Waiting
to discover this year’s winners in a few days, I’ve been watching a few of the nominated films. What about discussing one of them a day till the Oscars Show on Saturday Night? Here's the first one.
The Danish Girl
Synopsis
Copenhagen, 1926. Danish artist, Gerda Wegener,
painted her own husband, Einar Wegener (Eddie Redmayne), as a lady in her
painting. When the painting gained popularity, Einar started to change his
appearance into a female appearance and named himself Lili Elbe. With his
feminism passion and Gerda's support, Einar - or Elbe - attempted one of the
first male-to-female sex reassignment surgery, a decision that turned into a
massive change for their marriage, that Gerda realized her own husband is no
longer a man or the person she married before. A childhood friend of Einar,
art-dealer Hans Axgil (Matthias
Schoenaerts), shows up and starts a complex love triangle with the
couple (from imdb)
My musings
I expected a more provoking movie, tough and tragic.
I expected a story stirring a strong
emotional reaction, highlighting a fight
against prejudice and biology, based on blood and suffering. It is, instead, a lyrical account, a delicate portrait which results more
bittersweet than tragic.
Eddie Redmayne and Alicia Vikander are touching in
their roles, they deliver first-rate performances and would deserve an Oscar.
If Redmayne Oscar-winning transformation for “The Theory of Everything” was
convincing, his performance as Lili Elbe in "The Danish Girl" is outstanding. But
what stayed in my mind, after all, is Gerda’s troubled, painful acceptance of her husband’s choice. He chose, she
didn’t. And Alicia Vikander gives shape and substance to all her pain.
The cast includes Eddie Redmayne, Alicia Vikander, Ben
Whishaw, Matthias Schoenaerts and Adrian Schiller.
Director: Tom Hooper
The DVD will be released on 1st March,
2016.
Nominated in 4 categories
Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role
Eddie Redmayne |
Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role
Alicia Vikander |
Best Achievement in Costume Design
Paco Delgado |
Best Achievement in Production Design
Eve Stewart (production design) Michael Standish (set decoration) |
2 comments:
I cried for half of the movie. I found it delicate and emotional at the same time. Eddie won't win because this is Leo's year but I hope Alicia Vikaneer will be recognised for the great artist she is. X Antonella PS Love your reviews btw.
Thanks for reading and commenting, Antonella. I know this is supposed to be Leo's year, at last! Eddie is incredibly good in this movie, even more than in "The Theory of Everything", I think, but two nominations in a row and a win can be considered a stunning result for a young actor, in any case. Fingers crossed for Alicia Vikander, then!
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