--- title: "The Danish Girl: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/the-danish-girl/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/the-danish-girl" critics_score: 60 critics_reviews: 27 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # The Danish Girl (2015): what the critics said Critics' score 60 from 27 reviews: 10 positive, 12 mixed, 5 negative. Most critics find The Danish Girl sincere, handsome and well acted, and most also find it too careful. The praise clusters almost entirely on the two leads. Eddie Redmayne’s gradual transformation into Lili is singled out again and again, and a good number of reviews say Alicia Vikander’s Gerda is the film’s real centre, the performance that gives it whatever feeling it has. Careful is also the complaint. The mixed and negative reviews agree that Tom Hooper has prettified a prickly story, keeping Lili’s desires offscreen and smoothing the harder facts of her life into something safe and decorous. The spread is wide, from the full marks of Den of Geek to the Evening Standard, which finds Redmayne unconvincing and the account of Lili’s life inaccurate. The AV Club puts the common objection plainly: Lili is a beautiful image rather than a fully realised person. ## Little White Lies — David Ehrlich Rating 2/4/4. 29 December 2015. Ehrlich finds the film a humane, nuanced story of love, loss and gender identity, despite its melodramatic excesses. He particularly praises Alicia Vikander’s performance and the film’s tender portrayal of complex queer experience. [Read the review](https://lwlies.com/reviews/the-danish-girl) ## Radio Times — Damon Wise Rating 4/5. The critic calls it an emotionally powerful biopic, while noting that its treatment is sanitised. They single out Alicia Vikander’s Gerda as the story’s focus. [Read the review](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-2cjv4y/the-danish-girl/) ## Empire — Ian Freer Fi1m's normalised score 78/100 (inferred from the text). 4 January 2016. Freer finds the film touching, timely and exquisite despite its conventional approach. He singles out Alicia Vikander’s compassionate performance as the element that steals the show. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/danish-girl-review/) ## Variety — Peter Debruge Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 5 September 2015. Festival review. Debruge praises the film as a sensitive, significant portrait, led by Redmayne’s career-best performance. He singles out Redmayne’s gradual embodiment of Lili for praise, while criticizing the film for smoothing over some of its story’s pricklier details. [Read the review](https://variety.com/2015/film/festivals/the-danish-girl-film-review-eddie-redmayne-1201586696/) ## Los Angeles Times — Kenneth Turan Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 25 November 2015. Turan finds the film slow to unfold but ultimately affecting, with its intimate love story drawing the viewer in. He especially praises Eddie Redmayne and Alicia Vikander’s nuanced, sensitive performances. [Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-danish-girl-review-20151127-column.html) ## Screen Daily — Jonathan Romney Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 5 September 2015. Festival review. The review is positive, presenting the film as a strong awards-season contender. It singles out Eddie Redmayne’s performance as its key strength. [Read the review](https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/the-danish-girl-review/5092581.article) ## The AV Club — Ignatiy Vishnevetsky Rating C+. 24 November 2015. The review finds that the film cannot reconcile its ideas about identity and desire. It criticizes the portrayal of Lili as a beautiful image rather than a fully realized person. [Read the review](https://www.avclub.com/the-danish-girl-can-t-figure-itself-out-1798185884) ## RogerEbert.com — Sheila O'Malley Rating 2.5/4. 25 November 2015. The review finds the film visually polished but ultimately limited in its treatment of its subject. It singles out the performances, especially Alicia Vikander's, as a strength. [Read the review](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-danish-girl-2015) ## The Guardian — Peter Bradshaw Rating 3/5. 31 December 2015. Bradshaw finds the film intelligent, sympathetic and charming, but too tasteful to achieve real passion. He particularly praises Alicia Vikander’s performance while criticizing the film’s prettified presentation of transgender identity. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/dec/31/the-danish-girl-review-redmayne-tom-hooper) ## The New York Times — A.O. Scott Fi1m's normalised score 60/100 (inferred from the text). 22 December 2015. Scott finds the film worthwhile but imperfect. He particularly praises Eddie Redmayne’s performance as Lili Elbe. [Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/22/movies/the-liberation-of-lili-in-the-danish-girl.html) ## Total Film — Kate Stables Rating 3/5. 28 December 2015. Stables finds the film handsome and sensitively played but overly sweet, with a stiff love story and stately staging. She singles out Eddie Redmayne’s delicate performance for praise, while criticizing the overwritten dialogue and melodramatic marriage scenes. [Read the review](https://www.gamesradar.com/danish-girl-review/) ## IndieWire — Eric Kohn Rating C. 13 September 2015. Festival review. Kohn finds the film mannered and emotionally shallow, despite its important subject. He praises Vikander’s tender performance and the leads’ chemistry, while faulting the film’s polished surfaces and Redmayne’s artificiality. [Read the review](https://www.indiewire.com/criticism/culture/toronto-review-the-danish-girl-isnt-as-groundbreaking-as-it-thinks-58246/) ## The Hollywood Reporter — David Rooney Fi1m's normalised score 50/100 (inferred from the text). 5 September 2015. Festival review. Rooney finds the film moving and sincere, but too safe and conventional. He especially praises Eddie Redmayne’s nuanced performance and the film’s intimate observations of Lili’s emerging identity. [Read the review](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/eddie-redmayne-danish-girl-venice-820725/) ## The New Yorker — Anthony Lane Fi1m's normalised score 50/100 (inferred from the text). 22 November 2015. Lane finds the film graceful and skillfully handled, but overly restrained and too decorous to fully confront its subject. He singles out Redmayne’s performance, especially Einar’s attentive study of women, as the film’s saving strength. [Read the review](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/11/30/true-selves) ## Time Out — Dave Calhoun Rating 2/5. 4 September 2015. Calhoun finds the film a disappointingly conservative biopic of pioneering transgender artist Lili Elbe. He singles out Eddie Redmayne’s striking, fragile performance for praise. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/the-danish-girl) ## Slant Magazine — Ed Gonzalez Rating 1.5/4. 22 November 2015. Gonzalez finds the film sentimental, stiff, and distancing despite its empathy for Lili. He criticizes its simplistic visual style and its overly sympathetic, politically contemporary portrayal of the world around her. [Read the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/the-danish-girl/) ## Vulture — David Edelstein Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 24 November 2015. Edelstein finds the film conventional and emotionally distant, despite the remarkable real-life story it portrays. He singles out Hooper’s failure to get inside the characters’ heads and his tendency to keep Lili’s desires and agency offscreen. [Read the review](https://www.vulture.com/2015/11/movie-review-danish-girl.html) ## Evening Standard — David Sexton Fi1m's normalised score 20/100 (inferred from the text). 9 September 2015. Festival review. Sexton finds the film over-prettified and Redmayne’s portrayal unconvincing. He particularly criticizes its inaccurate, sentimentalized account of Lili’s life and death. [Read the review](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/the-danish-girl-film-review-eddie-redmayne-seems-a-sorry-parody-as-a-woman-next-to-alicia-vikander-a2928406.html) ## Den of Geek — Chiara Gabardi Rating 5/5. 25 November 2015. The review finds the film utterly touching and an important tribute to Lili’s courage. It praises Redmayne’s delicate, naturalistic performance and the intimate bond between Lili and Gerda. [Read the review](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/the-danish-girl-review/) ## Deadline — Pete Hammond Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 30 November 2015. Hammond gives the film a strongly positive verdict, calling it a powerful love story. He especially praises the performances of Eddie Redmayne and Alicia Vikander, along with Redmayne’s subtle transformation. [Read the review](https://deadline.com/2015/11/the-danish-girl-review-eddie-redmayne-alicia-vikander-1201646788/) ## Collider — Matt Goldberg Rating B-. 12 September 2015. Festival review. Goldberg finds the film tender and well-meaning, though it becomes self-conscious and mawkish as the story progresses. He praises Eddie Redmayne and Alicia Vikander’s performances for giving the film emotional strength. [Read the review](https://collider.com/the-danish-girl-movie-review-eddie-redmayne-tiff-2015/) ## The Wrap Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 5 September 2015. Festival review. The critic finds the film a worthwhile, if somewhat stodgy, portrait that could help audiences understand gender identity. Redmayne and Vikander’s performances are singled out for their depth and skill. [Read the review](https://www.thewrap.com/the-danish-girl-review-eddie-redmayne-alicia-vikander-tom-hooper/) ## The Playlist Fi1m's normalised score 64/100 (inferred from the text). 5 September 2015. Festival review. The URL identifies this as a Venice review of the film, but the article text is unavailable. The page provides no information about the critic’s verdict or what they praised or criticized. [Read the review](https://theplaylist.net/venice-review-tom-hoopers-the-danish-girl-with-eddie-redmayne-alicia-vikander-20150905/) ## The Skinny — Michelle Devereaux Rating ★★★. 1 January 2016. Devereaux finds the film beautiful but too buttoned-up, with its restrained mood blunting emotional impact. She praises the magnetism of the lead performances, especially Redmayne’s transformation into Lili. [Read the review](https://www.theskinny.co.uk/film/new-releases/the-danish-girl) ## Eye for Film — Jane Fae Fi1m's normalised score 58/100 (inferred from the text). 4 January 2016. Fae finds the film a mostly harmless, qualified success for a mainstream audience, though it is not gripping drama. She particularly praises its focus on the evolving relationship between Lili and Gerda, while criticizing its simplified portrayal of Lili’s transition. [Read the review](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/the-danish-girl-2015-film-review-by-jane-fae) ## Paste — Nick Schager Rating 7.0. 24 November 2015. Schager finds the film polished and compassionate but emotionally placid, ultimately a shallow facsimile of a complex life. He praises Alicia Vikander’s magnetic, graceful portrayal of Gerda, while faulting the film for giving her too little unexpected material. [Read the review](https://www.pastemagazine.com/movies/the-danish-girl) ## Consequence — Sarah Kurchak Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 9 December 2015. Festival review. Kurchak finds the film disappointing, calling it a safe, predictable drama that fails to do justice to its subject. She praises Alicia Vikander’s fragile but determined performance as its best attribute. [Read the review](https://consequence.net/2015/12/tiff-film-review-the-danish-girl/) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/the-danish-girl.md