Why ‘The Danish Girl’ took so long to grow up

Danish Girl posterWhen a movie isn’t blockbuster fodder, getting it made is all about timing. Just ask the people behind “The Danish Girl,” a film set in 1920s Copenhagen, based on the true story of a married man who realizes he wants, more than anything else, to become a woman.

“The Danish Girl” stars last year’s Best Actor Oscar winner Eddie Redmayne as Einar/Lili and Alicia Vikander as his supportive wife, Gerda. As painters, Einar and Gerda were members of the avant-garde in a society with stiflingly strict views on manhood and marriage.

The movie was adapted from the novel of the same name, which was published in 2000, by Pasadena-native David Ebershoff; it was the first of his four books. During the film’s long journey to the screen, financial commitment waxed and waned. In the end, “The Danish Girl” had an estimated budget, according to imdb.com, of about $25,000,000.

The unconventional subject matter made some people skittish, said producer Anne Harrison at a press event Friday at Il Cielo in Beverly Hills. “There was always something that went wrong.”

Harrison, who joined the project in 2005, said she was drawn to the material because it’s a powerful love story and a unique portrait of a relationship that faces an unexpected test. Those elements of love and challenge, she believes, appeal to a wide audience. And the movie will hit screens (it opens this weekend) at a time when transgender stories are in the pop-culture spotlight.

“We had to wait until the time came to us,” Harrison said, referring to shows such as “Transparent,” “Orange is the New Black” and the media hullabaloo earlier this year over Caitlyn (formerly Bruce) Jenner’s public revelation that she lives as a woman. “That completely changed the landscape. In the end, we landed in such a great moment in the culture.”

They also landed a great cast. Vikander delivers a moving performance as the loyal Gerda and Redmayne is remarkable in this transformative role. Over the years it took to get the film made, Charlize Theron, Rachel Weisz and Gwyneth Paltrow were said to be considering the Gerda role. Another idea on the table was for Nicole Kidman to play Einar/Lili.

Harrison said the project solidified once director Tom Hooper was on board. Hooper is best known for 2010’s “The King’s Speech,” which won four Oscars, including best director, and for “Les Misérables,” from 2012, which starred Redmayne. Hooper and Redmayne read the script as they were making “Les Misérables.”

Hooper said he thought “The Danish Girl” was the best screenplay he’d ever read. “It’s a relationship going through profound change.”

Said Redmayne: “I found it extraordinarily passionate and deeply felt.”

The film’s lengthy gestation also gave Redmayne ample time to prepare. His natural physicality along with input from movement choreographer Alex Reynolds were helpful in capturing Lili, said Hooper. “A lot of film actors get lazy below the neck.”

Screenwriter Lucinda Coxon became acquainted with the novel and its historical sources when her daughter was a kindergartner. Coxon said her daughter, now evaluating universities, recently saw the film at a screening and was asked what she thought. She commented sagely: “It was a long time coming.”

In noirish ‘Clouds,’ Juliette Binoche and Kristen Stewart shine

At a recent press screening, several of my fellow critics and I were lamenting the lack of good movies released so far this year. It’s about time for some titles worth touting.

Clouds of Sils Maria poster with JB KSThe one standout, most of us agreed, is French writer/director Olivier Assayas’ “Clouds of Sils Maria,” a drama with neo-noir elements (set in Sils Maria, Switzerland) that revolves around a high-profile actress, exuding poise and sophistication, named Maria Enders (Juliette Binoche).

Maria’s enviable career comes full circle when she is talked into making the ultimate encore: She will return to the play that spurred her success 20 years before, though this time she will star as the older women whose life is falling apart. Cast as the luscious ingénue in this rendition is a Hollywood bad girl struggling to steer clear of the tabloids and be taken seriously as an actress (Chloë Grace Moretz). Kristen Stewart co-stars as Maria’s smart, cynical and chicly bespectacled assistant, Valentine.

We are introduced to Maria and Valentine on a train as it solemnly chugs though gorgeous mountain country and the story of these two women, a generation apart, unfolds like a long journey — freeing and claustrophobic, intimate and impersonal, predestined yet random and mysterious. We see the boundaries of their intense relationship stretch, fray and then suddenly, frighteningly vanish.

“Clouds of Sils Maria,” beautifully shot, impeccably cast and confidently directed, has deservedly garnered much praise, especially for the superb performances from leads Binoche and Stewart. (Never having seen “Twilight,” I am now a big Stewart fan).

Suspenseful and sly, wistful and resonant, “Clouds” should not be missed.

Ex Machina posterMeanwhile, many reviewers have been impressed with first-time director Alex Garland’s “Ex Machina” (Garland also wrote the script). This sleek sci-fi thriller is crisply smart, coolly shot with a chilly color palette and well acted. In fact, I failed to recognize Oscar Isaac as the mad but muted scientist. Domhnall Gleeson plays a young techie who wins the chance to assess the emotional intelligence of a sexy female robot — a truly heartless femme fatale (Alicia Vikander). It sounds good and looks great but somehow the film overall felt slightly shallow and short on ideas.

Similarly, “True Story,” fails to live up to its potential, despite grisly real-life details. James Franco plays Christian Longo, an Oregon man who received the death sentence in 2003 for murdering his family. While on the run in Mexico, Longo impersonated a journalist named Mike Finkel (Jonah Hill). In need of a career boost after being fired by the New York Times for making up one of the interviewees in a magazine story, Finkel agreed to write about Longo and later published a memoir about his experience.

True Story posterFranco and Hill are compelling as is Felicity Jones as Finkel’s girlfriend. But director and co-writer Rupert Goold loses his way and the storytelling soon becomes murky.

Also, it’s a bit hard to take “True Story” seriously when it depicts the New York Times newsroom as a place where reporters raucously drink beer and play poker after submitting their stories. (Or maybe it’s just hard to take James Franco seriously after the fiasco that was “Child of God”). But it’s been a few weeks since I’ve seen it and nothing much of the movie has stuck with me. Still, there are worse ways to kill two hours.

Also drawing mixed but mostly good reviews is Levan Gabriadze’s debut feature “Unfriended,” a horror flick that takes place entirely on the small screen, ie Skype and Facebook. Shelley Hennig leads a cast of high-school friends who are harassed by a mysterious cyber-stalker. It’s a clever gimmick and the acting’s good, but other than that, “Unfriended” tells a same-old same-old story about the secrets and betrayals of teen friendships and romance.