Hedda Review: Tessa Thompson At Top Of Her Game In Solid Drama

Director Nia DaCosta (Candyman, The Marvels) departs from her typical horror with Hedda, a adaptation of an iconic play.

Synopsis:

From writer/director Nia DaCosta comes a provocative, modern reimagining of Henrik Ibsen's classic play. Hedda (Tessa Thompson) finds herself torn between the lingering ache of a past love and the quiet suffocation of her present life.

Cast:

Tessa Thompson, Nina Hoss, Imogen Poots, Nicholas Pinnock, Tom Bateman

Release Date:

In Select Theaters and Streaming Now on Prime Video

Tessa Thompson's Controlling Performance

Credit: Prime Video/TIFF

Most of the main draw for this film has been that Tessa Thompson is already receiving rave reviews for her performance in the lead role. Her and DaCosta have been friends for a long time, making a few projects already to this point, but this one really allows Thompson to shine on a level that she hasn't before. The main thing she brings to this role is control. Hedda wants to insert herself in every possible situation and make it exactly the way she wants it. That makes for a role that asks for a lot of different things depending on any given point in the film and Thompson really succeeds in allowing the character to have clear motivations even through all the craziness. The character is incredibly mischievous and she has the evil charm to be able to pull that off. There's also a lot of emotions that come with the latter half of the film that really allows her to show off her acting chops. There's a specific moment towards the end where Hedda loses her control over a certain situation and seeing her reaction to that was fascinating due to the fantastic performance from Thompson. It's still on the cusp of potential awards recognition for me (I need to see how the rest of the year plays out), but she absolutely deserves to be in that conversation with a career-best performance in this movie.

Thompson pretty easily outshines everyone else in the cast, but there's still some decent supporting performances in here as well. I've never seen the play, so I didn't actually expect Nina Hoss' character to have as big a role as she did as the story went further along. Her character brings in a lot of memories from Hedda's past and seeing that unravel was enjoyable if not a little rushed. Hoss' character has an emotional breakdown at one point that is so well acted that you do genuinely feel bad for her. Nicholas Pinnock and Tom Bateman really aren't given a lot to do but they are perfect for the roles they are given. Pinnock in particular has to play a villain at certain points and his acting does give off the exact menacing vibes that are required. It's a solid supporting cast, but won't really be looked at considering how standout Thompson was.

Writing/Direction from DaCosta Allows Runtime To Fly By

Credit: Savion Washington/Getty Images

As I said before, director Nia DaCosta and Tessa Thompson have been friends for a long time in this industry. Although I've enjoyed many of Nia's projects to this point, both Candyman and The Marvels are underrated, I think this is definitely her best work to date. The main positive is the pacing. The film clocks in at just under two hours, but the runtime completely flys by because of the direction she takes the story. There's so many fast-paced and tense sequences that really get the most out of each situation. The camerawork especially is really on point. It could have easily gotten very messy with how much movement happens throughout this big party spectacle, but the camerawork makes everything incredibly engaging and feel just as tense as the last scene. The film ends up being very easy to follow and not all over the place. It's just really enjoyable seeing everyone try to play each other, with some succeeding more than others. There's some dance sequences with heavy lyrics playing in the background and everything matches up really well with the current themes of the situation.

Where Nia's filmmaking really stands out is the writing. It's obviously adapting a prior source material, but I loved what she did with the characterization of Hedda herself. The acting makes that arc throughout the film already enjoyable, but the direction DaCosta takes it is what really makes it standout. Hedda can go from in control to at her absolute lowest on the turn of a dime. What really matters is emphasizing that she will do whatever it takes to get her life to where she wants, no matter what it takes. Additionally, all the dialogue is really snappy and doesn't ever lose you. DaCosta makes you feel the weight of each conversation and what it means to the film at large. The film is slow/dialogue-heavy when it needs to be, but fast paced at almost every turn.

Small Location Elevated To Large Heights

Credit: Prime Video

The thing about Hedda that may divide itself among audiences is the fact that the film takes place entirely in one location. Sure, it's one large location and we see many portions of the house, but at the end of the day the scale is very small. This could've been a major problem, but it ended up being a huge positive. DaCosta gets the absolute most out of this location, mixing both chaos and control for an engaging runtime. The party has at least 30 guests, many wacky situations and just an incredible amount of things going on at once. Without the proper care and filmmaking this could've been an absolute mess, but it works because of the performances and some great filmmaking. You really feel each portion of the house, from the lake outside to the large chandelier room. It also really emphasizes the stressful situations that certain characters are in, finding themselves in this huge party that is entirely under control by Hedda. It really works as a location because it is central to her character from the second we meet her. She doesn't have a lot in her life, but this house is the one thing that she can control. That reflects in her character arc and exactly where the story goes.

Side Plots Lack A Ton Of Intrigue

Credit: Prime Video

I really didn't have a ton of problems with this film, but I did struggle to be super intrigued by the side plots. Although I did like the house as a location, the whole plot of them struggling with the payment and the relationship with Pinnock's character didn't totally grab me. It really just felt like a way to get Hedda's husband into the story more and I didn't really need to see him anymore than a glorified cameo. That plays right into the plot about him fighting for a teaching role, which also lacked my interest. I think it becomes interesting when it reflects Hedda's goals in life and her juxtaposition with Hoss' character, but any other time it's just involving a character that I didn't find myself caring about. Hoss' new lover, played by Imogen Poots, was also something that was just an odd storyline at times. I was interested in it when she was first introduced, but the further the movie went along I found myself really questioning how necessary she was to the story. It kind of takes away the complex relationship between our two main women and that was a storyline that I really enjoyed. None of these plot lines took a huge amount away from my overall enjoyment of the film, but it does limit its ceiling and make me wonder if the film could've been shorter/longer.

Final Thoughts

Hedda is anchored by a standout performance from Tessa Thompson, but it really is so much more than that. It's a fast-paced drama that will have you on the edge of your seat from start to finish. I do have a feeling this will be a bit of a divisive film, so go see it and see for yourself!

Rating: 4/5 Stars

Hedda is currently ranked 22nd out of the 83 new releases that I've seen this year.

Editor's Note: I've only included the top 20 from my 2025 new releases list, for editing purposes.