The Danish Girl (2015) (English Language)

Review

120min

Genre:      Fact-based, Drama, Romance

Director:   Tom Hooper

Cast:        Eddie Redmayne, Alicia Vikander, Amber Heard…and more

Writers:    Lucinda Coxon & David Ebershoff

-Synopsis-

Transgender period drama about the unconventional love story of married Danish artists in early 20th century Europe, who struggle to cope with the husband’s transition into one of the earliest identified transgender women through sex reassignment surgery, the artist Lili Elbe.

Academy award-winning director Tom Hooper (The King’s Speech) reunites with his ‘Les Misérables’ alumnus and most recent Oscar-winning actor Eddie Redmayne, to bring us a heavily dramatized version of a real early 20th century story which couldn’t be more timely.

Redmayne stars as turn-of-the-century Danish painter Einar Wegener whose long transition into Lily Elbe eventually culminated in one of the earliest examples of gender reassignment surgery, the core of the story is the unique love story between Wegener and his wife and fellow artist Gerda Gottlieb, played by Alicia Vikander, who remained remarkably loyal despite inevitably losing the man she married.

‘The Danish Girl’ benefits from an interesting and incredibly timely central theme which has become a major social talking point in 2015. Director Tom Hooper manages to effectively apply what is fast becoming his formula of stylish and emotional period-drama treatment which takes advantage of solid performances, impeccable production design and an evocative Alexandre Desplat musical score.

While ‘The Danish Girl’ is certainly not the first film to deal with issues of transgenderism, it’s quite original in framing it as an issue of personality and gender identity rather than sexuality.

While transgender people will view themselves as having been born in the wrong body, society may view it as a mental disorder (gender dysphoria), the point of a film like this is to build a bridge of acceptance between the way people view an issue that’s now part of the media landscape… and battle against judgment from both sides by having unsuppressed open discussion.

‘The Danish Girl’ is essentially a human story set in a time long ago, yet not that different from today, but it’s told with a narrative naivety which takes plenty of dramatic license and employs a bit too much artistic flair.

Unsurprisingly when condensing a lifetime into two hours, the story deviates heavily from reality, but ‘The Danish Girl’ is ultimately let down by slick Hollywood sentimentality, despite being a European production, and the sanitizing of a far more painful and tragic story.

The timing of the film may have been a fortunate coincidence, but the careful sculpting of a narrative that provides just a bit of shock but not enough to alienate the masses, and which pleases awards voters, is not.

The Bottom Line…

While benefiting from typically evocative sights and sounds which illuminate a historical and yet fascinatingly timely central theme, ‘The Danish Girl’ takes too much dramatic license while sanitizing a true story for public consumption, and only scratches the surface of a complex social issue.

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Similar films you may like (Home Video)

The King’s Speech (2010)

Semi-biographical Oscar-winning British period drama that dramatizes the life of King George VI as he struggles to balance his duties with insecurities and a speech impediment, while trying to come to terms with his sudden ascension to the throne in a most perilous time for Great Britain.

Directed by  Tom Hooper and starring Colin Firth, Helena Bonham Carter and Geoffrey Rush among others.

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