Review of The Danish Girl (2015) by Ben L — 28 Jan 2016

Is it possible to think that a movie is both important for people to see, and not a very good film? That's the struggle I'm having with The Danish Girl. It presents the struggle that a transgender person can go through, made even worse because it takes place in less enlightened times. I appreciated how honest the story felt, and how it advocated strongly for Lili. Where I struggled was in the presentation of Lili's story. First of all, the movie lacks any subtlety whatsoever. They clumsily look for excuses to get Einar in women's clothing and then just give us countless shots to overemphasize his strong attraction to them. Later in the film I started to just predict how the events were going to unfold because they continued to telegraph everything that happened. The acting was acceptable, but I think the only requirement was frowns and lots of tears. I just didn't see any nuance in the performances, with some occasional exceptions from Eddie Redmayne.

The biggest problem I had with the film was the character of Lili. I'm trying to be careful here, because I'm sure any negative comment I make could be construed as an indictment of her transgender status, but that's not where my problems lie. I totally understood her difficulty and had an emotional connection to her story. Where I struggled was the fact that she seemed to lack any empathy for Gerda. The film makes Gerda into a very sweet and kind character, and as a result we connect with her side of this whole life changing situation just as much as (if not more than) Lili's perspective. Yet there was never a clear reconciliation of those feelings, never even a hint of understanding or sympathy from Lili. I'm not criticizing Lili for making the decisions she did, I just wish the film showed her consoling Gerda, perhaps recognizing that her decisions were taking Gerda's husband away forever. I've probably been excessively over-explaining this, but it's a sensitive issue so I felt it needed to be fully articulated. Yet, despite some flaws I found in the presentation of the film, I do see that it takes a look at a gender identity issue that can still be very confusing to many people in our modern culture. Therefore, I commend The Danish Girl for telling a story that needs to be told.