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The Danish Girl

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Eddie Redmayne in The Danish Girl. (Ap)
Eddie Redmayne in The Danish Girl. (Ap)

What it's about:

This film is based loosely on Einar Wegener's (Eddie Redmayne) life as a famous artist transitioning from male to female in a time when it was unheard of to do so. 

What we thought:

I’ll be honest with you I had a tough time processing my emotions after watching this film. And now with a few days of breathing space between writing this review and the screening I understand why my feelings about this film are not black and white.

For instance the character arcs and the writing: there were moments when I felt completely drawn in by Redmayne’s portrayal of the protagonist and moments where I felt that Einar and Gerda, his wife played brilliantly by Alicia Vikander, were written in a somewhat predictable and formulaic way. There are also some scenes that might be hard to watch for those who have suffered a hate crime or discrimination. 

All that being said though it doesn’t change my opinion that this is an important film not only for the LGBTIQ community but heterosexual audiences too. And yes, I know that a lot of people in the trans community where unhappy with the fact that a cis male (a non-transgendered male) was playing this role instead of trans individual and I respect that but I still believe in the importance of The Danish Girl’s message. For that reason alone I think that this is a movie worth seeing at the cinema. 

I won’t give too many spoilers away because I personally think that that would do the movie a disservice but I will say that by the time the closing sequence rolled I was crying. Are there movies and series about being transgender that I have enjoyed more? Yes: Transparent is perhaps a good example of one and Tangerine is another. 

My final thought is that Vikander, who plays Gerda, was a real hidden gem in this Oscar nominated picture. She delivers some of my favourite moments — tears, snot, stockings and all. 

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