Danish Girl Eddie Redmayne

Director: Tom Hooper
Cast: Eddie Redmayne,  Alicia Vikander,  Amber Heard,  Ben Whishaw,  Matthias Schoenaerts,  Sebastian Koch,  Emerald Fennell,  Philip Arditti,  Nicholas Woodeson,  Miltos Yerolemou,  Sophie Kennedy Clark, Adrian Schiller
Rating: 15
Running time: 119 mins
Release date: January 1st, 2016

Eddie Redmayne and Alicia Vikander, put on a touching and indeed Oscar winning performances in Tom Hooper’s (THE KINGS SPEECH, LES MISERABLE) biopic THE DANISH GIRL.

The film tells the true story about the life and artist, Lili Elbe (Eddie Redmayne), one of the first people to undergo sexual reassignment surgery.

Einar and Gerda (Alicia Vikander) are husband and wife, living in Copenhagen during the 1930s – and it has to be noted that the time period of the film feels irrelevant when the subject matter was just as relevant then as it is now.

Both are artists, and madly in love in this visually stylistic film, drawing together the blank canvas of the apartment with the vibrant and rich colourings of the paintings, which are carefully placed within the frames as a reflection of gender struggles and identity. Hooper uses plenty of close up shots that trace Einer’s face as he watches, admires and tries to mimic feminine behaviours in putting on makeup or even the placing of a hand.

The Danish Girl

Hooper’s delicate camera work captures Einar’s soft handling of a pair of tights, given to him by his wife as he is reluctantly forced into modelling for one of Gurda’s paintings. At first he is shy, afraid to reveal how he’s truly feeling. Einar carefully puts the tights on and holds the large cream, lacy dress up to his frame and confidently poses for his wife’s painting. In this scene as well as others, Hooper pays attention to Einar’s facial expressions as he fascinates over the small intricate details of femininity, such as the fabric of a dress.

In one scene Gerda and Lili go out to a Ball, initially Lili is shy, standing back and hiding her face. This is until she catches the eye of Henrik (Ben Whishaw), who without knowing whispers ‘you’re different from most girls’ and kisses Lili. Redmayne breathes life into Lili and is captivating in his portrayal of the happiness of finally becoming Lili, but also the emotional complexities of Lili’s internal conflicts.

Enchanting and arguably even more captivating, is Vikander’s interpretation of Gerda. The most touching and thought provoking scenes of the film come from Vikander as she pleas to be with her husband and desperately asks Lili for Einar to hold her. Gurda mourns the loss of her marriage, but at the same time she is seeking ways to understand and help Lili at a time when there was so little understanding of what it meant to be transgender.

This isn’t just a film solely about Lili Elbe, with just as much time and attention focused on Gurda. She is ultimately portrayed as a woman ahead of her time; she is very forward, and ultimately supportive of Lili.

The Danish Girl

At the start of the film, the foreshadowing is a little too obvious, as Gurda compares her first kiss with Einar to be like kissing herself. However this doesn’t deter from the emotional complexities of the both characters as they weave themselves into this new and untouched ground of the 1920’s.

Gurda ultimately and crucially stands by Lili as she tells the doctor ‘I believe I am a woman’, Gurda turns and looks the doctor in the eye and declares ‘I believe it too,’ – Vikander unquestionably proves she is worthy of an Oscar nomination this season.

THE DANISH GIRL is a touching, elegant and graceful portrayal of the true events of which it is inspired by and I’m sure it’ll make many appearances during the awards season.

Verdict

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