So I did see it. I debated – even apart from the cis-playing-trans uncoolness, the reviews were fairly lukewarm – but in the end, I decided to see it. First, I can’t have an opinion on something I haven’t seen. Second, it sounds like Alicia Vikander may likely win best supporting actress. Finally, the only other option I had for a third Oscar film this weekend was 45 Years, and Charlotte Rampling’s remarks on #OscarsSoWhite have lessened my interest in that film.
Einar Wegener, celebrated landscape painter, is on the edge of a precipice. Einar’s wife Gerda recently needed Einar to fill in briefly when a ballerina, a model for one of her own paintings, didn’t show. Wearing stocks and slippers, legs draped with tulle, something that’s hidden inside Einar for a very long time begins to unlock: Einar is trans. At first, Gerda thinks her husband’s newly presented femininity is a game they play, for titillation or amusement, but Einar is on her way to truly finding herself for the first time. As she goes deeper and deeper into living as Lili, her “play” identity, she hopes she can make Gerda see her for who she really is.
I’ve heard this film described as a transgender movie for cisgender people, and I’d say that’s accurate. In addition to using all the “trans tragedy” tropes (extreme fear/shame, horrifically barbaric “medical treatments,” teary conversations about identity, violent transphobic brutes, and numerous “transform in front of the mirror” scenes,) the trans basics are also a bit muddled. Lili and Gerda speak of “Einar” and “Lili” as if they’re two separate people and Lili “becomes” one or the other depending on how she’s dressed. To be fair, the 1920s didn’t really have words for transgender identity, so I could buy Lili and Gerda not knowing how to talk about what they’re going through. And on the first point, I don’t mean to downplay violence, medical ignorance, or psychological turmoil; obviously, these things weren’t uncommon then and, for many, they continue today. However, these struggles are often thought of as the trans narrative that it’s a bit, “Of course this is the story they elected to tell.” The story does get points for its depiction of Gerda’s complicated journey and the ultimate message that Lili’s only choice is to be who she is.
On a positive note, the film looks exquisite. The costumes are to die for (Lili lived in a terrible era for trans women’s rights but an excellent one for trans women’s wardrobes,) and the Denmark landscapes are gorgeous. I like the way the paintings are realized in nature.
Alicia Vikander (lately of Ex Machina) is very strong here as Gerda, struggling to find the best way to love her husband as she comes to grips with what’s going on. And lead-actor-nominated Eddie Redmayne gives a classic Oscary performance as Lili. That sounds dismissive, and it is a bit. While he obviously does well in the role, I’m distracted by the Oscar-baity-ness of it, the unfairness of his casting, and my overall iffyness with the character. I don’t begrudge Lili being generally shy and terrified of what she’s doing in asserting her identity, but it also takes guts to break from society’s conventions like that, and unfortunately, a lot of Lili’s characterization is so timid and fragile that we don’t get much chance to see how tough she obviously is.
Warnings
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