The Emotional History of Lili Elbe — The Danish Girl Review
Transgender pioneer Lili Elbe breaks our heart and attempts to teach us a lesson of authenticity in ‘The Danish Girl’.
Tom Hooper’s ‘The Danish Girl (2015) bursts with life, change & controversy, seen through its portrayed emotion, score & production design. Based on the touching story of 1920s Danish transgender pioneer, Lili Elbe, & her wife Gerda Wegener, it focuses primarily on the unconditional love and support between the couple throughout. It is through the convincing writing that we get to see both partners go through life-changing transformations to understand their place in a world not so accepting of their beliefs. The artistic focus that is held on the film showcases the significance of the story. However, the portrayal of supposed ‘femininity’ can be seen as offensively diminishing in an attempt to represent what it means to become and be a woman. Told through the eyes of cis-men, where there is a pioneer, there is controversy, especially in the LGBTQ+ world.
Set in 1920s Copenhagen, the marriage between painters Gerda and Einar Wegener seems to be prospering in the artistic, seaside city. As the two appear to be made for each other, the complication that arises is life-changing for both characters. As Gerda’s friend Oola is unavailable to sit for Gerda’s painting, she persuades husband Einar to put on a ballerina costume, where he has a great revelation. Eventuating into belonging as ‘Lili Elbe’ after months of playing dress-up, it is Gerda’s support that shows the poignancy in Lili’s journey. As Oscar-winner Eddie Redmayne portrays both Einar Wegener and Lili Elbe, Swedish actress Alicia Vikander’s performance as Gerda earns her the Academy Award.
As much as the film obviously focuses on Lili’s journey, Vikander steals the performance more than Redmayne, and she is just as significant of a character in the tale. However, in the 2016 Academy Awards, Vikander was still listed as ‘Best Supporting Actress’. And support did her character do. As the perspectives of Lili change drastically, Gerda’s unconditional love has her view of her partner staying the same, with her care only growing stronger. Having been known for representing strong female leads gracefully in pictures like ‘Testament Of Youth’, Vikander’s performance utters strength and is an inspiring feature in the writing of the film. As Lili has an interview in Paris to discuss the possibility of a sex change, she states, “The fact is, I believe that I am a woman. Inside”, to which Gerda replies, “And I believe it too”.
In a world where no one could begin to understand what transgender even means, Gerda believes every word that her partner utters. As she never doubts Lili’s transition, and although there is constant grief and fear, we see how Gerda’s love overrides any challenges faced. Even though they may have not known it, that devotion was always the foundation of their relationship. This pure love is certainly recognised by Einar/Lili, as she utters, “I love you because you’re the only person who made sense of me”. Einar & Gerda both take on great change, viewers gaining a new perspective on transitioning, seeing that it is not only one person who goes through it but the loved ones around them too who discover the meaning and hardships of authenticity. The beauty of the connection between Gerda & Einar or Lili is a great highlight of Hooper’s film, creating interest and bringing meaning to the tale.
In ‘The Danish Girl’ we explore the world of art in the 1920s, which was a greatly influential period — the art deco and nouveau styles, further expression post-WWI. The costume, set design, cinematography, and score all weave into making an aesthetically stunning film, as the life of two artists themselves appears as a painting on the screen. With the costume design by Paco Delgado, the production design by Eve Stewart, cinematography by Danny Cohen & the soundtrack by Alexandre Desplat, all these creative components do a beautiful job of tying into the meaning of the story.
The costume design is a paramount feature in Einar’s journey to discover who Lili is, as he is surrounded by women in striking dresses, tutu’s, and silks. Delgado’s dressing of Einar sees him as a stiff man, very restrained in tight, uninspiring suits. Where when Lili is seen, she bursts with life in colourful velvets and layered capes. The cinematography by Danny Cohen focuses on some rather extreme close-ups, which at times seem like too much, as though we as an audience cannot distinguish a character’s emotion & need help from a camera’s exaggerated shots. Nevertheless, the shots themselves are symmetrical, and resemble artworks themselves, as the costumes, sets, and light are all convincing of the time.
Director Hooper stated that he got the inspiration for many of the shots and production design from Vilhelm Hammershøi, a Danish painter who was known for his subdued and empty, light-focused interiors. Thus, when working with set designer, Eve Stewart, this had a lot of the images on screen genuinely resembling something on canvas & the long summer nights in Scandinavia. The maximalist, bohemian interiors of the apartment that Lili and Gerda share upon moving to Paris for exhibition work showcase the change and gained freedom in the couple. As Einar is exploring more of who Lili is, Gerda is faced with the challenge of accepting her new partner, whilst grieving her old one. Gone is the lonely, repressed space in Copenhagen that once represented the couple, and now is the lively and luxurious Parisian loft.
Alexandre Desplat’s superb score is one of the things that hit the nail on the head of the emotions that break our hearts in Hooper’s film. The discord, romance, and speed in the soundtrack all perfectly reflect the mix of discomfort, love, and terror in the story throughout. The dissonant piano taps or legato strings in the forefront of some scenes further dive into the characters experiences. A soundtrack can sometimes only support a film, yet Desplat’s work has us further understanding the shame, affection, and despair in Lili & Gerda. The visual and audial areas of ‘The Danish Girl’ surely succeed in portraying deeper significance in the world and experience of a couple undergoing an overwhelming change in a time that helped, but didn’t understand.
The real winner in representing Lili’s story is the spotlight on Gerda & Einar’s artistry. As Gerda’s paintings of Einar dressed up as ‘Lili’ are her big break, Einar gets to see who he could be. Where there is flowing freedom in Gerda’s art, Einar’s continuous, rigid landscape work of the trees at Vejle represents his suppression. As in one scene, Einar reveals to Gerda that he had dressed as Lili as a young boy in Vejle, his painting of that same place can be seen as him stuck there, as he was his true self at that moment.
Women started to become more in touch with their sexuality in the 1920s, seen through simple acts such as showing their ankles or dancing at speakeasies. This had screenwriter, Lucinda Coxon, cleverly making this aspect prominent in the transition of Einar to Lili & her discovery of herself. Einar is surrounded by nudes in his life, seen in his fellow worker’s art, his wife & specifically in a scene where he can visit a peep-show, even examining a cis-gendered stripper there, to mimic it himself. In a scene where Einar visits As Gerda paints nude portraits of the character ‘Lili’, Einar himself can see who he truly is, as so much of the transgender experience would be defined by one’s severe gender dysphoria. As the couple’s careers are both greatly visual, we can literally see the meaning of their works and how it ties into their lives — Einar feeling oppressed in his art pieces & Gerda discovering who her partner truly is supposed to be through hers, as well as the importance of being comfortable in one’s raw body.
The controversy that surrounds ‘The Danish Girl’ is the fact that the cis-men that worked on it have succeeded in creating an untrue and fictionalised impression of womanhood. A writer on the website ‘IndieWire’, Carol Grant wrote a piece on how Hooper’s film was potentially harmful, stating that “In ‘becoming a woman’, Lili gives up painting to become a department store salesgirl.’
As Lili utters, “I want to be a woman, not a painter”, Gerda teases, stating “well, some people have been known to do both.” It can be argued that as Lili is an amateur in even being a woman, she is uncertain of how to act accordingly & can only base herself on stereotypes. Yet this plot-line is never mentioned, and we as an audience are left with a badly represented and shallow idea of what it means to be a woman. Aren’t we meant to be inspired in seeing the authenticity of an early transgender pioneer? Yet this girl seems rather fake in her freedom, as we see how her overplayed feminine gestures seem to gain more merit than her actual spirit. Why does Lili’s early life have us see her delving into housewife activities, such as focusing on what scarf she loves or how to properly spray a perfume, rather than showing audiences what really means the most to her?
In moments that Einar reveals his truth to Gerda, we get to hear lines that do resonate well with the experience of a transgender man or woman, stating, “I think Lili’s thoughts, I dream her dreams. She was always there.” But Hooper never presents what Lili’s dreams or thoughts were. It can be said that Lili never had enough time to fulfil these wishes, as (spoiler alert), this story ends with a tragic death. Yet Hooper had every opportunity to give us some insight into Lili, rather than just what her favourite nightdress was. This superficial focus on Lili separates her and her meaning greatly from the cisgendered characters, like Gerda herself, and Hans, a friend from Einar’s hometown of Vejle. Both Gerda and Hans are empowered through who they are: their ambitions, their careers, their empathy, etc. Separating Lili from her loved ones & characterising her through her femininity only, is potentially damaging to the transgender community, as trans women are too often seen as something that isn’t true, or is a joke.
We could have seen Lili as proof that transgender women are anything but fake and are so much more than just someone dressed up to the nines. There is depth in all humans, and by lacking this in Lili, her character only supports the harmful view that the trans community isn’t legitimate. Furthermore, the fact that Eddie Redmayne, a cis-gendered man, played Lili Elbe didn’t sit well with many as this film too had an opportunity to showcase the experience of a real transgender woman. Yet, this move was most likely made in order to sell the film to audiences, Redmayne being a well-known and praised actor.
Despite a lack of depth at points, Hooper’s film still seems to soar in its skillful artistic communication. A solid attempt and successfully entertaining effort in portraying a pioneer were pulled off through the emotions seen on the surface. However pretty it looks, it cannot be ignored that the characterisation still lacks meaning in its main star. Yet, ‘The Danish Girl’ is still a marvel in how it raises awareness of an experience still highly misunderstood & through it, conservative judgements can be challenged.
Stars Out Of Five: 3.5/5
