Hedda (2025)

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At the end of the 2025 film Hedda, Hedda is poised to commit suicide but pauses when she learns that Eileen, who was accidentally shot, has survived. This moment causes Hedda to break into an ambiguous, wild smile, leaving her ultimate fate uncertain.

Expanding on the ending scene by scene:

The climax unfolds with a violent confrontation where Eileen is accidentally shot in the stomach. This critical injury leaves Eileen alive but vulnerable, while Hedda finds herself isolated and under the control of Judge Brack, a manipulative figure who has been exerting power over her throughout the story.

As Hedda contemplates suicide, she is on the verge of taking her own life, mirroring the tragic conclusion of the original Hedda Gabler play. However, just before she pulls the trigger, she learns that Eileen has survived the shooting. This revelation halts Hedda's final act.

In this suspended moment, Hedda's expression shifts dramatically. She breaks into a wild, wicked, and wanting smile--a complex and ambiguous gesture that suggests a mixture of dark possibility and defiance. This smile leaves the audience uncertain whether Hedda will proceed with suicide or choose a different path.

Judge Brack's role as a manipulative benefactor who blackmails Hedda for sexual submission is central to the tension leading up to this moment. Hedda's near-suicide is both an act of rebellion and a response to her entrapment and humiliation.

Eileen's survival is a pivotal turning point. Her fate contrasts with Hedda's precarious position, symbolizing a potential for continuation or change that Hedda momentarily acknowledges.

Thus, the film ends on an open note: Hedda's fate is left unresolved, with her ambiguous smile inviting viewers to interpret whether she embraces life's dark possibilities or succumbs to despair.

In summary, the main characters' fates at the end are:

• Hedda: Paused on the brink of suicide, her fate ambiguous, marked by a complex smile that suggests both rebellion and uncertainty.
• Eileen: Survives an accidental gunshot wound, representing a living contrast to Hedda's crisis.
• Judge Brack: Maintains his manipulative hold over Hedda, though his power is challenged by the unfolding events.

This ending diverges from the original play's definitive suicide, instead offering a nuanced and open-ended conclusion that emphasizes Hedda's internal conflict and the shifting dynamics between the characters.

In the 2025 film "Hedda," directed by Nia DaCosta, a pivotal character death occurs towards the end of the story. The character who dies is Eileen Lovborg, played by Nina Hoss. Eileen is a fellow academic and Hedda's ex-lover, who has recently become sober with the help of her new companion, Thea.

The circumstances of Eileen's death are complex and emotionally charged. After a tumultuous party at the Tesman estate, where Hedda manipulates those around her to further her own interests, Eileen finds herself at a low point. Her romance with Thea is strained, her manuscript is missing, and her career is in jeopardy due to her past reputation as an unpleasant drunk. Feeling hopeless about her future, Eileen is given General Gabler's beloved gun by Hedda, who encourages her to end her life on her own terms.

However, instead of using the gun as intended, Eileen becomes involved in a petty argument with a friend named David. This argument escalates into a physical altercation, resulting in a shot being fired. Unfortunately, Eileen is the one who gets shot and dies from her injuries.

The death of Eileen serves as a turning point in the narrative, highlighting Hedda's manipulative nature and the tragic consequences of her actions. It also sets the stage for the final confrontation between Hedda and Judge Brack, who uses his knowledge of the gun's origin to blackmail Hedda, further entangling her in a web of desperation and loss of control.

The 2025 movie Hedda does not have a traditional post-credits scene. Instead, the film ends with a significant moment just before the credits begin: Hedda, after a chaotic and emotionally charged sequence, is seen with only her head above water in a lake, and someone inside the house calls out that Eileen is still alive. Hedda then grins, and the credits roll immediately after this, leaving her fate ambiguous and the ending open-ended rather than definitive. This moment serves as a final, haunting beat rather than a separate post-credits scene.

Director Nia DaCosta explained that this ending places Hedda "between life and death potentially," and the smile she gives upon hearing Eileen's name suggests a complex emotional pause. The film's conclusion differs from Ibsen's original play, where Hedda dies, by leaving room for interpretation and possible continuation, but no additional scene appears after the credits.

Hedda organizes a party under the pretense of helping her husband George secure a prestigious professorship and endowment, inviting his superior Professor Greenwood and his wife Tabitha, along with Hedda's bohemian friends. However, the real purpose of the party is revealed as Hedda's manipulative attempt to sabotage her ex-lover Eileen Lovborg, who has recently become sober and is trying to restart her academic career. The party becomes a charged setting where Hedda's hidden motives and manipulations unfold.

In the 2025 film, Eileen Lovborg is gender-switched from the original male character in Ibsen's play to a woman and Hedda's ex-lover. This change adds a queer dimension to the story and intensifies the personal and emotional stakes, as Hedda's jealousy and desire to control Eileen's sobriety and career become central to the plot.

Hedda's marriage to George Tesman is marked by tension and dissatisfaction. George is an academic struggling with debt, and Hedda's desire for wealth and status pressures him to secure a prestigious position. Hedda's manipulations, including the party she organizes, are partly aimed at securing George's career success, but also reflect her deeper frustrations and ambitions beyond her marriage.

The film explores Hedda's internal conflict through her torn feelings between the suffocating present life with George and the lingering ache of her past love, Eileen. Over the course of one intense night, Hedda's repressed desires, jealousy, and need for control erupt, driving her manipulative actions and emotional turmoil, which pull everyone around her into a spiral of passion and betrayal.

Set in early 20th-century England, the film relocates Ibsen's original 1891 play to the 1950s, allowing for greater social freedoms for female characters, such as being considered for professorships and openly drinking at parties. This setting also highlights the racial and social dynamics, as Hedda is portrayed as a Black woman in an interracial marriage, adding layers of societal pressure and complexity to her manipulations and struggles.

The 2025 movie Hedda is not family friendly and is rated R due to sexual content, strong language, drug use, and brief nudity.

Potentially objectionable or upsetting aspects for children or sensitive viewers include:

• Sexual content and themes involving complex adult relationships and manipulation.
• Strong language throughout the film.
• Drug use depicted in the story.
• Brief nudity scenes.
• The overall tone is dramatic and intense, with psychological manipulation and emotional tension that may be disturbing.

These elements make the film unsuitable for children and sensitive audiences. The film explores mature themes in a sophisticated, sometimes dark manner without plot spoilers.