The Danish Girl review: Eddie Redmayne follows up The Theory Of Everything with perhaps a superior performance as Lili Elbe, The Danish Girl.
Eddie Redmayne // The Danish Girl review
The Danish Girl review: Paul Heath, December 2015.
Tom Hooper reunites with his Les Misérables star Eddie Redmayne in this beautiful drama inspired by the story of 20th Century Danish artists Lili Elbe and Gerda Wegener.
While branded a fictitious love story, the events contained in Hooper’s visual delight that is The Danish Girl are based on a remarkable true story. Redmayne stars as Einar Wegene who would go on to become Lili Elbe, one of the first identifiable recipients of sex reassignment surgery. A succesful artist in 1926 Denmark, Wegene is happily married to fellow painter, though not quite as successful Gerda Gottlieb (Alicia Vikander). The two, very prominent on the art scene, dote on one another, Wegene helping the rising star of Gottlieb, supporting her in her work as his star continues to shine bright. While Wegene concentrates his work around still life and landscapes, Gottlieb’s art predominantly is based around portraits, and when posing for his wife, substituting a female model, Wegene begins to feel more comfortable dressed as a woman in dress and tights, rather than as a man.
Eddie Redmayne // The Danish Girl review
While at first finding the humour in Wegene’s new discovery, the two soon start to see Wegene’s feelings start to become more serious. While constantly supporting each other, Wegene starts to further his desires, while Gottlieb throws her passion into her work, and starts to see results and a future exhibiting her work, mostly featuring the new model Lili, on the Paris art scene. What follows is a two-hour journey of discovery, love, desire, passion and finding oneself, all beautifully captured by Hooper’s superb direction and the stunning cinematography of Danny Cohen (The King’s Speech, The Program).
Tom Hooper is on a roll. Following a breathtaking adaptation of Les Misérables, and the superb, career defining, Oscar-winning The King’s Speech, comes The Danish Girl, a beautiful film not just in its visuals, but the story at its core. Our concern, however, for this perfectly constructed, wonderfully executed, fantastic-looking adaptation of David Ebershoff‘s fictional novel, is that it’s all a bit too perfect and straight forward. Nearly a hundred years on from when this film is set, the themes that are explored are still as relevant. Lili has a fairly easy ride in her quest, and Hooper and his team appear to gloss over just how hard this must have been at a time very different to today, and we, the audience don’t really get a true sense of Lili’s struggle, not only in trying to identify oneself, but to steer away from a society where this was certainly not accepted.
Alicia Vikander // The Danish Girl review
However, with Eddie Redmayne delicately portraying Lili, who could just grab himself another Oscar for Best Actor for the second time in as many years, you have the first must-see movie of 2016. Redmayne’s performance is heart-felt, tender and enchanting. His scenes as Lili define his performance, though as the credits roll you can help but feel cheated of not seeing more of her. Vikander also delivers her second powerhouse performance of the last twelve months (following the brilliant Ex_Machina), as Gerda Gottlieb, a career defining role that will be talked about in the countless awards ceremonies we’ll have to endure in the coming weeks.
Then there’s the superb support. Matthias Schoenaerts will be one to look for in 2016 as he unleashes a great turn in this as Hans Axgiland the upcoming A Bigger Splash with Ralph Fiennes, over the course of just a couple of months. His defining line in this as the old friend of Einar and support to Gerda sums up the film wonderfully; “I’ve only liked a handful of people in my life, and you’ve been two of them.” Then there’s Ben Whishaw, ever reliable as Henrik. In a remarkably long line of films that Whishaw has appeared in over the past few three months (SPECTRE, In The Heart Of The Sea, Suffragette, The Lobster), this is his best turn.
Alicia Vikander and Eddie Redmayne // The Danish Girl review
The Danish Girl won’t be for all, and perhaps may not get the audience that Hooper’s previous efforts have attracted, though we hope that it does, as he has crafted not only an absorbing drama, but an important one which deserves to be seen.
The Danish Girl review by Paul Heath, December 2015.
The Danish Girl is released in UK cinemas on Friday 1st January, 2016.
