The danish girl
Redmayne and gain...
Director Tom Hooper Starring Eddie Redmayne, Alicia Vikander, Amber Heard, Ben Whishaw
ETA 1 January 2016 Newspapers will be prepping their ‘Changing Man’ headlines already, but don’t tell Eddie Redmayne. Although his latest role seems to stick to the shape-shifting thrust set by his Stephen Hawking, Redmayne reckons Method-style transformation is not the point. “If your dream is to tell stories, interesting stories, you play interesting people,” he argues. “That’s the bottom line.”
Lili Elbe fits that bill. Played by Redmayne, the Danish-born artist (formerly Einar Wegener) caused a press sensation as an early recipient of male-to-female gender-reassignment surgery in 1930. Woman-of-the-moment Alicia Vikander plays her wife, fellow artist Gerda Gottlieb.
The adaptation of David Ebershoff’s 2000 novel has been long-coming, with Tomas Alfredson/Nicole Kidman floated as an earlier director/star package. But this cast has clout, as does Redmayne’s Les Mis leader Tom Hooper, directing from Lucinda Coxon’s script. A pro at claustrophobic encounters after Ex_Machina, Vikander promises great “intensity” from her charged chamber-piece exchanges with Redmayne. As for the ’mayne man, he discussed the role with prominent trans figures (including Lana Wachowski) to craft a convincing portrait. He looks astonishing on the images released, and co-star Matthias Schoenaerts anticipates an Oscar nom for him. “If not just the second Oscar, period,” says The Drop actor. Keep those headlines open.