Susan Granger’s review of “The Danish Girl” (Focus Features)
Eddie Redmayne follows up his Oscar-winning performance as astrophysicist Stephen Hawking in “The Theory of Everything” with an amazing transformation, becoming Lili Elbe, the first transgender woman.
While 2015 marked Caitlyn Jenner’s transition and Amazon’s “Transparent” TV series, along with the Supreme Court’s legalization of same-sex marriage, back in 1926 in Denmark, the transgender concept frustrated and bewildered psychiatrists who considered it a perversion.
Which is why when renowned landscape artist Einar Wegener (Redmayne) started to wear make-up and clothing belonging to his ambitious-but-struggling portrait-painter wife Gerda (Alicia Vikander), it stunned Copenhagen’s traditionally tolerant artistic community.
Married for six years, Einer enjoys a lusty conjugal life with Gerda – until, one day, she asks him to don stockings, tutu and satin slippers to fill in for a missing model. Sensing his delight posing in feminine finery, she suggests he attend a party, masquerading as a cousin named Lili.
What neither of them expect is demure Lili’s amorous attention from Henrik (Ben Whishaw). Then, Gerda’s erotically charged portraits of Lili sell, bringing her the fame and fortune she’s yearned for.
When they move to cosmopolitan Paris, Lili’s experimentation grows more confident, puzzling his boyhood friend/crush, Hans (Matthias Schoenaerts), who develops romantic feelings toward Gerda.
Eventually, Lili entrusts her life to an understanding German doctor (Sebastian Koch) who attempts the risky, revolutionary, male-to-female gender-reassignment surgery.
Adapted by Lucinda Coxon from David Ebershoff’s 2000 novel, it’s sensitively directed by Tom Hooper (“The King’s Speech”), as Redmayne and Vikander deliver constrained, delicately nuanced characterizations.
FYI: Reportedly, the real Gerda was a lesbian, making the couple’s supportive arrangement more plausible.
It’s fascinating how hair/makeup designer Jan Sewell and costumer Paco Delgado achieve Redmayne’s gradual feminization, enhanced by cinematographer Danny Cohen. In one scene, effete Einar observes his pale, naked body in a full-length mirror, tucking his penis between his legs. In another, he watches a peep show, mimicking the woman’s expressions and gestures.
On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “The Danish Girl” is an astonishing, exquisite 8, chronicling a transgender pioneer.
