HEDDA (2025) review
written by: Nia DaCosta
produced by: Nia DaCosta, Gabrielle Nadig, Tessa Thompson, Dede Gardner & Jeremy Kleiner
directed by: Nia DaCosta
rated: R (for sexual content, language, drug use, and brief nudity)
runtime: 107 min.
U.S. release date: October 22, 2025 (theatrical) and October 29, 2025 (Prime Video)
Before we get a “28 Years Later” sequel from director Nia DeCosta in January, her fourth film, “Hedda,” receives a fall release. It’s a loose adaptation of Henrik Ibsen’s play Hedda Gabler, which premiered in Germany in 1891. DeCosta, who wrote and directed the drama, puts a queer spin on the material and sets the story in early 20th-century England, and the film reunites her with Tessa Thompson, who starred in DaCosta’s 2018 feature debut, “Little Woods.” Thompson is commanding in the lead, and DeCosta goes extravagant and bold in her production design, crafting a captivating sound-and-visual pastiche. If only the characters in “Hedda” were as fascinating and compelling as everything else we get to feast our eyes on.
For those in the dark, here’s a quick update: Ibsen’s seminal classic focuses on the inner turmoil of an unhappily married newlywed woman and manipulator who convinces her former lover to commit suicide as an outlet for her frustration and boredom. The play is considered a masterpiece, and the titular character would come to be known as a quintessential female role for actors.
DeCosta’s iteration takes place in the 1950s and is set solely in an expansive manor somewhere in England. The events of the film unfold over one evening, during a party that Hedda Tesman (Thompson), nee Gabler, is throwing at the manor her academic husband, George Tesman (Tom Bateman), has purchased. While the social elite believe her to have come from a good family, only a few know she’s the “bastard” daughter of General Gabler, who died and left her a handful of guns and a desire for the wealthy life. One of whom is Judge Roland Brack (Nicholas Pinnock), who helped the couple acquire the manor and seeks to ravish Hedda whenever George is out of sight. The married couple is anything but in love, showing little friendship.
After the manor staff complete their preparations and the evening’s guests begin to arrive, we learn a few things about the newlyweds that provide context. One obvious admission is that George is dull yet in love with Hedda, and the only thing he does for her is elicit eyerolls. He is her social elite prop. During their six-month honeymoon (you read that right), George primarily spent his time researching, which is discussed amongst the guests. When a guest asks George about Hedda’s voracious appetite (a blatant innuendo), the clueless George admits they did indeed try out several restaurants. Clearly, this isn’t a couple that will last long, considering how oblivious he is and how secretive and manipulative she is.
One of the main reasons for this party is to get George on the radar for a professorship and an endowment at his university. This means he must impress one of the more important guests, Professor Greenwood (Finbar Lynch), the one who’ll be deciding the position and potentially George’s future. Securing this position will mean more money, which means more than anything to Hedda. Could all that pressure be why we see Hedda fill her dress with rocks at the start of the film and walk into the nearby lake?
The evening takes a dramatic turn with the arrival of Hedda’s former flame, who ignites more manipulative ideas within her. Dr. Eileen Lovborg (Nina Hoss) is in line for the same position as George, and she has brought a new manuscript to impress Professor Greenwood. Back in the day, Hedda and Eileen were a wild couple, and Eileen’s carousing and drinking became habitual. All that is behind her now, with the help of her current girlfriend, the delicate Thea (Imogen Poots), who has arrived slightly before Eileen to make sure Hedda doesn’t ruin her rehabilitated love. Thea sees Hedda more clearly than perhaps anyone else at the party. She knew Hedda back in school and knows how terrifying she is and what she is capable of.
When Eileen arrives, DaCosta and cinematographer Sean Bobbitt (who lensed the director’s franchise flop, “The Marvels”) break free from their lush, oversaturated visuals to deliver a standout entrance. When Hedda sees her former lover across the dance hall, she is transfixed and glides across the room with an impressive double dolly shot. As Eileen, Hoss injects the party with needed electricity and mystery, and at times pulls our attention away from Thompson with her impassioned performance.
The character of Eileen also presents “Hedda” with a significant problem: how all the other characters, including Hedda, are kind of predictable and uninteresting. That’s not to say that Thompson isn’t great in the role. She’s always great, but the character of Hedda (or at least this iteration) does her no favors here. I know I’m in the minority on this stance, but DaCosta didn’t turn me on to the character.
That being said, the film’s sound and visuals are indeed stunning. The score from Icelandic composer Hildur Guðnadóttir is sweeping and worth listening to on its own, accentuating the atmosphere with simmering dread. It does get a little manipulative (much like the titular character) with its overuse of breathy vocalizations every time Hedda is up to no good. The work from production designer Cara Bower (who worked on DaCosta’s 2021 “Candyman”) and costume designer Lindsay Pugh is an unforgettable highlight of “Hedda”, and that’s the problem for me. How DaCosta made the film is more memorable than her iteration of this classic character.
RATING: **1/2
