Film Preview: The Danish Girl (2015)

Page Revisions:

(September 6, 2015) Original
(October 18, 2015) New Trailer (#2)

Release Date:

November 27, 2015

Synopsis:

From IMDb: “The remarkable love story inspired by the lives of artists Lili Elbe and Gerda Wegener. Lili and Gerda’s marriage and work evolve as they navigate Lili’s groundbreaking journey as a transgender pioneer.”

Poster Rating: C- / C / C (2)

Review: (#1) The yellowed hue makes the design feel sallow and unappealing. (#2) Taking the same design and making it appear full of life is certainly more evocative even if not particularly rich or detailed. (#3 & #4) These individual character designs are part-and-parcel with the second design and that’s just fine. It’s also not spectacular.

Trailer Rating: B / C

Review: (#1) For the period drama set, this film will hold immediate appeal. The rich design elements (costume and production design) give it an authentic nature and the forward-thinking narrative gives it a modern relevance. There’s something forced at times and that might be the fact that the trailer pushes very hard to force its audience to accept what is without inviting them to do so. You have to bring the audience in, not drag it in kicking and screaming.

(#2) Shaving off time from the first trailer, the designers have inadvertently removed much of what made the film look fascinating. A brief touch on the gender change operation, but nothing of the struggle leading up to it just doesn’t get the audience as engaged or interested as it should. The best idea would be to drop this and return to the prior version.

Oscar Prospects:

This year’s Harvey Weinstein Oscar bait film is undoubtedly The Danish Girl with last year’s Oscar winner being positioned to win his second Oscar at such a young age and when only a handful of actors have ever accomplished the task. There are many performances that could derail him, but look to co-star Alicia Vikander for a possible dark horse candidate and the film will likely appeal to the period drama fans in the Academy.