RATING: ⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
This article contains spoilers for the film ‘Hedda.’
Despite Tessa Thompson’s astonishingly relatable performance in Hedda, the movie dragged on for so long that one of the attendees in the audience at the TIFF premiere was snoring.
When I was engaging in some pre-research before entering the grand Princes of Wales Theatre, I was ecstatic to see Tessa Thompson’s performance. She did so well that all of the other characters seemed mundane and their roles entirely revolved around her.
“[But] there’s a reason Hedda Gabler’s character has captivated audiences for so long,” Tessa Thompson said in the post-film panel at the TIFF premiere on Sept. 7.
Immediately, the movie centres upon Hedda Gabler (Tessa Thompson) – a famous character that has been played by many other actresses based on Henrik Ibsen’s play Hedda Gabler in 1891.
Hedda is hastily running around to set up a housewarming party for a respectable 1950s style mansion in England that her husband can barely afford, but was simultaneously a gift from a judge that Hedda was secretly hooking up with.
I could tell this starting scene captured the audience, especially after Hedda blew one of her shotguns in the air less than 10 minutes into the movie.
Hedda’s chaotic nature is successfully established as her husband continuously questions her intentions behind this lavish party and her sneaking away to speak with her lover judge Roland Brack (Nicholas Pinnock) about how she regrets marrying a man who can only provide potential.
At this point, the audience is eager to know what debauchery will go down. Invite-only attendees begin rolling in and we get to see a stunning set up of Salvador Dalí paintings, blood red velvet curtains, gold chandeliers, a stone firepit, and high, hollow ceilings.
The night begins with mainly white attendees eating at a dinner table, exchanging passive aggressive insults about how unlikely it was for Hedda, a Black woman, and George Tesman (Tom Bateman) to inhabit such a grand home.
Hedda’s husband George is a white, entitled 1950’s Englishman who expects life to be handed to him. He uses the party to get close to arrogant professors, but he’s also one of the many men in the movie who seem occupied with trying to figure Hedda out.
This is also where we begin to see some of the dynamics with wealth, gender, and race in the movie unveil – and rightfully so, considering the lead and director are both Black women. The details of the room were historically matched to the time, and DeCosta mentioned she was inspired by “Bridgerton” during the panel.
I wish there were more multiracial attendees and couples that attended other than the main cast to illustrate more of the racial angle. At the same time, there were moments Hedda sought safety in judge Roland, who was the only other Black aristocrat that could understand her dilemma.
She even admits to her father calling her a “pretty little thing.”
There’s intimate little moments where Hedda’s free and childish nature feels scared, so she seeks safety in both George and Roland, but not for long because she knows she will fall into their control and I think this captures the essence of the movie and Hedda’s character: what does it mean to be a woman?
These scenes were special to me because I too wonder, what is the balance between freedom and security, especially while being in any kind of relationship. These movie moments were special to Thompson as well, who said “This Hedda is dying to live.”
A jazz singer sets the musical background for the film and her songs set the tone for whatever drama Hedda is engaged in for that second. I liked the predictable pattern of Hedda’s antics, indicated by her facial expressions and lack of interest in genuinely speaking with guests.
One of my favourite scenes is when Hedda asks everyone to dance, but goes ahead without permission, solidifying her free spirit character. The sound centers on her breathing, symbolizing her freedom and how people desire to be acknowledged by her. The camera, which is now Hedda’s eyes, zoomed in on getting couples to move to the beat together. She parades herself as classy Master of Ceremony here and I absolutely loved it.
George proceeds to direct her to put her shoes back on, effectively symbolizing the trap she’s both put herself into and feels expected to accept.
As she’s putting her shoes on, Hedda’s childhood friend and secret lesbian lover Nina Hoss (Eileen Lovborg) and Hoss’s co-author as well as girlfriend Thea Clifton (Imogen Potts) enter the party.
Not much narratively happens after 45 minutes of the movie, but the worldbuilding and characterization details were intriguing for me to sink into. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case for the person below me, who was loudly snoring in a public theatre.
To me, the dynamic between Hedda and Eileen is not so romantic, but one of fiery friendship. In a time period where women and men weren’t as mentally intimate, Hedda and Eileen represent the desire for self expression, especially as Eileen went on to be a professor and author.
There’s also Eileen’s book, which Hedda is not-so-secretly jealous of, but doesn’t know how to deal with. She’s emotional, yet guarded, believing nobody truly cares for her, which is why she recklessly does whatever she wants – again, a characteristic I felt personally drawn to, thus keeping my attention on the movie.
As for Eileen’s girlfriend, I’m a fan of Imogen Potts, but not so much of her whining character Thea, who mainly exists to remind us how exhausting Hedda’s chaos can be.
The fact that I still remember so much of the aesthetic details and the way the characters behaved after watching the film shows how memorable the cast was. I do feel like this set up is more suitable for a TV series instead of a one-night rendezvous.
The best part of Hedda is easily the costume design: maroon and sea green corset dresses, white and dark grey pearls laced on each female character’s necklines, long satin gloves, and classy makeup with not too much foundation.
The film’s structure reminded me of both Great Gatsby and Sinners, so this rendition of Hedda is for people who enjoy being in the fantasy of these kinds of settings for circa two hours.
Hedda dazzles in design and Thompson’s performance, but rambles on. Like Hedda herself, the film longs to break free, yet remains trapped—this time, in its own indulgence.
