Can we expect another awards season clean sweep by Brit-boy Eddie Redmayne?
Fresh from his Oscar success, Eddie Redmayne is back with another film, which has already been hotly tipped for awards show domination. Fingers crossed we pick it in the office awards ceremony sweepstakes!
The Danish Girl sees Eddie play the part of Einar Wegener, who was the first ever person to go through a male to female sex reassignment surgery in the 1920s, and went on to become the famed Lili Elbe. Just another iconic character for Eddie who portrayed Stephen Hawking in last year’s Oscar winning The Theory of Everything, then.
We can't wait for the film to be released - but while we're waiting, we've finally been given access to the emotional second trailer of the film. Watch it below...
The first trailer for the film was released in September, giving us an insight into the eagerly anticipated film. Based on David Ebershoff’s novel of the same name, the film, which was directed by Les Miserables and The King's Speech's Tom Hooper, chronicles the lives of Einar Wegener and his wife, Gerda (played by Alicia Vikander, our Girl of the Moment from the March 2015 issue) as he goes through his transition to become Lili.
The trailer sees Einar become aware of his transgender identity after posing for illustrator wife, Gerda’s paintings as a female. After posing for more, it becomes clear that Einar increasingly identifies with his female persona, whom he names Lili. While chronicling the revolutionary transition, the film also tells the story of a love triangle between Lili, Gerda and a childhood friend, played by Matthias Schnoenaerts.
While the trailer gives a lot of the story away (should we be expecting tears? The answer is a resounding yes, it seems) it’s the acting and the relevance of the narrative about gender struggles which has got critics talking so highly of the film before its debut on Saturday at the Venice Film Festival.
But for all the enthusiasm over the film's release, there was still controversy when Eddie was chosen to play a trans character - rather than a trans actor being cast for the role. Nevertheless, director Tom has defended his decision to cast Eddie by saying he won the role because of a ‘certain gender fluidity’ about the actor, and revealed that he was the only person considered for the role. Tom added: ‘I felt that there was something in him that was drawn to the feminine. That was something that I felt he might be interested to explore further.’
While Eddie may be the apple of Tom's eye (the project has been in the works since 2009) there have been various casting changes with Gwyneth Paltrow, Rachel Weisz and Marion Cotillard all rumoured to have been in talks to play the role of Gerda at various points of production. With Alicia eventually winning out, we're intrigued to see the relative newcomer take on the role opposite everyone's favourite Brit-boy of the moment, Eddie.
The Danish Girl is due for release on the 1st of January 2016, smack bang in the middle of awards season. Fancy that. Watch the first trailer here: