Eddie’s back in the hunt for an Oscar with his Danish Girl
I have an abiding memory of watching director Tom hooper shoot a scene from The Danish Girl in Copenhagen, where eddie Redmayne and alicia vikander were at a ball.
It’s an introduction, of sorts, for Redmayne’s character Lili, an artist who is transitioning. his wife Gerda, also a painter (Ms vikander), tells guests that Lili is her cousin.
‘It’s the first time Lili has been in public and she’s very nervous. She doesn’t quite know how to behave, and doesn’t know what to say,’ Redmayne explained to me later.
as hooper set up the scene, and began to film it, I remember thinking how beautiful it looked. Later, when I saw the finished movie I realised that what Gerda was doing for Lili was an act of great love, and her actions moved me. The Danish Girl is a story of the many aspects of love — and heartbreak.
I saw it again in New York a couple of weeks back and was struck by how Redmayne and vikander make their characters soar.
I’ve seen all the major pictures that will be in contention this awards season and Redmayne will be in a titanic tussle with Leonardo DiCaprio (for The Revenant) and Michael Fassbender (Steve Jobs), with some competition from Bryan Cranston (Trumbo) and Matt Damon (The Martian). I like Tom hanks for Bridge Of Spies, too.
One of those dudes is going to take the crown, and all of them are deserving.
It’s the most open awards season for years, which is a good thing because there’s no fun in having an early ‘inevitable’ front-runner movie.
But if there is a front-runner for most tenacious producer — someone who climbed a mountain range and back again to get a film made — then it’s elizabeth Karlsen, who pulled all the strands together to get Carol made.