Hedda

Directed by Nia DaCosta, Hedda follows Tessa Thompson’s title character as she wreaks havoc within an opulent, larger-than-life society party. Filmmaker DaCosta, armed with her own screenplay, delivers a mostly underwhelming endeavor that gets off to an almost disastrously lackluster, uninvolving start, as the picture, which runs a palpably overlong 107 minutes, kicks off with an overly theatrical opening stretch that contains little in the way of an entry point for the viewer – with the arms-length atmosphere compounded by a distressing (and frustrating) absence of character development (ie the dynamic between these one-dimensional figures remains hopelessly vague and muddled). And while Thompson’s lively central performance, as well as Sean Bobbitt’s periodically striking visuals, sporadically compensates for the tiresome vibe, Hedda builds towards a fairly interminable third act that is, a terrific scene featuring Nina Hoss’ character notwithstanding, hardly as gripping or cathartic as DaCosta has surely intended – with the end result a misfire that squanders its handful of overtly positive attributes.

*1/2 out of ****