Transplanted to mid-century England, this ingenious reimagining of Henrik Ibsen’s beloved play from writer-director Nia DaCosta (2021’s Candyman) infuses its source material with fresh, feminist power and energy. Starring Tessa Thompson (Passing), Imogen Poots (TIFF ’15’s Green Room), and Christian Petzold regular Nina Hoss, Hedda is an original work of cinematic invention.
Newlywed and precariously dissatisfied with life, Hedda (Thompson), gun-loving daughter of the late General Gabler, has convinced her husband George (Tom Bateman), a timid but ambitious scholar, to throw a lavish party the couple cannot afford. On the teeming guest list is Eileen Lovborg (Hoss), a celebrated author of a book exploring sexuality — and George’s key rival for a coveted academic post. Hedda sees the guests as pawns in an elaborate game she plans to orchestrate with ruthless precision.
Sumptuously photographed by Oscar-nominated cinematographer Sean Bobbitt (TIFF ’13 People’s Choice Award winner 12 Years a Slave), and featuring exquisitely detailed production design from Cara Brower, Hedda ushers us headlong into a milieu of decadence and deception. At the centre of it all is Thompson’s magnetic performance as our single-minded, hedonistic heroine, a woman trapped within the confines of social decorum she cannot help but set fire to.
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