‘The Danish Girl’ DVD Review: Eddie Redmayne Brings Lili’s Story To Life

The Danish Girl shares the true story of married couple Einar and Gerda Wegener of Denmark in the 1920s.

‘The Danish Girl’ DVD Review

Academy Award winner Eddie Redmayne soars in his part as Lili Elbe. Alicia Vikander won an Academy Award for her magnificent portrayal of Gerda.

As painters, they strived to find their next subject. Gerda was in the process of continuing a painting but didn’t have the model on hand. Instead, she makes Einar pose in the same position with stockings and heels on. This is the moment that changes his life forever.

There’s a scene where instead of having his wife undress, he comments on how pretty her nightgown is. Gerda informs some friends of the first time they met and when they kissed it was like kissing herself. It’s scenes like these that really make you question what is going on in their relationship.

One night Gerda tries to undress Einar before going to bed and finds her nightgown underneath his clothing. But still, they play it as a game creating this “Miss Lili” character. She continues to have him dress up as she paints her most beautiful and successful pieces yet.

Gerda has Einar dress up as Lili to go out to an event just for fun, until Lili kisses a man.

Gerda insisted that they were just playing a game. But something changed for Einar. Einar starts living a double life.

It’s so intriguing to see how director Tom Hooper transitioned this story into film. It was incredibly eye-opening to be able to watch how quickly these emotions developed within Einar.

Gerda is supportive and wants to get her husband treated so she takes him to multiple specialists but none can give him what he wants. Many don’t know how to treat Einar. Instead they call him insane or delusional and try to give him improper treatments when he says Lili comes from inside him. Gerda is always supportive and always by Einar and Lili’s side.

“You heard my wish, Gerda, when no one else could hear me you did,” Lili said.

Lili starts coming around the house more and Einar starts to disappear almost completely. At one point Einar mentions how he’s thought about killing Einar but the thought of Lili stops him.

Vikander’s performance as Gerda is beautiful. One of the most important scenes is where we see Gerda worry about her influence of Miss Lili. She thinks maybe if she hadn’t asked Einar to model for her painting then none of it would have happened.

“You helped bring Lili to life but she was always there,” Einar said.

The story is beautiful but tragic. Just as we see Lili starting her life, she is gone.

DVD Extras: “The Making of The Danish Girl” talks about the history behind Lili Elbe’s story. Producer Anne Harrison describes the relationship of Einar and Gerda as a “transcendence of love beyond gender,” that is portrayed throughout the film’s entirety. Hooper talks about all the details that went into scenes including the lighting and color scheme of each room to get it just right. Redmayne commented on the rigor of Hooper’s direction.

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