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.
Take a look back at the talented actors and actresses who took home a Golden Globe for Best Actor/Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama since the category was created in 1951.
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
Many details of Einar Wegener's life were hard for both the author of the book and the crew of the film to track down. Denmark didn't have records. Dresden's women's hospital had medical records, but nothing remained after WWII. They found brief newspaper items, memoirs of the Wegeners' friends, and accounts of some similar surgeries in those days. See more »
Goofs
When Gerda and Hans meet in the gallery, a modern orange alarm is clearly visible. 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 »
'The Danish Girl' is an extremely well made film with two outstanding lead performances from Eddie Redmayne and Alicia Vikander. Everything about the film has a sophisticated, elegant feel, from the constume design to the atmosphere and cinematography. This is a classy film.
Although, in a way, this is to the film's detriment. The story is almost told with a mask on, it's difficult to see beyond the flawless surface and connect emotionally with the film. Everything is too nicey nicey, each scene is so perfectly crafted that it almost distracts you from what's actually happening in the film.
This is a very good film, but it could have been an excellent one, had it made more of an emotional connection with the audience.
24 of 39 people found this review helpful.
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'The Danish Girl' is an extremely well made film with two outstanding lead performances from Eddie Redmayne and Alicia Vikander. Everything about the film has a sophisticated, elegant feel, from the constume design to the atmosphere and cinematography. This is a classy film.
Although, in a way, this is to the film's detriment. The story is almost told with a mask on, it's difficult to see beyond the flawless surface and connect emotionally with the film. Everything is too nicey nicey, each scene is so perfectly crafted that it almost distracts you from what's actually happening in the film.
This is a very good film, but it could have been an excellent one, had it made more of an emotional connection with the audience.