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19-02-2016, 11:29 AM
Possible spoiler alert here, so read on only if you've already seen it…
We just watched The Danish girl last night, and I was left with mixed feelings about the whole thing, it almost seemed that the TS condition was being portrayed more as mental illness in parts? Esp the bit where Lily said said about not being able to get the male side back, now im Pretty sure that you dont lose your memory or feelings when you switch modes, and yet it was written like it was some extreme form of MPD?
I would have been cooler to have had the leading role played by a genuine trans person too, i think there may have been more expression and feeling behind some of the scenes too.
The very end bit, the last line in there did make me cry quite a bit though.
Would love to hear some of your opinions too!
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Saw it the other week with my mum (which was a mistake. don't do it.).
It's a shame how Lilly was portrayed as if she had multiple personalities, though if that is how she truly dealt with it then I can not blame the film makers.
It's so hard to imagine what it must have been like for her. To have no idea how to explain or understand her feelings without the language and context that we have today. For everyone around you to be completely clueless as well. Even today, though we don't perceive being transgender as a mental illness, there are other mental illnesses which are common for transgender people. Without any kind of support, I can totally accept the way she was portrayed as being accurate.
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It's worth keeping in mind, in that time it quite possibly would have been considered a mental illness.
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(19-02-2016, 03:20 PM)jannet.duff Wrote: It's worth keeping in mind, in that time it quite possibly would have been considered a mental illness.
Oh it was! In fact one wrote schitzophenic(sp?) As the diagnosis and went away to get 2 thugs with a snuggy jacket, but the first "doctor" nuked her man bits with some sort of xray/gamma emitter saying "radiation is a miracle"!!! I must admit, that part made me cry too, but its only with modern insight i guess that these sorts of things show up as so glaringly Wrong!
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I was really looking forward that movie. But after I watched it, I was left with bitter aftertaste. Yes, I can't deny that the movie was made skillfuly. But I am just unable to get through so many things.
As far as I know, biographical part was not completely correct. Portrayal of Lilly/Einar as two different persons reminded me of some kind of dissociative personality disorder rather than transsexuality, with Lilly personality having way lower IQ than original Einar. I also can't help but consider Lilly's movements and overall presentation exaggerated. It was like kind of caricature of femininity with so many stereotypes put into it that sometimes I felt a little bit offended.
On the other side, Gerda, Einar's wife, completely stole the show for me. In my opinion she offered more appropriate portrayal of femininity and I repeatedly caught myself relating more to her than to Lilly/Einar.
I see the movie as a cis-gender director's approach to transgender problematics with target audience being mostly cis-gender. I don't think it will help to alleviate transgeder stigma. For some people this can be even repulsive. Just imagine what would think wife of a crossdresser after watching this movie?
Sorry for being so negative, but I just had to tell someone
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I haven't seen the movie but did read the book a few years back. From what you've all said it sounds as if the movie is a fair representation of the book. Many parts were heart wrenching, but the last scene in the book did bring tears to my eyes.
