The Danish Girl - B

Rated R, 120 minutes

Eddie Redmayne

The affecting, superbly acted new drama "The Danish Girl" tells the story of Lili Elbe, a pioneer for the transgender movement. Directed by Oscar-winning director Tom Hooper ("The King's Speech") and written by Lucinda Coxon ("The Heart of Me"), based on the best-selling novel by David Ebershoff, it's can a little too restrained, even tactful, but it's also intelligent and moving and understandably has been generating Oscar buzz for some time. In early 1920s Copenhagen, painter Gerda Wegener (Alicia Vikander) asks her husband, Einar Wegener (Eddie Redmayne), also a painter, to stand in for a female model. Einar slowly develops an attraction for the female physical appearance and begins living as a woman named Lili Elbe. Lili becomes the first ever recipient of male to female sex reassignment surgery, and while Gerda is supportive, the transition causes considerable strain to their marriage. "The Danish Girl" is worth seeing for the strong performances from both Oscar-winner Redmayne ("The Theory of Everything") and Viklander ("Ex Machina"), and the slow-moving character study often plays like a delicate flower or antique figurines, you're really afraid they'll break or crack at any moment. Hooper, who's used to period pieces such as "Les Miserables" has a nice, soft touch with the material and evokes the period well, with all the first-rate, lovely sets, costumes and the compelling musical score from Alexander Desplat that give an beautiful antique shop feel. With that in mind, "The Danish Girl" is much more tame than you might expect, though it features two of the year's strongest performances from Redmayne, who'll be in the running again this year, and Viklander, as the conflicted couple going thru some unusual changes; their heightened emotions keep it from more than being just about dress up, but a compelling movie about identity and gender roles.  Based on a fictional book about the couple, it takes many liberties: real life Gerda and Einar/Lili divorced early on, and Lili was less supportive than portrayed here, but it makes for compelling movie-watching. Expect many award and accolades to come to this movie, and while that may be overrating it just a bit, "The Danish Girl" is still a satisfactory look at a pioneer in the transgender movement.