The Danish Girl

I honestly found this movie very touching and delicate. It is delicate in the way it treats difficult subjects as sexuality and the discovery of one's identity in an hostile period. The fact that it is a true story makes the whole movie even more involving.

I don't think the film is perfect - but the acting, cinematography, the screenplay are absolutely amazing. I especially loved the middle part - where all the characters try to find a way out of the problem and when for the first time they seem to be facing a fracture between them.

I thought it had a great power on people even though it doesn't seem to have had the effect I was expecting (at least during the premiere in Venice).

Eddie Redmayne hasn't had enough of his Oscar and I wish him all the best for 2016!

Tom Hooper's 'The Danish Girl' is a brave story, about brave people, in a time where their bravery must've been counted as mental illness. Hooper chooses the correct actors to portray the parts & directs the film with dignity. However, The Writing doesn't always engage & is flawed in places.

'The Danish Girl' is A fictitious love story inspired by the lives of Danish artists Lili Elbe and Gerda Wegener. Lili and Gerda's marriage and work evolve as they navigate Lili's groundbreaking journey as a transgender pioneer.

'The Danish Girl' salutes the courageous lives of Lili Elbe & Gerda Wegener. Both of whom who died too early, had the courage to be themselves, especially Lilli, who chose to express rather than being repressed. And Gerda, a women who had to face the reality, was a women who respected her husband's truth. That was True Romance!

But, 'The Danish Girl' isn't as tightly Written it should have been. Lucinda Coxon's Screenplay, which is based on the 2000 novel of the same name by David Ebershoff, is powerful, but in doses. The first-hour works wonders, but the second-hour slows down & the flaws in the Writing show up. The final-act, to put it bluntly, isn't half as emotionally moving as it deserved to be. In short, the Writing lets 'The Danish Girl' down, at some parts.

Tom Hooper's Direction is dignified. He has handled some of the most dramatic scenes, with great conviction. Danny Cohen's Cinematography is nicely done. Melanie Ann Oliver's Editing is perfectly sized. Art & Costume Design are fabulous. Alexandre Desplat's Score is enchanting. A Special Mention for the nearly done Make-Up.

Performance-Wise: Eddie Redmayne as Lili Elbe & Alicia Vikander as Gerda Wegener, deliver brilliant performances. Eddie, fresh from his Oscar-Win this year, strikes back with a yet another winning performance, thats both, brave & heartbreaking. Vikander is splendid as his wife, who conveys her pain, with concern & sensitivity. And the on-screen chemistry between the two, is wonderful. Ben Whishaw & Amber Heard are terrific in supporting roles.

On the whole, 'The Danish Girl' isn't as good as one expects it to be, but its well-directed & very well-acted nonetheless!

Though it is nominated for 4 Oscars I wasn't looking forward to seeing it. The Danish Girl seemed like the typical arty-farty Oscar fare on paper but fortunately it was better than that. The best part of the film is the acting. Eddy Redmane does a great job but I was most surprised by Alicia Vikander. She almost steals the movie though she only has a supporting role. Mattias Schoenaerts is also in it with a supporting role and I must say: that man can do just about any language and accent and make it sound completely natural. The story was not that interesting to me and is somewhat of a typical subject matter for Oscar movies (that is movies about some sort of misunderstood minority and who was the first to start the revolution if you will). That being said, it is a very good movie, superb acting but on the other hand I don't consider this a must see.

The story could have been very dramatic and deeply touching, as it is a true story of both the internal conflicts of a man and the deep love of a woman to her partner. Unfortunately the meticulous attention to image rather than screenplay (to me) resulted in a quite cold and un- engaging movie, where beautiful costumes, interiors and landscapes are the only highlights. I found that even the acting of the brilliant young Eddie Redmayne was not that good, as his constant smiles and shy blinking eyes after a while seem to be the only stratagem he has to portray such a complex character (and after the first dozen of them I couldn't stand it anymore). A more sophisticated psychological portrait of the main character and a more dramatic rendition of his/her troubled soul would have given more solidity to a movie which seems too superficial.

The Danish Girl (2015)

*** (out of 4)

The semi true-story of painters Einar (Eddie Redmayne) and Gerda Wegener (Alicia Vikander), a married couple who find their lives changing when Einar dresses as a woman so Gerda can have someone to paint but it brings something out in him. Soon Einar is going around as the Lili character and soon decides that he's a woman on the inside.

THE DANISH GIRL is another beautiful looking film from Tom Hooper, the director best known for his Oscar-winner THE KING'S SPEECH. Like that film the director has no problem with the visual look of the film and Hooper certainly knows how to put you in the period setting. It also doesn't hurt that we've got some excellent performances and a rather interesting and conflicted love story.

I think the real draw here are the performances with Redmayne once again delivering a remarkable piece of work just a year after his Oscar win for THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING. A lot of actors have played male/female characters to perfection. In my mind the greatest was Dustin Hoffman in TOOTSIE but that there was a comedy whereas this here certainly isn't. It was really remarkable seeing how well Redmayne played both the male and female character and he was certainly believable as both. Whenever the Lili character was on screen you really did feel as if you were watching an actress and not just a man playing a female. Vikander is also excellent as the woman who finds the man she love slowly turning into someone else.

The film features some beautiful cinematography, a great music score and I also thought the screenplay was very good. The story itself drags a tad bit during the first portion but I think it asks a lot of really good questions about what love is and of course what one feels about who they really are. I thought the flow of the film was quite good and there's no question that it nails the costume design and sets. THE DANISH GIRL isn't a masterpiece but it's certainly a very good movie with some excellent performances.