Review of The Danish Girl (2015) by Maksim B — 31 Jan 2016

Beautiful, uneasy and exploring some quite thought-provoking themes, The Danish Girl is a delightful period drama and an outstanding showcase for two brilliant actors whose performances turn this loose biopic into an very emotional and intimate piece of art.

Inspired by the lives of the artists Lili Elbe and Gerda Wegener the movie tells the story of the late life of famous painter Einer Wegener (Eddy Redmayne) and his wife Gerda Wegener (Alicia Vikander) as their relationship progresses throughout the turning of Einer into Lili Elbe. Emotional, sensual and often disturbing, Tom Hooper's delivery is a challenging character study of the personalities of Einar/ Lili and Gerda. With attention to the smallest details and helped by the amazing performances of Redmayne and Vikander, The Danish Girl is such a delight mostly thanks to its cast. It is an immense pleasure to observe Eddy Redmayne's turn into Lili and in the beginning it would certainly make you feel uncomfortable as you watch how he starts to discover the "Lili" in him. Alicia Vikander is stuning as well as Gerda and observing how she deals with slowly losing her husband is emotional and heartbreaking.

However, this could not be said about Matthias Schoenaerts in the role Lili's friend from childhood Hans Axgil, who is somehow too restrained and emotionless. One more reason, why Tom Hooper's delivery does not quite reach the level of being an all time classic is the fact that the movie could have been even more provocative and unsettling if the director has decided to be sharper on the matter of trans-sexuality in The Roaring 20s and the beginning of the 30s of the last century.

Nevertheless, The Danish Girl is an outstanding movie that would please those searching for a quality art-house cinema, provoking themes and brilliant acting. Tom Hooper's movie has it all.