The Danish Girl

Review By: John Delia

Out of the ordinary, the true life biography of Lili ElbeThe Danish Girl opens this weekend.  The drama features excellent performances by Eddie Redmayne and Alicia Vikander so look for an Oscar nomination for either or both.  The film delves into one of the most talked about life choices of our time involving sex change and written nicely for the screen by Lucinda Coxon.

It’s the mid-1920’s Denmark and we find a young couple Gerda (Alicia Vikander) and Einar Wegerner (Eddie Redmayne) living in Copenhagen. Both are artists, Gerda likes to paint portraits while Einar, a writer, loves to paint landscapes in his past.  A popular couple the two are entrenched in the social scene and love each other very sexually. But Einar has a fondness for women’s clothing and as their relationship has grown as a married couple, he has had strong bisexual feelings.  One day, while posing in place of Gerda’s sister Ulla (Amber Heard ) for a portrait that involves a dress, Einar admits to Gerda that his feelings have overcome him and wants to be able to face the world as a woman.  So begins a story of change, challenges and heartbreak as Einar becomes Lili Elbe after moving to Paris, France.

The acting here makes the challenging role work.  Redmayne uses a good portion of the film to show his chameleon ability to transform into a woman, and a beautiful one at that.  He uses all the nuances that separate the female from a male and speaking in a hushed voice to hide his maleness.  The camera and make-up help a lot, but he excels beyond any Hollywood tricks with keeping in character throughout the film.

As for Alicia Vikander, you can feel the love, loss and hurt in her as she slowly loses her life mate to Einar’s change.  She plays a strong sexual woman that finds herself fading from the distance Lilli causes between them.  In a weak moment she even tries to find out if she may have somehow been the cause and attempts and affair.  Her steadfast brilliance in her role is remarkable and should garner her an Oscar nomination.

FINAL ANALYSIS: The Danish Girl turns a controversial topic into a hit. (B+)