Eddie Redmayne Risks Life to Be a Woman in New 'Danish Girl' Trailer
When transgender pioneer Lili Elbe began gender reassignment surgery in 1930, it was still an experimental and risky process. In the second trailer for The Danish Girl, Lili (Eddie Redmayne) faces that risk, despite the trepidation of her loyal wife, painter Gerda Wegener (Alicia Vikander). “It could kill you,” Gerda tells Lili. “It’s my only hope,” Lili replies. Watch the new trailer above.
While the first trailer (released in September) saw Lili’s transition through Gerda’s eyes, the new spot focuses more directly on Redmayne’s character. We see Lili’s struggle to be comfortable in the male body she was born with, and the negative reactions — from both men on the street and the medical establishment — to her emerging feminine self. “Every morning I promise myself that I will spend the entire day as a man,” Redmaye says in voiceover, “but I think Lili’s thoughts. I dream her dreams.” It’s still clear that the film is a love story between Lili and Gerda, who married Lili before her transition and supported her throughout. “You’re the only person who made sense of me,” Lili tells her wife. “Who made me possible.”
Watch the stars of ‘The Danish Girl’ and ‘About Ray’ talk about transgender characters in film.
Directed by Tom Hooper, The Danish Girl is based on the true story of transgender pioneer Elbe and famed artist Wegener, as adapted into the David Ebershoff novel of the same name. The film, which has already generated Oscar buzz for Redmayne and Vikander, opens in theaters on November 27.
