THE DANISH GIRL
By Unknown 10:46
Yesterday me and my mum went to go and see the Danish Girl. I'd been waiting to see the film as I'm a massive fan of Eddie Redmayne and the film highlights some incredibly important issues that are still relevant today.
There was a part of me that thought that this film wouldn't be able to top The Theory of Everything, which i absolutely adored. However, I needn't have worried as it's a completely different plot and can't really be compared. The film follows the true story of Ivor, a landscape painter and his artist wife, Gerda. The film picks up after the couple have already been married for six years, and it's clear pretty much straight away that Ivor is a woman in a man's body. His wife, and her dancer friend encourage him to go to a party dressed as 'Lily', an idea that starts off as a fun game but quickly becomes more serious when Gerda catches Lily with another man. I won't tell you the whole plot as i really want you guys to go and see it. The journey that this couple went through is traumatic, uplifting and inspiring. Considering this took place in the 20's, the understanding shown by Gerda was inspirational and the events of Lily's life were groundbreaking at the time, and her story helped to set the wheels in motion for transgender people today. Alicia Vikander's portrayal of Gerda was absolutely amazing, completely heartbreaking and extremely believable. However, Eddie Redmayne couldn't do anything but steal the show with his utterly beautiful portrayal of Lily and Ivor. For me, Redmayne is one of the best, if not the best, actors in Hollywood, and his performance in this film could not be faulted. He was completely believable as a woman and he literally became Lily, i forgot i was even watching a film when he was acting.
There are moments in this film that are admittedly uncomfortable. And i don't doubt that there will be critics of this film. But the message that it tells us as an audience is incredibly important. In the time that this film was set, transgenders were basically unheard of, and in the rare times they were, they were branded 'insane' by doctors and the public alike. Although we as a race have come on leaps and bounds in terms of our understanding of transgenders, there is still regrettably a stigma attached to them in some cases. This film is educational as well as everything else, and theres nothing much more i could say than please please please go and see it! It's well worth it.
Bryony x