The Danish Girl
Director: Tom Hooper
Stars: Eddie Redmayne, Alicia Vikander, Amber Heard
Duration: 119 mins
Class: 15
KRS Releasing Ltd

Although he has been working in movies for around 10 years, Eddie Redmayne truly came to people’s attention in his multi award-winning role as illustrious astrophysicist Stephen Hawking in last year’s The Theory of Everything.

While his role in the upcoming Harry Potter spin-off Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them will offer him recognition that only blockbusters may bring, Redmayne continues to impress as a dramatic actor of depth and diversity in his performance in The Danish Girl which narrates the touching journey of transgender woman Lili Elbe, formerly the artist Einar Wegener.

Based on the moving novel by David Ebershoff, the story is the account of real-life couple Wegener and wife Gerda (Alicia Vikander) who lived in Copenhagen and Paris in the 1920s. Both artists, they love each other profoundly, supporting each other’s careers. Yet, while Einar’s landscapes are very successful, Gerda struggles to get her portraits exhibited.

On a day like any other, Gerda needs to put the final touches on her latest painting, but her model is late. She asks Einar to put on the model’s dress, so she can finish it. For her, that moment is insignificant; but for Einar it is a moment of truth. It is the realisation of something long-suspected that, although assigned male at birth, her gender identity is female, and that it is only as a woman that she can truly be herself.

And so, Einar begins her long, challenging and often painful transition to Lili which, despite the ever-loving support from Gerda does put the relationship –and their standing in society – under some strain. When, with the help of a sympathetic doctor, Lili takes the ultimate step, she takes extraordinary risks while simultaneously making history as one of the first people to undergo gender confirmation surgery.

Another fearless performance, poignant, real and above all very respectful towards the character

A film like this can easily be dismissed as awards-baiting pristine costume drama, but it is so much more than that. Apart from having an important role in bringing to light an extraordinary character in the history of transgenderism, The Danish Girl is also, at heart a poignant and inspiring love story. The script, by Lucinda Coxon, charts the course of Lili and Gerda’s relationship with sense and sensitivity, while director Tom Hooper unhurriedly but effectively allows the story to unfold and his characters to really get under your skin. Like his acclaimed The King’s Speech, The Danish Girl is about a person struggling against all odds to be who they really are, with all the challenges that entails. And those struggles are depicted with authentic emotion by the film’s flawless protagonists.

The film is a vehicle for Redmayne’s chameleonic ability to, once again, fully transform both physically and internally into his role. It is another astonishing performance from the actor. His freckled face, full lips and extraordinary green eyes give believable and beautiful form to Lili, while his unaffected hand gestures and body language and the depth of expression of those eyes at once convey her inner turmoil, joys and fears. It is another fearless performance; one that is poignant, real, and above all very respectful towards the character.

He is matched beat for beat by Alicia Vikander, the Swedish actress who just seems to be everywhere, while being great in everything she does. Vikander is currently garnering nominations and awards both for this and for her superb turn in sci-fi thriller Ex Machina. Redmayne’s role may be the showier one, yet Gerda is a beautiful part and Vikander gives a nuanced performance. She is at once strong and helpless as the woman who loves her husband unconditionally, yet who suffers many anguished moments as she struggles with what is effectively his loss. That she loses a husband, but gains a muse – Lily proved to be the inspiration for some extraordinary paintings for which Gerda was acclaimed – served as small consolation, but Vikander captures Gerda’s unwavering loyalty to her soul mate every step of the way.

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