A decent movie, interesting story, not exceptional

Rating: 7/10 (27 December 2015)

I am a person of short patience and I write my reviews for people who find most movies on IMDb over-rated. I enjoy history, existential issues, and biographies...so all of those interests of mine should be taken into account in regards to my opinion of this movie. At the time of writing this review its average rating is 5.8. I think that is a bit tight or a bit low. I would give it a 6.5. What I liked about the movie was the interesting story. I often complain about pace in a movie being too slow, but I think this was relatively well paced for a the telling of this couple's story. I find Eddie Redmayne to be overrated as an actor. This is consistent with his performance in this movie. He certainly looks great in the part, but I found his gasps and sighs in the early scenes to be rather unbelievable, as the character awkward and scared and learning to come to grips with the truth that his identity is not what it seems. I found him rather more believable as the newly blossoming trans-gendered girl, enjoying his femininity. Alicia Vikander as the wife of "Lilly/Einar" was outstanding. All of her emotions appear deep and authentic. Her pain at adjusting to all of the changes. Her struggle to let go of her husband because as she comes to realizes he is seeking out his essence. All in all, a reasonable portrayal of a couple's struggle.people might argue that the story lacks some of the important problems that face trans-gendered people, most notably, being repressed and rejected by society. But all politics aside, this is one person's story.