Episode 027: The Danish Girl
“A fictitious love story loosely inspired by the lives of Danish 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.”
This week we are reviewing “The Danish Girl”, a bi-opic around Lili Elbe, one of the first recipients of gender-affirming surgery. With the amount of vitriol trans people are receiving in the UK and other parts of the world right now, it felt important to look at one of the key figures in history who pushed for their gender to be recognised despite societal pushback.
You can either listen to the podcast on the left, or you can read below for a majority of the transcript of the podcast! Now as always, our discussion will begin with a brief summary of the film followed by spoiler free thoughts and feelings about the film. This will be followed by an in-depth discussion of some of the key plot points that occurred and we will then finish off with my overall rating of the film and a heads up about what we are looking at next time. If you have not had a chance to watch The Danish Girl and don’t want to hear any spoilers, then please feel free to skip the detailed section and listen to it afterwards if you so wish.
A key thing we have to cover before we can get properly into discussing the film is obviously the choice of actor to play the lead. Now as far as I know, Eddie Redmayne is not trans, so it is conflicting to have a non-trans actor taking the role of a trans person. From what I have seen, it is something that even Eddie has mentioned regretting even if he took on the role with the best of intentions.
The story itself is fairly simple in terms of overarching story, as it follows the life of Lili Elbe as she discovers her transgender identity and embarks upon starting to live her life as her true self. But where the story sounds quite simple, the interpersonal relationships and dramas attached to that plot are quite complex and very realistic. When somebody is discovering a new aspect to themselves, it can sometimes be a complex adjustment both for themselves and those around them, and the film does a good job in presenting these challenges to those viewing the film.
The relationship between our two main characters is really beautiful and one of the film's strengths, as both actors really help to sell the bond between Lili and Gerda. The whole film is done in a respectful tone, which I really appreciate given all the hysterics we see from certain media sources around trans people these days, and all the actors involved really do give heartfelt performances.
In terms of representation, the main focus of the film is identifying as transgender and making that journey of discovery, both for the person making that discovery as well as how it impacts those around that person. Although it is treated as a bit of a scandel to the people involved, it’s more based around shock rather than trying to demonise trans people, and to be honest I really appreciate the fact it’s treating trans people as what they are in this film, just fucking people!
Final Feelings and Recommendation
I actually think, given the current state of things for my trans siblings, I would recommend everyone, especially those in positions of power & influence, to watch this to actually re-humanise themselves when thinking about trans people. So yeah, I would recommend this to everyone, and I guess if you are a history buff or really like character driven stories then even better!
For a rating, I would give this 7 out of 10 scarves in the wind. The overall story is a simple one, but it is so respectfully done and really shows the human element of the trans experience, which is lost in a lot of discussions these days. My only main issue with the film is the casting choice, even if Redmayne does an excellent job, and maybe perhaps that it’s a film that I probably wouldn’t re-watch a lot after seeing it.
SPOILERS AHEAD
Now, just a reminder that at this point, I will be going into a more detailed analysis of the film means there will be spoilers! If you haven’t managed to watch The Danish yet and you don’t want anything spoiled, then this is your last chance to avoid the discussion. Or you can go ahead and close the page, go read the film and then come back afterwards to finish reading. I promise I won’t mind. Still here? Well then, don’t say I didn’t warn you.
The film begins in Copenhagen, in the glorious year of 1926. We quickly meet our two key characters, Einar and Gerda, who are both painters and happily married to each other. We quickly get up to speed on their positions in life, with Einar being thought of quite highly for his work while Gerda is still getting some negative feedback to her work, not yet a 1st class painter but this is just since she hasn’t discovered her subject matter yet.
One afternoon Gerda has a model cancel on her and so asks Einar to pose in the planned stockings and shoes, making a concession that he doesn’t have to wear the dress but just hold it against himself as she paints. Throughout the scene, we get to witness the egg-cracking moment for Einar as they start to process their feelings on everything happening and maybe start to realise that they might not be cis-gendered. They start to properly touch and explore the clothing, before someone appears in the doorway and shatters the exploration.
We then find out there is going to be an artist's ball that their friend Ulla is putting on, and invites our couple to come along. Einar isn’t keen, but Gerda convinces him to attend by coming as someone else, and so they plan to dress him up as Lili, the alter-ego they jokingly gave him while modelling with the dress.
As they test out the make-up for Lili, Einar delivers the best quote of "Don't make her a slut", which one I just found funny but it also starts to show that the Lili personna is starting to grow and develop in Einar’s mind in a very subtle way. This subtle development within Einar is continued as he practises walking, finds the appropriate wig and shoes, as we see him having fun and being quite passionate about who Lili is.
As they are arriving at the party, with Einar all dolled up, he asks if he is pretty enough as he gets nervous about the situation but Gerda supports them and in they go. They find Ulla, who clocks that tonight she is graced with Lili’s presence and is excited by such a situation, and Einar asks for Gerda not to leave them alone since they are understandably nervous about being found out. Even though the egg is still cracking for Einar, it’s fair to say that this will be many people’s experience when going out as their authentic selves, being scared of being ‘identified’ or ‘caught out’ and having the emotional support there is really important.
At some point in the night though, Einar/Lili gets self-conscious and allows Gerda to leave them so she can speak to certain people. At this point we have Henrick enter the scene, trying to chat Lili up and even when she gets nervous and leaves, he follows like a typical cis-het white man feels entitled to do. They do sit alone and chat, where Henrick gets ever closer and although Lili is feeling uncomfortable at his proximity, he kisses them. Now Einar/Lili does kiss back, just in time for Gerda to see, before Lili gets a nosebleed and Gerda storms in to rescue them from the situation and takes them home.
The next morning Gerda is understandably upset considering she has seen her husband secretly kissing another person, and so states that Lili is just made up since they were playing a game and it would be best that she ‘doesn’t come here anymore’. Unfortunately life is more complex than this and Einar does admit that for a moment they were just Lili, an indication of what their true self may be.
But the egg is now cracked and we watch as Einar explores his body in a mirror, tracing its shape, contorting how he stands, and at one point tucking his penis away. Obviously we are to infer now that Einar is considering his gender and where does Lili play into who he is, and I also want to take a moment to praise the film for the full penis shot during this. Not because I needed to see genitals, but because usually the media restricts full nudity to female presenting persons, and I love to see some equality in how we show and discuss ALL human bodies!
Henrick goes for a luncheon and who should be with him other than Lili. When Einar gets back from this outing, he finds Gerda upset, having thought he had left her after the argument, and he confirms that he would never. It is also during this make up moment with the couple that she reveals she has painted Lili naked and that the paintings were purchased by the gallery. So it seems Lili isn’t to just be considered a game they were playing after all.
Lili then appears at Henricks home where they are talking and start to kiss. However, Henrick then starts to get a little bit handsy as they are kissing, and when Lili says no and tries to stop him due to being uncomfortable, he says Einar’s name. Understandably this causes them to freak out and rushing to leave as they are struggling to process what is happening, trying to reconcile presenting in one way but being referenced in another, almost like…misgendering.
As Gerda arrives home that night, she finds Lili at the table and starts by asking if they are alright, to which Einar/Lili admits that they have been seeing Henrick. It quiets the mood as both try to navigate the upset, and Gerda asks if they are in love with him, to which the answer is no, it's never been more than kissing and that they only love Gerda. But they do mention a boy they kissed when younger called Hans, whose father caught them and caused all sorts of uproar.
Before the couple can explore more of what this means for their relationship and who Einar sees themselves as, he falls down in pain and they have to call a doctor in, unafraid if he asks about why Einar is presenting as Lili right now. The doctor comes to help, well, if his advice can be called help since he says Gerda’s husband is insane and she should lock her wardrobe before prescribing some good ole radiation therapy! Oh joys, radiation as they say is a miracle since it saves the good and destroys the bad, try telling that to Chernobyl! And as Einar says, the radiation is hurting Lili, so it seems like it isn’t really the long-term solution.
The pair travel to Paris, as Gerda is to show off her Lili portraits due to their popularity, and during the trip Einar visits a brothel and watches a peep show. Now he isn’t doing it for sexual gratification, but rather starts to mimic the woman as again he contemplates his body and what is the authentic version of who they are.
Gerda takes some time to track down Hans and invites him to lunch, asking for his help as she feels Einar has lost his way and needs someone to represent him who knows him, and Hans agrees to help out an old friend. When Gerda and Hans come back to her home they find Lili waiting for them. After some tricky conversation, Lili gets overwhelmed and runs to another room, before asking Hans to leave while Gerda attempts to talk to Einar/Lili before they hit a dead end again.
The situation probably isn’t helped with Gerda still having Lili sit for more paintings since she has become the popular flavour of the month in the art world. But then Gerda states she needs to speak to her husband, that she needs her husband, and could Lili please let him go, to which the answer is no. Eventually Einar admits that he doesn’t think he can give Gerda what they want and that he doesn’t think they can go on like this much longer. It is unfortunately one of those aspects that sometimes our previous relationships can struggle to be the same as we discover who we truly are, or at the very least there will need to be a readjustment in what both parties can expect of one another.
As Gerda is confiding in Ulla, Ulla actually mentions a women’s clinic she has heard of in Dresden that has a particular interest in men like Einar. But while Gerda is finding ways to support her husband, he is walking through the park and is accosted by two men asking if he is a boy or girl due to his effeminate presentation. He hits one in a bid to get away, but they end up kicking the fuck out of him and leaving him in the park, a horribly familiar thing most queer people will have experienced or heard about from people just trying to live their lives!
Gerda is supportive of Einar going for help as he states that he feels that they are a woman, and it’s amazing to see such love and support from Gerda for her husband, even at the emotional strain it puts on her. There is a discussion on the potential for surgery, being done in two stages, but they are also upfront about the low success rates and how Einar won’t be her husband as before afterwards. Although it’s painful for Gerda, she wants what's best for Einar and so she and Hans see him off to the train to Dresden.
Einar arrives at the hospital but does have to wait a week so that they can put on the necessary amount of weight to ensure operations will be safe for them. Gerda comes out to visit, finding Lili in pain and on oxygen, but she is there to support Lili. Although it will be a painful experience for Gerda to say bye to her husband to this person that so strongly reminds her of him, it is a true sign of love of how she is willing to push through her own discomfort to support the person she loves when they need that unconditional love the most.
We now head back to Denmark once again, and this we see a very supportive relationship as Lili gets her first job as a sales person in a boutique store. But while work life is going really well for them, at home we see that there is now a thin sheet splitting the bed and as Gerda talks of having been married not long ago, Lili states that this was Einar. So we can see that it’s still very difficult for Gerda to make the full acceptance of them having a different dynamic together now that Lili is starting to live her true authentic self.
Lili does find Henrick while out, and tells him exactly what has happened in her life. She states that god made me a woman, and a doctor has cured her of the sickness of her disguise, which again helps to highlight that people don’t turn trans overnight, but rather it is something like sexuality where they are born with it being an intrinsic part of themselves, and sometimes we need assistance to make sure we live our authentic lives.
Things proceed to get tense at home and Lili confronts Gerda about this, calling out that why let them go through with all of this if they believed it would still be the same life as it was before for them. Lili is very clear that Einar is dead now and that they both have to live their own lives, to which Gerda admits that she had promised to look after Lili.
Gerda has concerns about Lili going back for the 2nd operation as it feels like it may be too soon for Lili to have fully recovered from the last trip. However Lili is determined to progress as quickly as she can to her true identity and states they will be going Friday and asks if Gerda will come with them. However she responds that she won’t help them to hurt themself, as it will be quite a challenge for her to reconcile the feelings of losing her husband while also still supporting who she has now become, let alone the fear she will be feeling at losing both Einar and Lili if the surgery is too much.
In the end however, Gerda does come as she is more worried for Lili than angry, and she did make a promise to the one she loved to support Lili after all. Hans also comes along to support Gerda as well as Lili, and I really appreciate how accepting both individuals are. It’s not an understatement to say having such supportive factors in people’s lives actually saves lives!
However, as it is early days for gender affirming care being provided, there are complications with the surgery, and we have a tender moment with Lili and Gerda before Lili sadly passes away.
Gerda and Hans head out to the spot that Einar always painted as a way to say their goodbyes. While there, there is a sweet moment where the wind takes Lili’s scarf and she accepts this happening. It really does feel like a final sweet moment as they think of Einar/Lili. And then as we move into the credits we get some key information about the real Lili Elbe and Gerda which is a really important way to close out the film I feel.