The Danish Girl (2015)

Based on a true story: In 1920s Copenhagen, Einar Wegener (Eddie Redmayne) is a landscape artist and his wife Gerda (Alicia Vikander) is a portrait artist. When a female model is late to pose for Gerda, she asks Einar to temporarily replace her, partly dressed in women's clothes. This incident re-stimulates Einar's early desires to live as a female.It is also notable that Einar's transition to Lili Elbe is one of the first known transgender incidents in history.I'm sure my fellow movie buffs can recall times when a film was universally acclaimed and we just didn't see what any of the fuss is about. Sometimes, we even disliked the film. For me, the most glaring cases were probably "Lost in Translation" back in 2003 and "Life is Beautiful" in 1997."The Danish Girl" creates that rare situation in the opposite direction: a film that is universally rated as mediocre or disappointing; but one which I found superb. The naysayers at least agree that Redmayne and Vikander are great in their roles. More on that later.I believe that director Tom Hooper (who helped raise "The King's Speech" to such a high level) deserves great credit for elevating the mood in this film to one of intensity mixed with beauty. There is much risk in expressing true identity at a time when the term "transgender" did not even exist. The deeper understanding of artists, among others, is on display with kindness and compassion. The beauty of cities like Copenhagen, Paris, and Dresden (with exquisite set designs, cinematography, and music) all contribute to keep the aesthetics of this film at the highest level.But it truly is the acting that makes this film as great as it is. Redmayne's performance alone would have been adequate but Vikander's contribution is more than that of a supporting role. As an emerging artist and as a woman whose marriage is changing in ways that could never have been equaled at that time, Vikander brings great depth to Gerda as her love and support are unyielding during a very difficult and unusual time.Redmayne is truly sensational in this film. This is not a surprise considering his turn in last year's "The Theory of Everything" for which he was rightly praised with multiple awards. In "Danish Girl", his depth goes even further as he boldly and courageously exposes the sensitivity of a unique and misunderstood soul. From the time he first reacts to wearing women's clothes, the movie is riveting as he easily conveys nuance in his facial expressions and takes great risks to be truthful and authentic.As Charlize Theron did with "Monster", Redmanyne's sublime performance raises a fine film to an even greater level.OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT: Lead Performance by Eddie Redmayne

I have to be honest, I do not know much about the identity struggle such the one "Einar Wegener" suffered from.. but I can get glimpse of what that struggle would be through this movie. I can imagine it was a hard time for such identity crisis to rise up .. but even though the movie showed that there were open minded people that can accept differences around the year 1900 even if these people were few . (----------------This review has spoiler start here--------------)At the beginning of this movie "Gerda Wegener" (wife of "Einar Wegener") who was shown to be more bold than her husband, asked her husband to pose for a portrait as a woman and at that moment "Einar" began to discover what is going on with "him".. the movie just present that self discovery and self awareness at the time where there were no one known before "him" struggle the same. It is a story of "Einar" getting bolder to be "Lili" in a hard period of time.. There were few wondering questions during and after the movie finishes.. probably they came up because I do not fully understand the transformation (was it physically, mentally, and emotionally at once!?). It is a lovely movie to watch with parts of the true story of "Lili Elbe" who was bold enough to accept performing the first gender-change operation to be fully "her".

Directed by Tom Hooper, "The Danish Girl" is based on the 2000 novel with the same name written by David Ebershoff. The story is loosely based on the life of Einar Wegener, the first person to go through transgender surgery, and his personal struggles and relationship with his wife. In "The Danish Girl," performances are as important as the story itself. From the first scene I fell in love with Eddie Redmayne's acting and later paid more attention to Alicia Vikander, as Gerda Wegener, and her outstanding performance. Einar is going through a transformation progress to become Lili, and the perception of Gerda's infinite and everlasting love for her husband is the strongest point of the film. This performance brought Alicia Vikander an Academy Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role. On the other hand, Eddie Redmayne's performance was critical for the film's reputation. He is becoming the master in disguise after his equally hard role as Stephen Hawking in The Theory of Everything. That performance brought him an Oscar for The Best Performance by Actor in a Leading Role. One year later he came very close to win his 2nd Oscar for his performance in "The Danish Girl." The role of Einar Wegener/Lili Elbe is very hard to perform. Figures, gestures, mimics and feelings are very important. To master this particular role, you need to feel like Einar Wegener, and Redmayne's performance overcomes all the struggles of this role. With this kind of hard roles, you get to see the real talent of the artist.Controversial or sensitive subjects have always been rewarded in cinema. It is thought by the authorities that this kind of films always serve to the true purpose of art. I don't share this thought, but yet again I am not the one in power to decide what is good and bad for the audience. Films like "The Danish Girl" have a mission to show us the unspoken or hidden facts. Most of the time getting into these roles is not easy, and this is the reason why they are usually awarded.Camera shots behind the ballet clothes and paintings manage to make a difference in the means of Cinematography. Beautiful sceneries and identical Danish houses were shot with wide angles, and this technique shows us the importance of cinematography for a film. In "The Danish Girl," both Einar and his wife Gerda are painters. So, default setup of the scenes, with paintings and costumes all over, are preparing you for the grey mood presented throughout the film. Beautiful and diverse costumes also serve the purpose of the film. This brought another nomination to "The Danish Girl" for Best Achievement in Costume Design. The clothes Einar wear in disguise as a woman are matching both the era and the inner taste of Lili. Those costumes are somehow the visual representatives of her inner feelings as a woman.The perception of homosexuality back in 20s in Europe is another subject of the film. Tom Hooper focuses on all the struggles of Einar by showing some scenes that take courage to show. He goes to striptease shows and imitates the dancing woman. He goes to fish market to observe the gestures of women. He continuously imagines himself as a woman and getting beaten up once.Lili and Einar are two different characters. One of them is Einar's true form, and the other is the person he is forced to be. Social pressure tends to force you into personalities that don't represent you. If a person doesn't have strong state of mind, this forcing may end up in suicide. This is not the case for Einar. He is a strong character, and he knows that he is a woman inside. This is how he faces all the bumps on the road. Transgender surgeries are a matter of debate even today. In long term, this kind of films are going to build up the social acceptance. This is how cinema serves to society.With outstanding performances and an interesting subject, "The Danish Girl" encourages people with the similar situation to act and live their lives as they see fit. Being drama, history and biography, "The Danish Girl" is one of the good examples of these genres.

The Danish girl and the Danish man who thinks he's a girl.This kind of movie will continue to be made until everyone is either confused-gendered or homosexual and then.... we'll start all over with trying to be normal.We are all so screwed up.