The Danish Girl Movie Poster Image

The Danish Girl

age 17+
(i)

 

Great performance in fact-based transgender story.
Watch
Write a review
See all 3 user reviews
  • Review Date: November 27, 2015
  • Rated: R
  • Genre: Drama
  • Release Year: 2015
  • Running Time: 120 minutes

The Danish Girl gallery

What parents need to know

Positive messages

Explores the emotional and spiritual pain of feeling trapped, as well as the social problems that come with being misunderstood (and seen as a "freak"). Offers empathy and support for people who want to express who they are inside.

Positive role models

Lili isn't perfect, but she could be an inspiration to LGBTQ viewers who are looking to understand their feelings and find a connection to the world around them. Gerda does her best to support and accept Lili for who she is.

Violence

Two bullies beat Lili up. Bloody face. A bloody nose. Arguing. Brief fish gutting.

Sex

Male character's naked bottom shown -- also full-frontal view (in front of a mirror), with tucked-in penis. Naked female breasts and bottom. A man watches a woman stripping and caressing herself in a "peep show" booth. A transgender woman and a man kiss; he grabs her crotch. A married couple has sex in bed and is comfortable with each other undressing. A book includes an explicit drawing of a penis. Sexy nightgown.

Language

"Vagina."

Consumerism
Not applicable
Drinking, drugs, & smoking

Cigarette and cigar smoking. Drinking champagne in a social setting. Main character takes prescription pills.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that The Danish Girl is based on the true story of the first transgender person to attempt a sex-change operation (played by Oscar winner Eddie Redmayne), and it could prove inspiring to transgender/LGTBQ viewers and those connected to or concerned about them. The sexual content and discussions about transgenderism are handled thoughtfully and carefully, but you can expect scenes of graphic male and female nudity (including full-frontal images) and sex. Bullies beat up the main character (some blood shown), and there are some intense discussions. Language isn't really an issue, but because the story is set in the 1920s, characters smoke cigarettes frequently. There's also cigar smoking, social drinking (champagne), and some prescription pill use.

What's the story?

In early 1920s Copenhagen, Einar Wegener (Eddie Redmayne) and his wife, Gerda (Alicia Vikander), are happily living and working as artists. When a model doesn't show up one day, Gerda asks Einar to pose while wearing a dress. Einar finds the experience profoundly changing and decides he wants to go to a party dressed as a woman; Gerda cheerfully agrees. After a tentative kiss from a partygoer (Ben Whishaw), it becomes clear that this is more than just dress-up for Einar. He realizes that he already considers himself a woman, whom he calls Lili, and is trapped in the wrong body. Einar begins living as Lili, and when she learns of a surgeon (Sebastian Koch) who has developed an experimental procedure to change a person's sex, Lili knows she has no choice but to try.

Is it any good?

QUALITY

Best director Oscar-winner Tom Hooper has delivered another ready-made movie for awards season -- polite, highly polished, and perhaps a bit safe, but with another great performance by Redmayne. The star (who won the Academy Award for The Theory of Everything) achieves another complete transformation here, subtly changing from awkward to comfortable in his female identity. The Gerda role is less strong; she only gets to react to Einar/Lili, and Vikander can't fully bring her to life.

THE DANISH GIRL is somewhat disappointingly handled with kid gloves; it's soft, falling back on montages and skipping over emotional uncertainties. But Hooper (The King's Speech, Les Miserables) and cinematographer Danny Cohen mirror the main characters' artistic creations with strikingly beautiful landscapes, and Hooper adds drama with his trademark use of characters placed in odd corners of the frame. Ultimately, it has some interesting things to say about sexual identity, and it's a good stepping stone.

Families can talk about...

  • Families can talk about how The Danish Girl handles the subject of sexuality. How much is shown and not shown? How does the tone of the nude scenes vary? Are some more "sexual" than others? Why do you think that is?

  • Talk about being transgender and what kinds of issues someone might face upon feeling as though they were born into the wrong physical body. Do you think the movie explains the situation well?

  • What do you think made the bully characters so angry about Lili's presence? Why do people often react violently to things they fear or don't understand?

Movie details

Theatrical release date:November 27, 2015
DVD release date:March 1, 2016
Cast:Eddie Redmayne, Alicia Vikander, Matthias Schoenaerts
Director:Tom Hooper
Studio:Focus Features
Genre:Drama
Run time:120 minutes
MPAA rating:R
MPAA explanation:some sexuality and full nudity
Awards/Honors:Academy Award

This review of The Danish Girl was written by

Jeffrey M. Anderson
Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are conducted by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.

Quality

Our star rating assesses the media's overall quality.

Find out more

Learning ratings

  • Best: Really engaging; great learning approach.
  • Very Good: Engaging; good learning approach.
  • Good: Pretty engaging; good learning approach.
  • Fair: Somewhat engaging; OK learning approach.
  • Not for Learning: Not recommended for learning.
  • Not for Kids: Not age-appropriate for kids; not recommended for learning.

Find out more

About these links

Common Sense Media, a nonprofit organization, earns a small affiliate fee from Amazon or iTunes when you use our links to make a purchase. Thank you for your support.

Read more

About Our Rating System

The age displayed for each title is the minimum one for which it's developmentally appropriate. We recently updated all of our reviews to show only this age, rather than the multi-color "slider." Get more information about our ratings.

Great handpicked alternatives

For kids who love dramas

LGBTQ Movies for Teens
Drama Movies That Tug at the Heartstrings
See all recommended movie lists

Browse more movies

Top advice and articles

What parents and kids say

See all user reviews

Share your thoughts with other parents and kids Write a user review

A safe community is important to us. Please observe our guidelines

Teen, 17 years old Written byangryspider229 November 29, 2015
age 18+

Inspiring but slow trangender story has explicit sex, nudity

The Danish Girl is a good, but flawed film about the first transgendered person to have the surgery. (3.5/5) Sex (5/5) Explicit scenes of nudity including full frontal male nudity, full frontal female nudity and breasts. Violence (2/5) One scene where the main character is beat up because he is dressing as a woman. There is blood shown in this scene Language (0/5) No profanity
What other families should know
Great messages
Great role models
Too much sex
Was this review useful?
Flag as inappropriate 
Parent of a 18+ year old Written byValdoria March 4, 2016
age 18+

objectification of women

Another sad story about an employee going to work and being forced to be a stripper while the audience has boobs forced upon them. We only want to see a story unfold, we are not peeping toms who like to creep into the bedrooms and watch people get naked. If only directors respected their employees and audience. I do not wish to get to 3rd base with a stranger I don't even know.
What other families should know
Too much sex
Was this review useful?
Flag as inappropriate 
Kid, 9 years old April 5, 2016
age 18+

Great, but very graphic and disturbing drama breaks hearts.

My rating:R for strong sexual content, some graphic nudity, and brief language.
Was this review useful?
Flag as inappropriate 

See all user reviews

Poll

Did our review help you make an informed decision about this product?

Family Media Agreement