It’s a rare thing to see both a break out lead performance from an ever reliable performer and a break free moment from franchise shackles for a director. In “Hedda,” whatever glass ceiling limitations are set on these women are shattered with brute force. Tessa Thompson solidifies her already solid career as a true leading women, delivering an electrifying, tour de force performance and Nia DaCosta (“Candyman,” the upcoming “28 Years Later: The Bone Temple“) directs the hell out of this classic reimagining, proving that she is best when not constrained by the IP studio machine. For Thompson, she has always been a welcomed vision; not just one of the most stunning women to ever walk the earth but bursting with immense talent capable of everything and anything tackled so far. For DaCosta, it is an announcement, loud and clear amplified by freedom bells.
It’s not that DaCosta has ever displayed a lack of ability, simply that her career has been more of a trap than a true demonstration of what she can do with a taut script and creative control. If this is what she can do when not required to be in service of moving parts, then sign me up for her blank check run. “Hedda” is like “Downton Abbey” after dark, British aristocrats behaving badly in mostly civil ways until Hedda Gabler decides to wreak havoc on her own lavish party and like a forked tongue seductress whispers her intrusive thoughts out loud to anyone foolish enough to listen only to sit back and watch chaos ensue. I’m not familiar with the famed play “Hedda Gabler” by Henrik Ibsen or any of its renditions outside of DaCosta’s “Hedda,” so I can’t comment on what’s been changed or updated, added or subtracted from the original text.
Even without a frame of reference it is abundantly clear that Ibsen’s work resonates deeply with DaCosta, who seems wholly engaged with the text and mines new ideas and a fresh perspective from a timeless tale. Amid the manipulative chaos driven by an unlikable protagonist DaCosta exhibits masterful control, the camera seamlessly moving about the decadent house and constant misdeeds incapable of sitting still and used in tandem with Hedda’s own boredom and restlessness. Like Ryan Coogler’s “Sinners,” DaCosta uses all of the tips and tricks from broad studio filmmaking and employees them here with a deft hand reserved for the greats.
There are some shots that genuinely blew me away, Sean Bobbit’s cinematography beautifully capturing the period piece setting and immersing the audience in a claustrophic atmosphere amid a house with so many rooms and secrets it can’t be entirely filled with its guests. Cara Browers’s production design exudes a lavish decadence fit for high society that instantly transports and immerses you in the time and constantly lends itself to DaCosta’s keen framing eye. This is so wondrously shot and fully realized that even when it starts to feel a little stagey, it ends up complimenting the film overall rather than being a detriment.
There is always something in the air, a dastardly act waiting around the corner or an off handed remark that leads to irrevocable reactions all stemming from Hedda (Thompson) a maestro of mayhem driven by nothing but an unquenchable desire for attention and knack for scheming. This film puts an off-putting woman front and center, a protagonist so abrasive and manipulative it stretches the definition of the term and blends the line between hero and villain. Every time you’re given a moment to think maybe Hedda will make a good decision, she does or says something even worse than before. You keep hoping her destruction of the lives around her are in service of a larger picture, but it makes it clear that it is not and is primarly driven by her own self-preservation at all costs, and calls into question whether or not Thompson’s Hedda is redeemable at all.
DaCosta’s script (co-written by Gabriella Nadig) zips and zings with sharp, nasty dialogue delivered with such rapid fire you almost miss some of the best off handed comments filled with snide and snark. There’s a moment where Imogen Poots character confronts Hedda privately in a bedroom where she tells her “You use to threaten to burn my hair” and unphased and almost uninterested, Hedda starts searching for a dress in her armoire and with her back to her remarks “Hmmm….I’m surprised I never got around to that” and simply moves on to the next topic. This film is filled with these little moments, and Thompson sinks her teeth into the material and embodies the character with dazzling abandon. She is so in sync with Dacosta and her vision of the character, and the powerhouse coupling of women reunited from “Little Woods” elevates the film to make an old tale feel new.
While this is predominantly the Thompson show, Nina Hoss arrives with immense gravitas and almost steals the show entirely. She arrives with such command and resolve, seemingly impervious to Hedda’s games and for a brief time feels as though she is the foil to all of her worst laid plans. DaCosta’s choice to gender swap this character proves to be right one, allowing Hedda’s bisexuality to act as yet another layer to her fluidity of moving through life one power grab at a time and providing yet another nuance to these complex characters. Hoss and Thompson are magnificent on screen together, each aware of each other’s capabilities and express a deeply passionate relationship long past with nothing more than being in the same room. “Hedda” communicates so much when it says little, another wrinkle in DaCosta’s ever expanding game. Even in the quiet moments there lies tension and restlessness, and when these characters do speak you’re left hanging on every single world.
The more “Hedda” sits with me, the more it grows as a favorite of the year. So much just clicks into the place and straps you in for a wild ride that never stops being entertaining and leaves you completely locked in until the final frame. In a less crowded year, I could see this getting a Best Actress, Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay nomination, and it certainly should be on the short list for Costume and Cinematography “Hedda” is a showcase reimagining, giving actors plenty to make a meal out of and run wild with their talent, a crafts display of excellent work understated by detailed visual expression of the times, and DaCosta’s true arrival as one of the best up and coming filmmakers of her generation.
“Hedda” is a streaming moving worth its weight and should be seen by as many people as possible. While I don’t like that it will inevitably get lost in the Amazon Prime shuffle, this is one piece of streamer cinema that deserves your attention. Women telling stories about women from a woman’s perspective in a man’s world will always be welcomed here, and it is a testament to how effective and vital those stories can be and why they should be greenlit more often. “Hedda” It’s catty, seductive, sultry, funny, tense, and captivating, like “Mean Girls” meets the Roaring 20s with way more sex, adult debauchery, and of course cocaine. A surprising amount of cocaine which DaCosta assured the audience at the TIFF premiere was – based on her research – accurate to the times and would’ve been on every single table in every room. A little chaos, indeed.
Don’t skip this one, folks. “Hedda” is great and deserves to be seen and remembered. Also I was 10 feet away from Tessa Thompson for like 30 minutes, so it holds a special place in my heart.
Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars
“Hedda” is now streaming on Amazon Prime. You can watch the trailer below.
