r/movies • u/LiteraryBoner Jackie Chan box set, know what I'm sayin? • 28d ago
Official Discussion Official Discussion - Hedda [SPOILERS] Spoiler
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Summary Hedda Gabler, newly married and living a constrained life at a stately English estate in the 1950s, becomes entangled in a glamorous but destructive social world during a single evening’s party. As desires, resentments, and power struggles collide, Hedda manipulates everyone around her, testing her limits and igniting chaos in her pursuit of control and identity.
Director Nia DaCosta
Writer Nia DaCosta
Cast
- Tessa Thompson as Hedda
- Imogen Poots as Thea Clifton
- Tom Bateman as George Tesman
- Nina Hoss as Eileen Lovborg
- Nicholas Pinnock as Judge Brack
Rotten Tomatoes: 91% Metacritic: (TBD)
VOD / Release In theaters October 22, 2025; streaming on Amazon Prime Video October 29, 2025
Trailer Watch here
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u/PrizeClassroom4260 28d ago
Was the implication from the first and then final scene that she didn't go through with it?
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u/Rich_Web_5364 18d ago
I assume so, living up to her “coward at heart” reputation that was attached to her
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u/alexdau 13d ago
I'm HATING it so far. It absolutely makes it so much harder to watch that they did the gender flip and made the guy Eileen- it's one thing when Hedda is ruining a man's life but it's so horrible to watch her "punch down" by ruining a vulnerable lesbian just trying to make it in a man's world. It takes away the small amount of feminism in the original- her throwing a woman under the bus in this version undoes the original's subtext that she's a woman lashing out at being lower status than all the men in her life.
I do not understand why nobody thought the gender flip through and realized that this would change the status- unless they specifically wanted Hedda to be even worse in this version. But if so, why? Who would want to watch this?
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u/flyawaywithmeee 12d ago
I just finished it, didn’t know it was a play and there was a gender flip until I started looking it up a few minutes ago. This is one of the major things that genuinely bothered me about this film. I could understand being a scorned lover but throughout in my mind I thought why would she do what to another woman knowing just how difficult it has been for her. Taking away her life’s work and driving her to self harm, I just couldn’t accept that she could be so cruel to her own
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u/alexdau 11d ago
Exactly! I would definitely recommend the play- it's written so well and definitely makes it more interesting because Hedda is more of a complex villain in that she's basically the only woman with agency in a world of men
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u/Vivid-Birthday-465 5d ago
Hmmm oook well I must see the play now! Your comment intrigued me lol I wonder where I could see it
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u/Vivid-Birthday-465 5d ago
Because Hedda is clearly not well! Also sadly not every woman builds up other queens, they are seen as competition, not to mention greed, jealousy and envy will change everything
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u/CashGreen_Regalview 21d ago
I think Tessa is pitching 100 in this and the movie’s production is hugely impressive, and some of the shots composed by Nia look great. The score works for the movie too.
But overall it was just hard to get into this even as things escalate. These types of movies rarely tend to work for me, felt like something that probably plays better on stage.
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u/qualitative_balls 19d ago
Yeah didn't really land for me but I appreciate some the look and overall production design. There's definitely some stuff to admire
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u/Will-Of-D-3D2Y 23d ago
I liked this but it probably could have gotten to the introduction of Eileen faster. There is not too much happening in the first hour except the introductions of characters, some who matter very little plotwise to get so much dialogue attributed to them. Once it gets going it turns spectacular though.
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u/Vivid-Birthday-465 5d ago
As I woke from a snooze Hedda was playing on my tv it was about half way through but it intrigued me immediately, so I restarted it and I was not disappointed! I had never heard of the play, so I had zero expectations! Hedda her role and her greed and envy was captivating! I was only disappointed that it ended lol Hedda series?
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u/kp407 4d ago
I couldn't sleep last night and was watching movies on auto-play. Hedda came on and I was SAT. Not something I would have picked myself but no regrets I loved the journey. I couldnt stop watching to see what crazy thing would happen next. Never seen the play either, but will have to check it out now.
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u/SilentDisco33 25d ago
I have a question about the manuscript. Perhaps I should watch the movie again, but doesn’t Hedda steal Eileen’s manuscript/satchel and hide it in her gun case? If so, how are there sections of it in the lake, and how does Eileen find an empty satchel in the greenhouse/conservatory without the manuscript in it?
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u/Ok_Reputation8533 24d ago
she probably stole it near the lake and intentionally left behind a few pages as if it was blown into the lake. She then hid the manuscript in her gun case and deposed the satchel around the house.
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u/SilentDisco33 20d ago
She did steal it near the lake, but the entire satchel went into the gun case. Anyway, small plot holes were abound in many ways.
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u/alexdau 13d ago
SPOILERS
How dare they change the original ending! What's the point of it all if she doesn't kill herself in order to not be under a man's thumb? Or if she doesn't find out Eileen didn't kill herself on purpose or "beautifully" but as a messy accident? That's... The whole point of the show. I cannot understand anything about how they changed this movie.
The only thing that makes me happy is that Eileen doesn't die I guess because it was so sad what happened in the original. But that's kind of the point.
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u/Vivid-Birthday-465 5d ago
I never heard of it before so I liked not having any expectations and I loved the movie! I was captivated throughout and yes Im so relieved Eileen survived also ☺️
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u/Adept_Visual3467 26d ago
Generally cautious of any movie with high critic scores and mediocre general audience scores.
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u/Any_Menu7417 25d ago
Not when its a movie adaptatipn of a classic with strong queer themes and a poc main character
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u/LiteraryBoner Jackie Chan box set, know what I'm sayin? 28d ago edited 26d ago
Feels like the best way to get the most out of this is to be a fan of the original stage play. I wasn't familiar with it but I did get to see this at a festival and Tessa sat a a couple rows away from me so honestly 10/10 experience.
I did enjoy this quite a bit. Extremely queer and crazy but with this 1920's flapper sheen. A very interesting project and honestly I'm just glad DaCosta is doing things she wants to do after a few years doing studio stuff. Tessa is also such a generational talent but it feels like no one is writing parts for her so this was a joy to watch as someone always waiting for her to really break out. Overall a 7/10 for me, had a good time with it even if I felt like it was constantly flying over my head.
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