See Eddie Redmayne Aim For Oscar As Lili Elbe In The Danish Girl‘s Trailer

Names like Laverne Cox and Caitlyn Jenner instantly come to mind when talking about transgender groundbreakers these days. But this fall you’ll likely be talking about Lili Elbe. Elbe is the historical heroine at the center of the new film starring Eddie Redmayne, The Danish Girl, the trailer for which was released this morning. The trailer hones in on the love story between Lili (née Einar) and her wife Gerda Wegener, played by Alicia Vikander, the Swedish actress who has been in just about everything this year. Gerda encourages Lili to dress in women’s clothing and paints her. And while she appears hurt when she sees Lili kissing a man (Ben Whishaw), she does not abandon her spouse as Lili explains that her being a woman is not the "game" that Gerda thought it was. “The fact is, I believe that I’m a woman,” Lili says. “And I believe it too,” Gerda adds. The trailer ends as Lili says, “I love you because you’re the only person who made sense of me, who made me possible." The film, which is based on the novel by David Ebershoff, is directed by The King’s Speech and Les Miserables helmer Tom Hooper. Should you be angling for Hooper’s close ups, it seems that The Danish Girl will not fail you in that regard. The film looks downright painterly — appropriate since the protagonists are painters. So will this film be up for all of the Oscars? Or just some of the Oscars? Redmayne is the reigning Best Actor winner for his performance in The Theory of Everything, and at this point it seems unlikely that we won’t be talking about his performance as Lili by the time the ceremony rolls around.