The Danish Girl

> An important biopic, but not inspiring. Before this film hitting the screens, I remember many experts were expecting it doing well at the Oscars. Now it's got 4 Oscar nods, even though it is very sad the movie is a hit and miss. A slipped away opportunity, had a great storyline, but the outcome was decent. An important historical biopic, at least for a certain section of the audience. I respect that, but it did not impress me as I anticipated. From the Academy Award winning director for the movie 'The King's Speech', and the last year's winner for a lead role, Eddie Reddmayne together did not deliver the expected masterpiece. But Alicia Vikander was so good, another brilliant co-female-star display just like Felicity Jones from Eddie's previous movie 'The Theory of Everything'. If I were a jury I would definitely give the supporting actress award to her, that's the result I'm hoping for in the next Sunday. The actor did a hard work for the title role, in the many scenes he mastered it, but that's where I slightly disappointed. I felt his character was a little intense, maybe I'm not getting him because I'm straight. The locations, costumes, even the direction and music were good. Both the lead actors kind looks alike, no doubt on the casting, but it only should have been a bit better in exhibiting story. Maybe the pace should have been a little quicker as well as some sentimentally appealing scenes would have done good. I desperate to give more marks, but I can't go beyond this. I won't consider it a bad flick, what I meant was a missed opportunity to be a masterpiece. So overall, it is a good watch. 7/10

"You helped bring Lili to life, but she was always there." _The Danish Girl_ certainly took a long time getting to the big screen. The script went through dozens of iterations after David Ebershoff’s book was first was optioned. The cast changed numerous times. Directors passed it back and forth. Finally, after fifteen years of floating around, Tom Hooper’s film was released. And while the lead performances were brilliant, the film itself felt a bit flat. And weirdly, this seems to be something we say far too often about films that take a long time to get to the silver screen. Join us – Pete Wright and Andy Nelson – as we wrap up our Transgender series with Hooper’s 2015 film _The Danish Girl_. We talk about what works in the film, but we really try to dig and figure out what might be causing it to have its issues. We look at the journey the book took to get to the screen, and look at the age-old question of what responsibility do filmmakers/storytellers have to the original story and the original people when making biopics. We discuss Eddie Redmayne and Alicia Vikander and what they bring to the table here, along with their fellow thespians. We chat about the incredible look this film has and how it fits in with the story. And we touch on how this series has opened our eyes to other great films that we would love to share down the line. This was a fun series, even if it ended on a bit of a downer note. It did give us perspective for the world of transgenders and what they go through to feel ‘right’ in their own bodies. We have a great time talking about this movie, so check it out then tune in! Andy’s star rating: 3 stars Pete’s star rating: 3.5 stars Average star rating: 3.25 stars To listen to The Next Reel’s episode on _The Danish Girl_, please visit: thenextreel.com/tnr/the-danish-girl. Subscribe to the show wherever the finest podcasts are served and don't forget to leave us a rating and/or a review in Apple Podcasts! Find us on: thenextreel.com, facebook.com/thenextreel, twitter.com/thenextreel, pinterest.com/thenextreel, instagram.com/thenextreel, letterboxd.com/thenextreel, flickchart.com/thenextreel, youtube.com/c/thenextreelpodcast, and the podcatcher of your choice!