The Danish Girl—Directed by Tom Hooper/Story by David
Ebershoff/Music Composed by Alexandre Desplat/starring Eddie Redmayne, Alicia
Vikander/2 hrs/rated R
Bifocal Reviews
written by Ageless1der Barbara Rich
& The Other Guy
(BR): My initial reaction to this film was that
it was too long. After getting past the barbaric and primitive way that
transgender people were viewed in this time period, it reminded me of Benedict
Cumberbatch and his plight as depicted, as a homosexual in The Imitation Game. However, after a day or so I realized the real
story was one of unconditional love. Both Eddie Redmayne and Alicia Vikander’s
characters portrayed two very important sides of this tale. Their performances
left me genuinely moved, as they evolved from a happily married heterosexual
couple into a relationship that transcended sexuality. I was so impressed with
their performances that I was shocked to see the credits of some of the others
actors who were, apparently, in this film. They all complemented the lead
performances, which were, naturally the meat of the story. The seasonings
blended well, making for a memorable main course. I still think they could have
cut, at least ten minutes from this film. I loved the setting and the panorama
of the scenery. I give this film a solid four binoculars.
(OG): This film was too long and left me
feeling unsatisfied…even though I came into the theater with nothing but high
hopes and positive expectations. Vikander is a very skilled actress. I don’t
believe she’s being given enough credit for the wachability (hey, I made up a new word!)…the watchability of The Danish Girl. Without her, I don’t think I could
have tolerated this movie for the full two hours. To me, Eddie Redmayne seemed
like he was acting the whole time. If he didn’t believe his own performance
100%, then how am I supposed to believe it? True, The Danish Girl shed light on
a persistent, human character-flaw…that of prejudice and ignorance being allowed
to perpetuate the repression of a segment of our sexual society that happens to
not meet primitive and barbaric
standards…but in a movie, intentions count for little. I don’t want to pay good
money for a “nice try.” I did enjoy the scenery though, so I’ll go with two and
one half binoculars out of five.
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