The Danish Girl

— Eddie Redmayne takes on a character the way Meryl Streep does. He becomes the character, in this case transgender pioneer Einar Wegener/Lili Elbe. “The Danish Girl” is an empathetic look at Lili’s awakening and confusion over her sexuality, efforts to deal with her dual identity, the reaction of most members of the medical community, and what was then experimental, gender-reassignment surgery. The script is definitely geared toward mass consumption and every effort is made to minimize any discomfort the audience could feel but Redmayne’s intimate portrayal mostly overcomes this shortcoming. We’ve come to expect this kind of acting from Redmayne, but Alicia Vikander was something of a surprise to me. She is superb as the fragile and steadfast wife who must wrestle with the reality of the situation and figure out her own path. The film is beautiful and, although its restraint and straightforward narrative are a little disappointing, it is well worth seeing.

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[2015. 119 min. Directed by Tom Hooper. Starring Eddie Redmayne, Alicia Vikander, Amber Heard, Ben Whishaw, and Matthias Schoenaerts.]
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/film/the-danish-girl/review/