A fictitious love story loosely inspired by the lives of Danish artists Lili Elbe and Gerda Wegener. Lili and Gerda's marriage and work evolve as they navigate Lili's groundbreaking journey as a transgender pioneer.
Copenhagen, Denmark, 1926. Einar Wegener (played by Eddie Redmayne) and his wife Gerda (Alicia Vikander) are a happily married couple. Both are artists, Einar preferring landscapes and she portraits. One day Einar poses for a portrait of Gerda's while wearing a dress. This is initially done as a lark, as is the later attendance at a party dressed as a woman. However, Einar soon discovers that she is in fact a woman and over time prefers being Lili. At first she and Gerda try to have her situation "cured" but this leads nowhere (other than to many doctors trying to have Lili locked up as a pervert and/or lunatic). Her voyage of self-discovery will ultimately lead to her undergoing the first ever sex-change operation.Written by
grantss
It is commonly believed that Ulla Paulson is a fictional Hollywood creation for the film. Ulla was actually based on Anna Larssen, a Danish actress and preacher and very good friend of Einar/Lili and Gerda. She was born on September 12, 1875 and passed away on March 6, 1955. Although she she has some fictional details such as a change in her name and also performing as a ballerina, the real Anna Larssen was in fact late for a meeting with Gerda to pose for a painting, therefore Einar had to step in and fill in for Larssen at her own suggestion over the telephone in 1908, by putting on the dress and stockings which allowed his repressed feelings as a woman to reemerge as he enjoyed wearing the clothes. It was Larssen who came up with the nickname Lili after walking in on Einar filling in for her while Gerda encouraged the nickname. Larssen was reportedly quoted as saying "You know, Andreas, you were certainly a girl in a former existence, or else Nature has made a mistake with you this time." See more »
Goofs
In many of the outdoor scenes, on the streets of Copenhagen, the overhead streetlights that can be seen were not manufactured and installed until 1977. See more »
Quotes
[first lines]
American Woman:
Don't you wish you could paint like that? Oh, I'm sorry? I said, don't you wish you could paint like your husband? Really. You must be so proud of him. So elegant.
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Crazy Credits
Eddie Redmayne as credited as Lili in final credits, probably respecting the trans identity. He actually plays 2 characters Einar Wegener and Lili Elbe. See more »
Because of the subject matter in The Danish Girl I wasn't sure this was going to be a film that I would particularly like but I need not have have worried because I thought this was a fascinating movie that justified it's plaudits. This is the story of Danish artist Einar Wegener (Eddie Redmayne) who realised that despite being born a man he is really a woman and that woman is called Lile. Although Redmayne will quite obviously get all the praise for his role as Lile but I think the outstanding performance of this film comes from Alicia Vikander who plays his wife. As an actor she is exposed unlike Redmayne who has the make up to hide behind. Instead of being about Lile this film for me is more about the love of his wife who will do anything to make her husband happy. Even if that means losing him. in the process.
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Because of the subject matter in The Danish Girl I wasn't sure this was going to be a film that I would particularly like but I need not have have worried because I thought this was a fascinating movie that justified it's plaudits. This is the story of Danish artist Einar Wegener (Eddie Redmayne) who realised that despite being born a man he is really a woman and that woman is called Lile. Although Redmayne will quite obviously get all the praise for his role as Lile but I think the outstanding performance of this film comes from Alicia Vikander who plays his wife. As an actor she is exposed unlike Redmayne who has the make up to hide behind. Instead of being about Lile this film for me is more about the love of his wife who will do anything to make her husband happy. Even if that means losing him. in the process.