Review 444: The Danish Girl

The Danish Girl is a beautifuly touching Historical romance film and a wonderfully fascinating character study all magnificently bought to life by exceptional work from Director Tom Hooper and star Eddie Redmayne.

Based on the historical novel The Danish Girl by David Ebershoff, In mid-1920’s Copenhagen, Gerda Wegener (Alicia Vikander) and her husband Einar (Eddie Redmayne) are both artists. Gerda, portrait, Einar, landscape. When Gerda asks Einar to stand in for a female portait model, long-repressed feeling of Einar begin to resurface and he begins living life as a woman.
Embarking on a journey of self-discovery that’s only made possible by the unconditional love of his wife, Einar fights to become the person he was always meant to be - transgender pioneer Lili Elbe.

It may be historically inaccurate but the plot is just fascinating. Director Tom Hooper and screenwriter Lucinda Coxon seem to place a lot of emphasis on character as opposed to historical accuracy and they place a lot of emphasis on Lili Elbe as a historical figure and her impact on society.  Lili Elbe really was quite an extraordinary historical figure.
Initially, she was born Einar Wegener and became the first woman to transition and undergo gender confirmation surgery. From a historical standpoint that in of itself is quite remarkable. Even more remarkable is the fact that she was a transgender pioneer at a time when no one really acknowledged the concept of a transgender man or woman. These were artists and they were part of a bohemian set and they worked with the context of theatre and dance. 

The Danish Girl is ultimatly a love story but not a love story in the traditional sense. On the surface it’s a story between two people but ultimately it’s a story of learning how to love yourself. Part of what the story is about is somebody finding their own identity. Another part of it is somebody else loosing somebody.
It poses the question: What do you do if the person you love changes? Gerda keeps loving Lili even though she’s no longer the person she recognises.
It’s also an inspirational story of courage and authenticity. 

That theme of someone who has a block between them and the best version of themselves or who they actually are.

Tom Hooper’s direction is simply flawless, providing the story with a lot of emotional intelligence and treats the subject matter with delicacy and sensitivity required. The cinematography is gorgeous and captures the beauty and naturalism of 1920s Denmark, making each shot look like a Hammershoi painting. The production design (recreating 1920’s Denmark) is lavish, giving off a sense of austerity.

the costumes are majestic, the score by Alexandre Desplat is wonderfuly lush, the props are excellently crafted, the make up is rich and beautifuly detailed, the locations are stunning, mid-20s Copenhagen was ultra conservative, it was patriarchal making almost as much of character to the film in its own right. the effect of the closing sequence is poignant

Eddie Redmayne & Alicia Vikander are mesmerising as Einar/Lili Elbe & Gerda Wegener respectfully. They were both artists and both of them are very open-minded and playful. So they start to experiment with their work. Initially it was just a game but eventually it became something much more profound as Einar found his/her true identity through their work.

 

With Vikander as Wegener, you get the sense of somebody being very steadfast and understanding that the person that they love is really becoming themself and that has a profound impact on the nature of their relationship. Einar was quite self contained in himself by not letting Lili come out initially because society wouldn't allow it. She expertly captures the fear and anger and mystification of someone loosing who they love and yet she remains supportive through Lili's choice.
 

Matthias Schoenaerts Hans Axgil

Ben Whishaw

Sebastian Koch proves what a fine actor he is delivering a sensitive peroformance playing Kurt Warnekros, the gynaechologist who took Lili Elbe on as a patient, he was a pioneer in sex reassignment surgery. 

Amber Heard  playing Ulla Poulsen. She was one of 

5/5.

The Anonymous Critic.