Venice Film Festival: The Danish Girl (2015) – United Kingdom

Reviewed by: Andrew Chan
Starring: Eddie Redmayne, Alicia Vikander, Amber Heard, Sebastian Koch, Ben Whishaw, Matthias Schoenaerts
Directed by: Tom Hooper
Screenplay by: Lucinda Coxon
Costume Designer: Paco Delgado

Reviewed at the 72nd Venice International Film Festival

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Tom Hooper (previously helmed the Oscar winning “King’s Speech”) is to be complimented for openly and honestly depicting an avenue of real emotions in his bold portrayal of the real life story of transgender pioneer Lili Elbe. Fresh off his Oscar winning nod in “Theory of Everything”, Eddie Redmayne produces a powerhouse of a performance to show not just physical transformation from a male to female, but the inner and deeper realisation and journey that accompany with it. Together with Alicia Vikander, who plays his wife, the duo shows brutal honesty in face of a situation against their odds and the numerous confrontations and conversations leaves the audience in total awe.

Director Tom Hooper’s film smartly interplays this notion of marriage dynamic and discern how each person handles the situation differently. We can see almost clearly how hard it is for Vikander to realise that her husband whom she loves dearly is no longer a man. There are scenes where Vikander’s character, literally is being scattered to pieces as she tries to mend the relationship and cure his “illness”. It is even more depressing as the audience knowingly understand that transgender is not an illness as it was back in the 1900s. Society was clearly not as accepting and doctors claim it as “insanity”, a type of cancer that can be cured by “radiation” and requiring operation through “drilling two holes on his head”. Society have changed a lot since the early 1900s, but this is really a story of an individual human being truly discovering himself, facing the music, exploring his own sexuality and finally for those around him to accept him as “she” is.

The elegant and beautifully designed costumes from Paco Delgado, not only enhances the visually, but for the audience to identify Lili Elbe as feminine, while his body remained as male. Ultimately, “Danish Girl” succeeds not because it is ground breaking, or tells is what we did not already know. Hooper showed us how Lili Elbe, a successful and rising painter who put everything that is seemingly perfect behind him. Including a lovely and beautiful supportive wife and risk everything to become who he truly is. It is a film filled with brave performances that depicts how humans cannot simply be shaped by context, society and time, but rather the inner nature of true self, respect, dignity can shines through ultimately despite the cause. Perhaps, like life, movies is about timing and with the equality movement in full steam, a film like this should go on and make a splash and so it should. The Oscars will be watching. (Reviewed at 72nd Venice International Film Festival 2015, September)

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