****
Living together as husband and wife in 1920s Copenhagen, Einar and Gerda Wegener are successful artists. But Einar possesses a long held secret - that he believes he was born in the wrong body and should be a woman. As Einar, changing his name to Lili Elbe, begins to identify more with the female, Gerda struggles to accept the changes.
To bring the transition from man to woman to screen, you need a very talented actor, and luckily Tom Hooper found his man in Eddie Redmayne, who we have already seen as a master of physical transformation in The Theory of Everything. This is a remarkable performance - at times I had to remind myself that I was watching a man - and beautifully realised, from the initial change in nuances, to the full encapsulation of feminine behaviour. Redmayne will doubtlessly win plaudits for his sensitive and engaging performance as a man changing into a woman, but it is Alicia Vikander's portrayal of Gerda that is the real heart of the film. She is both strong and vulnerable, wanting to assist her husband in his transition, but also wishing for him to stay the same, to hold her and love her as a man. Whilst Redmayne has the relatively easy task of portraying a changing physicality on screen, Vikander is left to reflect a myriad of different emotions whilst remaining sympathetic to the audience. The performances are excellent across the board, from Ben Whishaw's as a potential love interest, to Matthias Schoenaerts as Einar's childhood friend, who meets with Gerda and Lili in Paris and at a point of great transition. Even Amber Heard does an admirable job as a 'bright young thing' dancer, eager and boisterous without being irritating.
Similarly, the film looks gorgeous. From the beautiful landscape shots, to the lingering close-ups, every frame is made to look like a piece of art. The costumes on display are rich and fabulous, whilst the act of watching someone painting on screen becomes very beautiful and considered. Indeed, some of the shots of the countryside and cities visited throughout the film could well be used by the respective tourism boards as adverts for their countries, so beautiful is the imagery. And yet, I cannot help feel that by noticing these features of the film, from the clothes I wanted to borrow and the fine dressing of the sets, that the film couldn't have been engaging me. I suspect this is because it is rather over-wrought: barely a scene goes by without someone whispering a previously hidden truth, or without someone weeping, and, whilst I fully accept that this is an emotional period for all on screen, it did feel as though I was being constantly bludgeoned by an emotional manipulator. Lucinda Coxon's screenplay is admirable and, largely, very good, but there were times when I felt as though I was being forced to like the characters on screen, rather than the story just allowing me to like them as I got to know them. Heavy-handedness, however, can be overlooked in light of what is a remarkably beautiful and thought-provoking film about love and sacrifice.
This is, however, an important film in its honest and moving portrayal of a man transitioning to a woman and all the trials and emotions that go with it. At times shocking, and undoubtedly very moving, this is necessary and educational viewing. I imagine Tom Hooper will be collecting another Academy Award very soon, along with his leading actor and actress.
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