Only Vikander's performance elevates it above its pretty surface. Her Gerda tells us a story of a woman desperately in love with a man who's vanished, but whose eyes still gaze at her.
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The Danish Girl
Overview
When Gerda Wegener asks her husband Einar to fill in as a portrait model, Einar discovers the person she's meant to be and begins living her life as Lili Elbe. Having realized her true self and with Gerda's love and support, Lili embarks on a groundbreaking journey as a transgender pioneer.
Director and cast
Critics on Rotten Tomatoes
Top critics, in their words
"The Danish Girl" is beautifully shot and tastefully made and acted, but only Vikander seems willing to take chances. Happily, she does.
It is well honed, engaging and accessible, stocked with handsome period piece images of life a century ago, unfailingly mature. And a bit wearisome.
Only when the camera is on Vikander does the film transcend its artifice. In one of the year's best performances, she imbues Gerda with such poignancy and grace that Redmayne all but fades into the background.
Eventually, [Hooper] surrenders to the visual and psychological displays attendant on Redmayne's prolonged transformation from Einar to Lili.
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