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The Danish Girl
If you thought Eddie Redmayne transformed himself for his Oscarwinning role of Stephen Hawking in The Theory of Everything, prepare for a performance that is even more intimate and compelling as transgender pioneer Lili Elbe in The Danish Girl.
Redmayne always feels distant, whether as Danish landscape painter Einar Wegener, or Lili, the artist’s wife’s muse and heartbreak, in Tom Hooper’s ( The King’s Speech) gorgeous-looking drama. And perhaps that’s the point.
In truth, The Danish Girl is about two women: Elbe and her liberating “creator,” Einar’s wife, Gerda Wegener (Alicia Vikander, superbly passionate in the role). That sets The
Danish Girl up for its larger purpose as a love story and an examination of power struggles within a marriage.
While The Danish Girl would like to present as groundbreaking for its subject matter, it’s actually a rather conventional screen romance that takes few storytelling risks. But you can’t look away from the performances and that is the movie’s true strength. (12 p.m., Roy Thomson Hall) Linda Barnard
Beeba Boys
Toronto’s Deepa Mehta ( Fire, Earth, Water) channels her inner Tarantino for a noteworthy change of pace, one that pursues her careerlong inquiry into identity and the immigrant experience with explosive results. Vancouver’s stylish but ruthless Punjabi gangs empower the fact-inspired narrative, the title Beeba (“Good”) Boys swaggering across the frame with bloody confrontations over drugs, arms and turf. Randeep Hooda’s Beeba boss Jeet leads a charismatic crew who abide by four words: Power. Money. Respect. Style. (6:30 p.m. Roy Thomson Hall) Peter Howell
Brooklyn
Most immigrant sagas stress external hardships. John Crowley’s faithful screen adaptation of Colm Toibin’s acclaimed novel presents inte- rior struggles and intimate epiphanies, in the story of timid and homesick Irish lass Eilis Lacey (Saoirse Ronan), who is forced to grow up in a hurry when hard times bring her to early-1950s America. Ronan inhabits her role, justifying Oscar talk, but there are also splendid turns by Emory Cohen and Domhnall Gleeson as complicated suitors and Julie Walters as a quotable rooming-house landlady. Nick Hornby scripts this handsome film, one that prefers authenticity to sentimentalism. (6 p.m., Winter Garden) P.H.
Miss You Already
It starts out in a Beaches vein, with Drew Barrymore and Toni Collette as London-dwelling besties-from-girlhood, now both married, circling 40 and dealing with disappointments and crises. But thanks to director Catherine Hardwicke’s creativity and a rock-solid performance from Collette as a former (not completely reformed) wild child facing cancer, Miss You Already gets to interesting places. Barrymore is adorable as sunny Jess, whose infertility woes evaporate just as pal Millie’s (Collette) life begins to spiral. R.E.M. replaces Bette Midler’s anthem but the tears will flow just the same. (8:45 a.m., the Bloor) L.B.