lack of better terms, point blank ending that is devastating, but satisfying in all the best ways. This film ruins that, changing it completely.

The film is beautiful, especially the costumes. And I feel like changing the setting/timeline to be all in one night is a fascinating change that works quite well. The supporting cast does well, but found Tessa as lead, as well as the modernizations the film takes liberties with from the play distracting. I honestly would've loved to see an older actress play the role, and feel it could've been a more established, potentially iconic actress that would've been riveting and exciting.

I know Tessa produced as well, but maybe this adaption was turned down by many actresses for the changes the film makes from the play?

Overall, I would say lovers of the play should skip this one. Maybe people not familiar with the source material will love it, like how people loved the most recent "A Star is Born", without seeing or knowing about its previous (vastly superior) adaptions.

3/10 1 out of 5 stars.

Can't recommend.

Hopefully there will be another production or another adaption soon - one that does justice to the play. However, I feel this film may discourage producers and directors from trying to make this magnificent play into another film. Highly unfortunate.

Hedda Gabler (Tessa Thompson) is throwing a party at her mansion. By the end of the night, someone is getting shot and she gets interrogated.

I don't know anything about the play. Director Nia DaCosta has done some good-looking functional work. This is a costume drama. It looks good. Tessa is solid. Nina Hoss is excellent. I wouldn't mind an Altman-like drama. I am distracted by the opening reveal of the shooting. I kept treating this like a murder mystery when I should be enjoying this as a chaotic one-night character drama.

Nina Hoss, as Eileen Lovborg, has the best material in this adaptation, and she makes the most of it. The queer love triangle at the center of this film develops her character the most and in some ways is more intense than the original play's treatment of the male character "Ejlert Lovborg." Unfortunately other aspects of the adaptation are not as successful or convincing, but I hope that Hoss, as Eileen, is recognized for making the movie worth watching and talking about.........I should also point out that reimagining the action at an all-night party created a dramatic arc that was clever. And that many of the other actors were good but simply didn't have enough material to do their complex characters justice.

I'm not going to compare this film to the 19th-century stage play Hedda Gabler; the difference is simply too vast. Instead, I'll focus on what I watched, because this reinterpretation takes a bold and fascinating twist away from the original work.

The drama in Hedda is subtle yet powerful, and Tessa Thompson fully dissolves into the role. She delivers an electrifying performance, portraying Hedda as a manipulative free spirit, a woman who marries for luxury and indulgence rather than love. Her portrayal leans more hedonistic, chaotic, and gossip-driven... more Hopper than Gabler, and it works beautifully for this modern lens.

There's a playful, almost mischievous energy woven throughout the film, and credit must go to Nia DaCosta. Known for her 2021 horror film Candyman, she brings a refreshing vision here: stylish, contemporary, and captivating. The modernisation feels intentional and smart, and the music selection ties it together effortlessly.

Overall, Hedda stands strong on its own. A sleek, updated retelling with standout acting, clever direction, and a tone that keeps you locked in from start to finish.

Director Nia DaCosta returns to the stage writing and directing her own version of Henrik Ibsen's play, giving a modern and daring approach to the classic theatrical piece.

Starring Tessa Thompson, Tom Bateman, Nina Hoss and Imogen Poots, the story follows a general's daughter living in a house she hates, trapped in an unhappy marriage, while a former lover reappears in her life.

Hedda is a solid film that confirms Nia DaCosta as one of the best directors working today, showcasing her talent in delivering this intense, modern, and captivating adaptation. It's an interesting journey that rests primarily on the shoulders of an outstanding Tessa Thompson, who imbues Hedda with multiple layers, making her a character who is both captivating and cruel.

The cast is one of the film's greatest strengths. Not only does Thompson dazzle, but the German actress Nina Hoss captivates with her intensity, and the always impeccable Imogen Potts completes a trio of women who fascinate in every scene. The director deconstructs Ibsen's precise mechanism and opens up space for a series of striking moments. A sensual and ingenious reinterpretation of Ibsen's classic, it respects the great theatrical tradition while transforming it into vibrant and ecstatic cinema.

With meticulous and carefully designed staging, where every corner tells a story and every light highlights what we need to see, accompanied by Hildur Guðnadóttir's evocative music that sets the pace and intensity of the narrative offered by its director. A brilliant artistic work that transports us to the essence of melodrama, representing the repression that persists to this day.

A well-made film that leaves a good impression, even if it's not perfect and may not appeal to everyone. It's entertainment worth appreciating and enjoying, especially thanks to a nuanced protagonist who dazzles with every decision her brilliant mind makes. A sensual journey that captivates without reservation.

In conclusion...

MGM presents an intriguing offering from one of today's most promising directors, achieving something unique and authentic. It's a solid film, not perfect, but perhaps it doesn't need to be. Sensual, seductive, and captivating, "Hedda" is a work worth seeing and appreciating, even with its imperfections.