Hedda – Review and Summary

Tessa Thompson and Nina Hoss save what would otherwise be a forgettable movie.

ByAmari Allah Hours Posted on

Spoiler Alert: This summary and review contains spoilers.

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“Hedda” Film Details

Movie Summary

Hedda, far from domesticated, but now married and allegedly monogamous, is bored. So, with her husband, George, wanting a party to impress a potential employer, even if they both can’t afford anything lavish, they have it, and Hedda uses the night to have another, if not one last, hoorah.

Cast and Characters

Hedda (Tessa Thompson)

  • Character Summary: The bastard of a locally renowned General, Hedda has always been known for being mischievous and her love of guns, but with becoming a woman of a certain age and her father’s death, the wild child has to resign herself to being a woman. Though she refuses to become a bore in the process.

George (Tom Bateman)

  • Check out other productions we’ve covered starring this actor: [Link to Actor’s Tag]
  • Character Summary: George, like many men, is enamored by Hedda for, beyond her beauty, she is interesting. But, with her pushback regarding becoming Mrs. Tesman over simply Hedda, he knows married life doesn’t come easily to her. Yet, he hopes that she will make an effort.

Eileen (Nina Hoss)

  • Check out other productions we’ve covered starring this actor: [Link to Actor’s Tag]
  • Character Summary: Eileen is a woman born before a time in which she could be openly seen as remarkable or called nothing special without misogyny being involved. As an academic, lesbian, who has as much presence as any of her peers, and notoriety for her work, but a drinking problem that holds her back, Eileen is often at the precipice of greatness until self-sabotage sends her back to square one.

Judge Roland Brack (Nicholas Pinnock)

  • Check out other productions we’ve covered starring this actor: [Link to Actor’s Tag]
  • Character Summary: A friend of Hedda’s father, the Judge was expected to look after Hedda, and he does so, financially providing for her in a notable way. But it seems despite likely watching her grow up, his interest in Hedda isn’t simply that of an uncle or father figure.

Bertie (Kathryn Hunter)

  • Check out other productions we’ve covered starring this actor: [Link to Actor’s Tag]
  • Character Summary: Bertie is one of the few full-time staff members left on the estate, due to the dire financial straits George and Hedda are in

What To Expect In “Hedda” (Rated R) – Content Overview

  • Dialog:
    • Cursing: Occasional
  • Graphic Imagery or Violence:
    • Gun Violence: Occasional Use
    • Domestic Violence: Yes
    • Gore/ Blood/ Body Horror: Bleeding
    • Notable Violence: Self-Harm
  • Sexual Content:
    • Sexual Situations: Implied
    • Sexual Violence: Yes (Attempted)
  • Miscellaneous:
    • Drinking: Yes
    • Drug Use: Recreational
    • Smoking: Yes

Review and Commentary

Highlight(s)

Getting To See A Black Woman Behave Badly, And Likely Get Away With It [83/100]

Privilege, beyond pretty privilege, isn’t something we commonly get to see too many Black women have in movies, never mind movies that clearly aren’t in the modern age. So, for Tessa Thompson as Hedda being queer, destructive, shooting at people, and getting away with it, ruining marriages, careers, lives, and barely any harm comes to her? It’s so rare that it’s delicious.

And mind you, Hedda isn’t played like a demon; she has vulnerabilities, can be loving, but she likes to have fun, and if she hands any power or influence over to you, she wants you to respect it. I’d even say, there might be some level of desire to be submissive just for the sake of getting to be childlike and know she can be safe in being mischievous, perhaps with the idea that someone else will draw the line or keep her out of the fire.

It’s hard to say, but that’s the allure of Hedda. You don’t know if you are in on the joke, the joke, or part of the writing team before Hedda tells the joke. It’s why the back and forth with Eileen is sometimes entertaining, or watching Judge Brack, who badly wants Hedda, but she chose George. Someone who, like most of the men in Hedda’s life, seems very interested in her attention but not so much in healthy ways to keep it.

This type of character is rarely afforded to Black women, whether in period pieces or modern ones, and Thompson truly, with DaCosta providing the assist, pushes the idea that Hedda shouldn’t be something rare but an example.

On The Fence

Lack Of Investment Regarding Who Suffers For Hedda’s Fun [76/100]

For the most part, everyone is fodder for Hedda. She needs George to gain notable employment to maintain her lifestyle, or at least for it not to drop notably. For that to work, she must play her role. She has to be fun, chaotic, and find a way to burn bright enough to light up a room without burning herself out and disappearing into nothing.

All eyes are always on her, and when it comes to anyone, but especially the men, you don’t care if they live, die, or end up injured. You don’t even feel sorry for them when Hedda is clearly in the wrong because it is too much fun watching them being played with like puppets and action figures.

The only one who escapes this, at first, is Eileen Lovborg, and that’s solely because she is the only person whom Hedda seems to care about without the connection being based on money, power, or influence. Yet, even with Eileen, because she becomes manipulated by Hedda, even when it seems she knows Hedda’s games, perhaps is her equal when it comes to banter, her status is lost, and she becomes yet another token in the games Hedda plays throughout the night.

Too Many Storylines Feel Like They Are Left On A Ellipsis [73/100]

The main goal of the movie is for Tessa to make a night that impresses George’s boss enough to get him a professor job, which will allow them to maintain their lifestyle. However, there are a slew of other storylines going on that, by the end of the movie, you don’t get a resolution to. Be it the state of Eileen after what Hedda puts her through, the consequences of Hedda having a bit too much fun with George’s boss, or rather his wife, and then there is the staff – including what begins the movie, when police are questioning Hedda.

I’d add in Kathryn Hunter, who left a haunting impression on us as Solange in The Front Room, feels like she had a bigger part that was cut. Which is a shame since she seems to be one of the few above it all, but it seems anyone who had a real chance to pull attention from Hedda was handled, one way or another.

Overall

Our Rating (79/100): Mixed (Divisive)

While Thompson benefits greatly from the scarcity of characters like Hedda, played by Black women, one could submit that the lack of an easy performance to compare hers to doesn’t necessarily make a great one. Particularly due to Thompson running through her supporting actors with ease, and even the built-up Eileen ends up falling to Hedda. Leaving you with a good portion of the movie where it seems nothing will happen to Hedda, her games have become a bore, and what made the movie feel special quickly losing its luster.

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Amari is the founder and head writer of Wherever-I-Look.com and has been reviewing media since 2010. He approaches each production with hope, rooting for every story to succeed, and believes criticism should come from unmet potential, while praise is reserved for work that meets or exceeds expectations.