The Danish Girl (FILM REVIEW)
The Danish Girl
Film
Review
by Kam Williams
Eddie Redmayne Delivers Another Oscar-Quality Performance as Sexual
Preference Pioneer
In 2015,
Eddie Redmayne won the Best Actor Oscar for his poignant portrayal of
Stephen Hawking in The Theory of Everything. While Eddie earned the
picture's only Oscar, he really owed a debt of gratitude to Hawking
as well as his nominated co-star Felicity Jones.
After all,
she did a terrific job as his wife, Jane, in service of a
character-tale turn which focused more on the unfortunate arc of the
couple's ill-fated relationship than on the wheelchair-bound genius'
contributions to the field of theoretical physics. Furthermore,
Hawking himself imbued the production with an air of authenticity by
allowing his impersonator to use the actual synthesized voice he's
relied upon since being crippled by ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease).
In The
Danish Girl, Redmayne plays another icon who is virtually upstaged
onscreen by an intriguing spouse. Here, he plays Einar Wegener aka
Lili Elbe (1882-1931), a Danish artist best remembered as a pioneer
in the transgender movement.
Directed by
Oscar-winner Tom Hooper (for The King's Speech), the film was adapted
from David Ebershoff's novel of the same name. The book is based on a
fictionalized account of Lili's life, although her sexual
reassignment surgery is factual.
Redmayne's
androgynous appearance helps the movie immeasurably, as he is very
convincing as a female. And the picture couldn't be more timely,
given the culture's embrace of Bruce Jenner's transformation into
Caitin.
The
picture's point of departure is Copenhagen in the Roaring Twenties,
which is where we find Einar and his wife Gerda (Alicia Vikander)
both plying their trade as aspiring artists. Her preference is
portraiture, while he's only been inspired to paint the same desolate
landscape marked by a clump of spindly, barren trees.
Anyhow, the
plot thickens after Gerda suggests he serve as a stand-in for the
beautiful model (Amber Heard) she was supposed to paint that day.
Einar dons female attire and finds himself enjoying the experience
more than expected.
Next thing
you know, he's secretly slipping out into public in drag and even
attends a swinging soiree where he attracts an ardent admirer (Ben
Whishaw) ostensibly unaware of Lili's real gender. The pair's ensuing
Kabuki dance eventually mushrooms into passion, and the scandalous
infidelity understandably puts a strain on Einar and Gerda's
marriage.
Nevertheless,
the cinematic adventure's raison d'etre remains the historic decision
to undergo the world's first sex change operation. Redmayne would be
the favorite to win the Academy Award for Einar's seamless
metamorphosis into Lili, if he hadn't netted another Oscar just a
year ago.
Excellent (4
stars)
Rated R for
sexuality and full-frontal nudity
Running time: 120 minutes
Distributor: Focus Features
To see a trailer for The Danish
Girl , visit:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d88APYIGkjk
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