Review of The Danish Girl (2015) by Amanda C — 03 May 2016

It is clear that neither director Tom Hooper or anyone else involved with crafting this film understands what it means to be transgender or for that matter a woman. Every stereotype is exploited in Eddie Redmayne's performance, which has all the nuance of a sledgehammer.

The intentions might have been good, but in the end, The Danish Girl manages to miss the mark, and instead of an exploration of the fluidity of gender, or even a more traditional portrait of Lili Elbe and her wife Gerda Wegener, both of whom are fully deserving of a biopic, we have been given a film that punishes its heroes for who they are and reinforces hetero- and cisnormative ideals.

The only saving grace of the film is the performance of Alicia Vikander who shines as Gerda and manages to subvert the box that the script tries to force her into. Unfortunately the rest of the film never manages to rise to her level.