[Article] – The Danish Girl: The Most Important Film Of 2015

As I sit here wiping the tears, I reflect on what I just watched. In a world of blockbusters and sequels, fewer films are being made that really touch our hearts and our change us for the better. Films are being driven by action and past stories to make money or appeal to mass audiences. Performances are being overshadowed by effects and green screen. Then December comes and I am beyond excited to see what “Oscar Season” will bring me. This year it brought me a piece of cinema that I will never forget and will pass on to as many people that I can get to view it. This film is The Danish Girl. The IMDB brief synopsis: A fictitious love story inspired by the lives of Danish artists Lili Elbe and Gerda Wegener. Lili and Gerda’s marriage and work evolve as they navigate Lili’s groundbreaking journey as a transgender pioneer. This is not only the best movie of the year, but it is the most important. The story and performances come together in the truest of ways to make a film that the whole world needs to see and get behind.

The story is fictitious, but is portrayed as real as a biography. I will always view this movie as a biography because the movie hit home with world issues that are going on today and I feel like I truly knew this person. The story follows Lili as she slowly comes out of the inside of a man – where she has always been. In a world where we think transgender issues are a new thing, this film gives us a completely different perspective. The perspective is not only that this has happened in a long time ago, but also a new perspective on acceptance and how we can be allies to these individuals as they are becoming more like themselves. I was thrilled to meet Einar as the artist, but it was my pleasure to meet LIli by the end of the movie. You forget about the life of a painter and begin to care about the person that this painter is becoming. The wife of this man is the key person to observe as he is transitioning into a woman, his true self. She believes that it is a game at first, but then begins to see Lili as her true self. Instead of running or condemning her, she befriends Lili and puts aside her own happiness for Lili’s. This happening today is baffling to some, but think about any event happening like this in the early 1900s – mind blowing to think of it happening, especially with people helping them. The story turns into heartbreak as doctors are trying to “cure” Lili of her “problem.” We know there is no problem, and Gerda knows this as well as she is discovering how she feels of the subject. Everyone is coming into their own in this film and it is beautiful. This movie is a great period piece, but I will adapt it to modern times and reflect our society with it shortly.

The Oscar for best performance has Eddie Redmayne’s name already engraved on it. This will be the first time since Tom Hanks that an actor has won back to back Best Actor Academy Awards. Well deserved. I will go on record saying that Eddie Redmayne is the best actor of his generation and will continue to be until the day he quits or dies. It is a true pleasure to watch this movie, as it was to watch Theory of Everything, because of what he brings to the table. As you watch Lili come out of Einar, you see Lili come out of Redmayne. This performance was breathtaking and shows the passion of a true artists and the compassion of a human being. The performance is very easily complemented by Alicia Vikander portraying Gerda. You see a skeptical girl trying to keep her husband, but by the end you see an ally just wanting her friend to be happy. The emotions that she goes through are overwhelming and cannot fathom how she pulled her performance out with Redmayne doing what he was doing, but she does it completely. I cannot wait to see what she does next as I am a fan for life.

The film is reflected by society with ease. A lot of the world believes that transgender issues are new. This gives you a whole new perspective that this was possible in a time before our own. We still have doctors that try to “cure” people of these thoughts and actions. We live in a world full of inequality that we can put our own thoughts in front of someone’s happiness. The world needs to see this movie. I will put it as the most important movie of 2015. The world needs the compassion that Gerda showed to Lili because she needed to be her true self. The world needs to realize this is not a new issue. Roger Ebert said (I always go back to this beautiful quote), “Movies do not have the power to change the world, but they do have the ability to change our everyday lives.” If this movie can touch us individually, we can slowly change the world – this is the power of cinema, this is the power of The Danish Girl. With this topic being portrayed in the era that it is in, there will never be a film like this ever again. I fear that audiences will be detracted because of the subject matter. This is a film that when you see it, you should keep the film alive by showing someone else. The film is that powerful. You need to meet Lili, and when you do, you will never forget her.

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Written by:

Drew Oliver
@DrewyK
Alone In The Theater
Freelance Contributor

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