The Danish Girl Movie Review (Spoiler Free)

What if you found out that you are not the person you were born as, but rather meant to be someone completely different? Tom Hooper’s new movie touches upon this issue in The Danish Girl.

Genre: Biography / Drama

Director: Tom Hooper

Cast: Eddie Redmayne, Alicia Vikander, Matthias Schoenaerts, Ben Whishaw, Emerald Fennell, Pip Torrens, Sebastian Koch, Henry Pettygrew, Adrian Schiller & Amber Heard.

Run Time: 119 min.

US Release: 25 December 2015

UK Release:  01 January 2016

German Release: 07 January 2016

The Danish Girl is a biographical romantic-drama, based on the novel of the same title, written by author David Ebershoff. I went to see it on opening night, together with my sister, who was interested in the story. Sadly, when walking out of the cinema, both of us agreed that we were somewhat disappointed, even tired by Hooper’s newest theatrical release. 

Last year was a big one for the transgender movement; amongst others we had Caitlyn Jenner introducing herself to the world, the Pentagon planned to lift a ban on US military service by transgender people and the White House hired an openly transgender staff-member. It is no wonder that the media started picking up on the subject as well.

Amongst others, we obtained several TV shows that covered the matter (Transparent or last year's season of South Park), and were also treated with cinematic jewels such as Tangerine. This romantic drama tries to jump on that wagon, and although Coxon’s script and Hooper’s direction make for a movie that is easy on the eyes, starring two fantastic actors, it still leaves the audience cold. 

The Danish Girl tells the story of 1920’s Danish artists Einar (Redmayne) and Gerda Wegener (Vikander). Einar is a successful and nationally popular landscapist, while his wife is struggling to get the attention she deserves with her portraits. When a female model is late to pose for one of Gerda’s paintings, she asks her husband to stand in for her. Posing as a female sets off a lifelong identification issue, which Einar can no longer hide from. Renaming himself Lili Elbe, Einar sets out to find her true identity.

By no means is this a bad movie; it just lacks the emotional depth that would have made it great, and the script is mainly at fault for it, being the feature’s weakest aspect. While its lead actors tried very hard to give good, committed performances, the screenplay’s adaptation on the big screen fell completely flat.

Hooper simplified the subject at hand and played it safe to reach the widest possible audience. There is nothing wrong with doing that, as long as the story doesn’t suffer, and in this case it did. By holding back, it didn’t manage to dive deep into the subject matter, barely scraping the emotional surface. It also stretched out a few things too long, while rushing important plot points, such as Einar’s relationship with Gerda, before being reborn as Lili. 

As much as it pains me to say it, in the end Tom Hooper (The King’s Speech & Les Misérables) directed a movie that felt made for TV.

What I liked about the story was that although it is based on the book by David Ebershoff, the novel itself was very loosely inspired by the lives of the two Danish painters. Lucinda Coxon rewrote the screenplay to be more faithful to the true events. I also thought that the subject was handled very tastefully, and even though it didn’t capture the complexity of the matter, Hooper created a movie that is easy to enjoy.

Eddie Redmayne gives a magnificent performance as Einar/Lili. As in The Theory of Everything, he fully disappears into the character he portrays, reflecting the pain and emotional struggle of Danish painter Einar Wegener as he is trying to figure out who he truly is, while being tortured by what he is. 

Alicia Vikander gave an equally fantastic performance as Wegener's wife. Gerda is going through emotional turmoil as well when she figures out that the man she loves and married is not who he truly is. Even though it tears her apart, she still stands by his side, supporting and defending him when society turns against them. Vikander fantastically displays those factors that ultimately draw the character closer to depression.

Cinematographer Danny Cohen and director Hooper created a stunning-looking picture. The Danish Girl consisted of a variety of scenes that could not be more different; from vast landscapes of the Danish moors, to the more dead-end-looking streets of the 1920’s European Copenhagen and Paris. What really impressed me, though, is how easily cinematography and music accompany each other; the movie would not have been the same with a different theme.

The music is composed by Alexandre Desplat, who also created the musical score for The King’s Speech. The melody is a light but emotionally strong composition and one of the film’s best parts. I was surprised at how well it complemented the cinematography.

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Verdict: In the end, The Danish Girl is a well-acted movie, starring two fantastic and very talented actors, with impeccable cinematography and an incredible, touching soundtrack. Unfortunately, while strong, it is merely mediocre as the script and direction of the film removed the complexities of the narrative’s subject in creating a standardised story to appeal to a broader audience. Without Redmayne, Vikander or the music by Desplat, this would have been a cinematic disaster. Taking all into consideration, I will give it a 7.0 out of 10.

Do yourself a favour and save your money. If you are eager to see this film, rent it once it is out or buy it on Blu-ray, but it is not truly worth a visit to the theatres. If you don't agree with my review, feel welcome to leave a comment below. Please don’t forget to share and like. Thank you very much for reading.