The Danish Girl

This morning I saw The Danish Girl, starring Eddie Redmayne and Alicia Vikander.

Einar Wegener (Redmayne) and his wife Gerda (Vikander) were a happy couple living a Bohemian life in Denmark in the 1920s. Both gifted painters, they shared a deep bond of not only love, but art.

One day, Gerda was in need of a live, female model for one of her paintings and her husband stood in for the absent woman. This act changed both of their lives significantly.

Einar discovered a special feeling when he put on the woman's stockings, and volunteered to continue acting as a female model whenever his wife was in need. This soon became a game for both of them—him developing an alter ego, Lili, and making appearances at events and parties around town.

Gerda was surprisingly supportive of this ruse and even encouraged it. Her paintings of Lili were very successful in the industry and Einar was happier when he was behaving like a girl.

Of course, over time, Einar decided he could no longer be Einar. He truly felt inside that he was a woman and the only moments where he felt comfortable were those he had acting as Lili. Gerda accepted this eventuality and they moved to Paris, preserving their unconventional marriage throughout his quest to fully transition to female.

A few years later they met a doctor that said he could perform a series of operations to make Lili fully female and Eniar was enthusiastic about having them. Gerda stood by his/her side for the duration.

This film does an incredible job, through the genius of Eddie Redmayne, of exposing how it may feel for transgender persons discovering their true selves. There are many long looks in the mirror; several examinations of one's own human body; countless instances of touching the sensual fabric of women's apparel. Though none of us who aren't transgender could ever truly 'know how it feels' to be trapped in the wrong body, this film gives us at least a compass that directs us toward the feelings of those who do. Redmayne shows total discomfort in his own skin, and the discovery of his new self is frankly ... inspiring.

As the first person to have gender reassignment surgery, Elbe remains a hero to the transgender community to this day. Gerda did eventually divorce Einar and remarry, but stayed by Lili's side to the end.

The pair's story is told beautifully here, with award-bait performances and classy writing, capturing the right notes for today's progressive world.

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