The Acting is What Makes this Film

Rating: 7/10 (24 February 2016)

Reviewed by: Dare Devil Kid (DDK)
Rating: 3.1/5 stars
"The Danish Girl" explores a pertinent topic that's seldom told in mainstream cinema. Hopefully, with Oscar winners Tom Hooper and Eddie Redmayne attached to the subject this time, along with upcoming starlet Alicia Vikander, the subject of transsexuality will get, at the very least, a small short in the arm. The film revolves around the love story inspired by the lives of artists Lili Elbe and Gerda Wegener. It follows the evolution of their work and marriage as they navigate Lili's groundbreaking journey as a pioneering transsexual.
Though the film hinges firmly on Redmayne's transformative and heartfelt performance, it's helped considerably by Vikander's strong portrayal of his understanding, cognitive wife Gerda – torn between the desire to keep her husband and the support she lends to help him take an unprecedented, life-changing, step – and a lovely turn by Belgian actor Matthias Schoenaerts as Redmayne's old friend. If Redmayne is totally convincing as both Einar and the film's eponymous character – providing another sterling example of how deeply he can immerse himself in a role – then, Vikander delves deep beneath the surface to explore a truly fascinating woman.
Still, you wish that the film had dwelled into the strange relationship that developed between Gerda and Lili's transsexuality (Einar's alter-ego after embracing his true gender) as they endeavored to comprehend it together. Instead, Hooper and his writer Coxon choose to stay on a safe path and dwell mostly into sentimental territory, which detracts somewhat from the film's topical nature pertaining to history's first recorded transsexual. Nevertheless, "The Danish Girl's" unique and brave story, and the two delicate central performances give it a gripping emotional weight that is quite affecting.