Review Roundup: Nia DaCosta's HEDDA Now Playing in Select Theaters

Hedda, Nia DaCosta's new film adaptation of Henrik Ibsen’s Hedda Gabler, is now playing in select theaters. Starring Tessa Thompson as the title character, the movie is a reworking of the acclaimed 1891 stage play, now set in the 1950s. It will be available to stream on Prime Video on October 29. Find out what critics say about the movie below!

In the film, Hedda (Thompson) finds herself torn between the lingering ache of a past love and the quiet suffocation of her present life. Over the course of one charged night, long-repressed desires and hidden tensions erupt, pulling her and everyone around her into a spiral of manipulation, passion, and betrayal.

The cast also includes Imogen Poots, Tom Bateman, Nina Hoss, Nicholas Pinnock, Finbar Lynch, Mirren Mack, Hamilton's Jamael Westman, Saffron Hocking, and Kathryn Hunter. This marks DaCosta's fourth feature as director, following Little Woods, Candyman, and The Marvels. 

In the original play, Hedda Gabler, the daughter of a general, arrives home from her honeymoon already bored and filled with contempt for her husband and the respectable life he represents. When the reappearance of an old flame threatens both her husband’s career prospects and her stability, Hedda contrives to manipulate everyone in her orbit, becoming the architect of her own destruction. 

Over the years, the role has been personified by some of the most distinguished actresses of all time, including Annette Bening, Ingrid Bergman, Cate Blanchett, Judy Davis, Eleanora Duse, Jane Fonda, Isabelle Huppert, and Mary-Louise Parker, among others.

Damon Wise, Deadline: "Despite the film’s ominous introduction, the ending doesn’t quite live up to all the foreshadowing — to outdo Chekhov, there are at least four instances of guns being waved — but DaCosta perhaps isn’t so committed to the plot as she is to the people. Unusually for a party movie, the revelry seems quite real, and makes a very intriguing backdrop to the story, becoming more and more debauched as Hedda gets deeper and deeper in the weeds with her plot against Eileen and, it even seems, the world."

Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian: "This is a movie whose absurdities need to be indulged, and there’s a great deal of slightly baffling business about the manuscript of Eileen’s forthcoming dazzling magnum opus whose title and contents aren’t specified. It unfolds in a counter-historical context of ethnic diversity, though unlike TV’s Bridgerton the fact of racial difference and racial prejudice is explicitly remarked on. Hedda discloses a crazy world of hedonism and gossip; more Hopper than Gabler."

Jourdain Searles, The Hollywood Reporter: "Hedda is a delightful, sexy ride made that reminds us that Thompson is a star and DaCosta has many more tricks up her sleeve. It’s good to hear her unique narrative voice again."

Kate Erbland, IndieWire: "Hedda’s magnetism is undeniable, and that people would be under her thrall is understandable. DaCosta and a talented team of craftspeople bolster that idea at every turn: Sean Bobbitt’s cinematography is lush and oversaturated, Hildur Guðnadóttir’s unpredictable score fuels the party atmosphere with a tinge of dread, and Lindsay Pugh’s costumes are sumptuous."

Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times: "But writer-director Nia DaCosta (“Candyman,” “The Marvels”) and her star Tessa Thompson understand Hedda down to the pretty poison in her molecules. Their rollicking redo, set from dusk to hangover at a drunken bacchanal, is vibrant and viciously alive. With apologies to Ibsen’s ghost, DaCosta’s tweaks have sharpened its rage."

Lindsey Bahr, AP News: "Don’t let “Hedda’s” quick jump to streaming, or the very misguided comparisons to the far inferior “Saltburn” scare you off. For mysterious reasons it will be on Prime Video a mere week after its theatrical debut. Still, one imagines that it will be an enjoyable experience wherever you happen to catch it. At least at home, it’s probably easier to secure a decent martini for the show."

Stephanie Zacharek, Time: "The movie’s production design is gorgeous: it has a luxe, lavish look. Hedda’s grand house, with its flocked wallpaper and ornate mirrors, feels both seductive and oppressive to us—it’s easy to see how it feels to her. But Hedda seems more focused on its own novelty than on the emotional bones of the story."

Kristy Puchko, Mashable: "But even if you've never seen a Hedda Gabler, it's easy to fall for Hedda. Sumptuous, hot, and challenging, this is a drama of love, sex, and regret that burns like a shot of whisky, so good you'll want to go at it again."

William Bibbiani, The Wrap: “Hedda” takes your breath away. It’s a sensual, ingenious update of Ibsen’s classic play, honoring the grand theatrical tradition and transforming it into new, ecstatic cinema. Brilliantly photographed and edited, with an electrifying cast of characters, played by actors who understand the material and make it pulsate, throb and bleed. This is what the art of adaptation is all about."

Marya E. Gates, Roger Ebert.com: "If only there were more flourishes in DaCosta’s film that made emotional sense, or came as close to touching that kind of cinematic greatness. Instead, the film largely feels like an echo of something that was once great, a bit like the dilapidated manor in which the party takes place, and can’t quite reach the height of its own ambition."

Photo Credit: Amazon MGM Studios