The Danish Girl

Year: 2015
Genre: Drama/Biography
Directed: Tom Hooper
Stars: Eddie Redmayne, Alicia Vikander, Adrian Schiller, Amber Heard, Matthias Schoenaerts
Production: Artemis Productions

Thus far Eddie Redmayne has made quite a niche for himself as the go-to actor for physically challenging roles. Not only has he made the onscreen transition from a shy, bright and love struck student to brilliant wheelchair-bound ALS sufferer in The Theory of Everything (2014), he's also had to hold down constant convulsions of laughter while playing a space Dracula with spasmodic dysphonia in Jupiter Ascending (2014). Now he plays Lili Elbe, the first woman to ever experience gender re-assignment surgery.

off with it's head!

Einar Wegener (also Redmayne) is a fairly renowned artist living in Copenhagen with his wife Gerda (Vikander). Always more at home in more feminine accouterments, Einar slowly becomes more open with his wife about modeling for her and her paintings as a woman. Gerda becomes convinced that he can indeed pass as a woman so as a ruse they arrive at a party with Einar as Lili. Beyond that point the two slowly realize that there's more to Lili than just an occasional model for Gerda's inspiration. Thus the two enter an odyssey for self-actualization and enduring love.

The true story is not quite as romantic as the movie would suggest though it's hardly proper to fault a movie for making fiction out of truth. The relationship between Gerda and Einar/Lili serves as the rock-steady center of the film and it's easy to see why. Everything they say and do is believable and organic to the characters they have created and Vikander deserves special mention and praise for every tiny authenticity. Is it any wonder that both are nominated for Golden Globes and are poised to receive Oscar nods?

Though if there is an undisputed star of the picture it is production designer Eve Stewart. The woman has been working with director Tom Hooper since The Damned United (2009) and it's easy to see why. Her beautiful, painstakingly researched period detail and impassioned decor gives the movie the believably and artistry it needs to pull off such a unique story. With three Oscar nominations under her belt, I dare say this is her year to finally take away the golden statuette.

There is however one very large problem that relegates The Danish Girl firmly in the Rent-It category and that is the editing. Much like Tom Hooper's last Oscar season gambit Les Miserables (2012), the film feels long; far too long. Hooper seems to want to take you to a moment in time and won't move the story along until you're sobbing with the characters. The camera lingers as everyone's dirty laundry tumbles out and everyone on-screen blubbers in a "Dreamed a Dream," booger-sliding-out-the nostril, overwrought-to-the-point-of-hilarity-type way. This happens far too many times leaving susceptible audience members overwhelmed and cynical viewers checking their watches.

Despite two stellar performances, awe-inspiring set design and a harrowing true story rich with possibility, The Danish Girl succumbs to the same problems that plague similar biographical period pieces. It's overwrought and occasionally boring while pandering to an audience that will surely overvalue it's cultural cache in years to come. That said, the performances really are that good. They should be considered as a high point in both Redmayne and Vikander's careers due to their sensitivity and realism. The chemistry between the two can make even the most pessimistic person believe in true love.

Final Grade: C