Between his portrayal of Hawking in "The Theory of Everything" last year and his role as transgender pioneer Lile Elbe here in THE DANISH GIRL, I'm left wondering if there is any transformation that actor Eddie Redmayne CAN'T make on film!
Redmayne is startling as artist Einar Wegener in 1920's Copenhagen. Married to fellow artist Gerda Wegener (Alicia Vikander in her much deserved Oscar winning role), Einar finds himself filling in as a female model for his wife one day, a role he finds very comfortable.
As Einar experiments more and more, he and his wife decide it would be funny to attend a major art event with him in disguise as his female alter ego, Lile.
What starts as a lark takes on very serious consequences due to men's reactions to Lile, and the responses Einar feels in return.
Vikander and Redmayne break your heart as they find their relationship and their lives turned upside down.
As the film goes on, the ripples of Lile's emergence continue to expand outward. Suffice to say 1920's Copenhagen was not as welcoming as 2016 in America to the transgender community.
The film is beautifully shot and well told, does not hammer home any agenda, just tells the story of two kind people whose lives are shattered by the choices they make.
By the end of the film, regardless of how you feel about their choices, the film is powerful and well acted by the entire cast.
Vikander has had one hell of a year. between "Ex Machina", "The Man from UNCLE", "Burnt" and this, that's an amazing run.
She and Redmayne mix up some strong and complicated emotions and earn a B.
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