TESSA THOMPSON IN HEDDA

Is it true to Ibsen? Probably not. But it's absorbing, and quite a show

A description of the Ibsen play, Hedda Gabler, tells us that Hedda, the proud daughter of a general, has married George Tesman , a timid and boring scholar. He has gone into debt setting up house for her in a mansion. She is quite unimpressed with both him and the gift. A domestic crisis ensues from the visit of writer Eilert Lovborg. Hedda's former lover. Meanwhile, she tries to fend off the relentless affections of Judge Brach. If you like the sound of that, Trevor Nunn made a 1975 film version of Hedda Gabler, also entitled Hedda, and based on a London theatrical version.

The bare bones of the play are also preserved in Nia DaCosta's colorful and intense new film version, but she has made some heavy changes and plenty of additions so this is more like a bacchanale. The action of the play has been transferred to an all-night party, and people of color and queer sexuality have become a highly visible part of the updating. The dryness and pessimism toward conventional bourgeois life of the play's bare bones have been rather lost. This scene seems to rejoice in bourgeois splendor. Still, without that essential element, 36-year-old African American-born, NYU Tisch School of the Arts- and London Royal Central School of Speech and Drama-educated writer director DaCosta gives you quite a show and Hedda remains a very compelling character.

I should point out that this version unfolds entirely as a flashback after an intro of Hedda being questioned by police about a suspicious gunshot. This may confuse you, but in retrospect at least it casts light on the final image.

The lead has been taken over by the African American actress Tessa Thompson, adopting a somewhat British accent. She is a vixen, bosomy and heavily made up. She glows with beauty and eagerness. Nina Hoss is very important and memorable as a female version of Lovborg, now named Eileen. Of course they were lovers and (as in the play) Hedda persuades Eileen, who is three months sober, to get drunk again, and this female Lovborg is still the academic rival of George Tesman, Hedda's husband. As in the original, the big house where all this happens, now transferred from turn-of-the-century Oslo to Fifties England, is more than they can afford, and the academic job is essential for the couple's support, with the suspicion that things won't be up to the standards of Hedda with her love of fancy parties, which this is. Grandiose this production is, and there is even a large chandelier that collapses. It looks like one of England's stateliest homes. In fact this was filmed at Flintham Hall, a historic Grade I-listed stately home in Flintham, Nottinghamshire notable for an Italianate style and the grandeur of its Great Hall and conservatory.

I just wonder, who brings their only copy of an important manuscript to a party? I don't know Ibsen's play, but I don't think it happens like that. There is a fire and there is a lake, so we know the manuscript will come to grief when Eileen gets drunk. Perhaps Nina Hoss, the great German actress, is the most impressive and real of all the cast. It iis her performance I shall remember; and Tessa Thompson's look.

Another actor who is black this time is Nicholas Pinnock, who plays Judge Brack. His British accent is authentic: he was born in London. So are those of Tom Bateman, who plays Tesman, the nonentity husband of Hedda, not a difficult role unless you're Richard Burton; and Imogen Poots, as Thea. Isn't she rather a nonentity too?

This film relies on swirling us around in the dark spirit of the all-night party in which Hedda is he controlling spirit. She makes everybody drink, she makes everybody dance, as if conducting an orchestra, or directing a film. Tessa Thompson glows with beauty and an edge of evil. She lacks the nihilism of Ibsen's original. She seems to be enjoying herself too much for that. The description of Hedda as "frigid and compulsively neurotic" that can be used for the play and also for the 1975 film version starring Glenda Jackson can't be used for Tessa Thompson. The new film ends with Thompson immersed up to her neck in the lake and turned away from the house as people come out looking for her, staring at the camera with that glow and that smile. She's not frigid. She's a mystery.

Nia DaCosta's Hedda has strong early awards prospects, particularly for star Tessa Thompson (Gotham Tribute, Oscar buzz), Costume Design (chic 1950s setting), and supporting actress Nina Hoss, with potential for DaCosta in directing/screenplay, though some feel it needs more buzz for major wins like Best Picture. The film's critical acclaim and festival presence position it as a contender, especially for Amazon MGM Studios.

Hedda, 107 mins., premiered at Toronto Sept. 7, 2025, and also opened theatrically in the US in October. It showed at many other festivals in the US as well as Zurich, Leiden, Rio, and BFI London. It is streaming exclusively on Amazon Prime Video. Metacritic rating: 70%.

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©Chris Knipp. Blog: http://chrisknipp.blogspot.com/.