The Phenomenal 'Danish Girl' Presents A Transgender Journey By Way Of A Tender Love Story

Early on in Tom Hooper’s “The Danish Girl,” Eddie Redmayne’s Copenhagen painter Einar Wegener models a pair of tights and heels for his wife, Gerda Wegener (Alicia Vikander).* A first-person P.O.V. shot shows Einar looking down and taking in the imagery of his body in women’s clothing. When Gerda gives her husband a dress to hold, Einar’s fingers strum along the white lining. The sounds of his hands exploring the fabric viscerally places the audience in Einar’s shoes. Something happens in this moment. He begins to slip from the screen as Lili Elbe, the woman within this outwardly male body, emerges, as if brought to life by the very threads of Gerda’s clothing. But something also shifts for the audience: We not only begin to see the woman Einar identifies as, but we’re brought into Lili’s journey through Lili’s eyes. It becomes clear right away that “The Danish Girl” is a film passionately dedicated to showing rather than telling. 

Adapted by screenwriter Lucinda Coxon from David Ebershoff’s novel, which was inspired by Elbe, a transgender pioneer and the first person to undergo a successful gender confirmation surgery, Hooper’s tender drama follows Einar's transition as Lili through the 1920s in Denmark. When Gerda and Einar are invited to their friend Oola's (Amber Heard) party, Gerda playfully suggests Einar dress as a woman. The two shop for a wig and dress, and Gerda lovingly applies her husband’s lipstick and eyeliner. But what begins as a fun experiment turns into an awakening for Einar. Once Einar emerges in public as Lili, someone new is born.