The Danish Girl: Embracing Beauty

The Danish Girl is an incredibly beautiful movie. Directed by Tom Hooper with magical cinematography by Danny Cohen, every frame of this film looks like a painting, even as the heartbreaking story unfolds.

Based on the novel of the same name by David Ebershoff, the movie offers a fictionalized account of real-life Danish artist Lile Elbe, who was one of the first people to undergo gender reassignment surgery in 1931. Beginning in 1920s Copenhagen, we are introduced to Einar Wegener (Eddie Redmayne) and his wife Gerde (Alicia Vikander), a couple who are deeply in love. They are both talented artists who met in art school, and while Einar is the more successful painter, he supports Gerde in all her ambitions, offering all the criticism and encouragement she needs. One day she asks him to fill in for her absent model and wear some silk stockings and shoes. And with that simple action, the floodgates are opened. A few days later, Gerde arrives home and Einar is fully dressed as a woman, calling herself Lili. At first, the two of them treat this as a game - Gerde takes Lili to an art show and introduces her as Einar's cousin. However, as time passes, Gerde realizes that Lili is here to stay.

Nowadays, we have the Internet and much more open dialogue and understanding about trans issues. But back in 1920s Denmark, being transgender was an unknown concept. To Gerde, it feels like her husband has a split personality - she asks Lili if she can speak to Einar, and Lili has to refuse. It's fascinating to see these two people try to navigate through this situation when they completely lack the necessary vocabulary. It helps that they are both artists as they have been exposed to a broader spectrum of sexuality than most of the people around them. Their friends and acquaintances are also a little more understanding, but while they are familiar with homosexuality, transsexuality is a much more tricky concept.

Redmayne's transformation from Einar to Lili is effortless and he is on track for another Oscar nomination. He holds nothing back, and with a quiet performance that relies more on expressions than dialogue, he makes it very clear that Lili is a woman who has simply been hampered by an accident in her biology. And Vikander's performance opposite him is stunning. Gerde must run through a full gamut of emotions as she discovers that Lili is no longer playing a game and is in complete earnest about her identity, and it is inspiring to watch how she refuses to leave Lili's side. There is so much fierce love in this woman that when she loses Einar, she still supports Lili as best as she can, even if she cannot fully understand her. 

This is a good movie, but not a great one. The real lives of Lili and Gerde were messy and complicated. However, The Danish Girl tells a neat and tidy fictionalized account of their struggle. The central performances are incandescent, but this movie is simply too pretty, too polished and perfect, to elicit true emotion. While it pleases the mind, it doesn't stir the soul, and as it glides to its inevitably devastating conclusion, it manages to end on as beautiful a note as it began.