The Danish Girl

Looking for a great film that is different, interesting, and full of drama? Then The Danish Girl is for you. The Danish Girl, directed by Tom Hooper, is a biographical romantic drama inspired by the book, The Danish Girl, by David Ebershoff. The film is about a painter named Einar Wegener, who was one of the first known people to get a sex change surgery. His surgery affects his wife and eventually their marriage. The film stars Eddie Redmayne, as Einar Wegener/Lili Elbe, Alicia Vikander, as Gerda Wegener, and Matthias Schoenaerts, as Hans Axgil.  The actors have garnered many nominations and praises from critics for their outstanding performances. Some awards won were Academy Awards, Critic’s Choice Awards, Satellite Awards and Screen Actors Guild Awards for best supporting actress by Alicia Vikander. The movie also received mostly positive reviews from the critics.  One critic has stated, “What Hooper has crafted is a work of probing intelligence and passionate heart.” Another has said, “Vikander is excellent, Redmayne is tremendous and Hooper does a great job harnessing the performers to get to the emotional truth of the story.” As shown, Hooper did a great job in capturing the struggle of self-­acceptance by Lili and the themes of marriage, love, art, and culture

The Revenant

“Leonardo DiCaprio, Oscar winner” are the four words everyone has been waiting. DiCaprio finally took home the Oscar, this year, for his incredible work in The Revenant. The Revenant is a 2015 American historical drama directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu in which you see Hugh Glass, played by DiCaprio, fighting for survival after experiencing life-threatening injuries from a brutal bear attack and being left dead by his own hunting team. An incredible way to spend two and a half hours is by watching this film that chases transcendence in every way possible. What really kept people watching this movie was the excellent portrayal of the character himself, along with the thrill of finding out what horrendous thing will happen next.  Extreme cold, horrific bear attacks, and the enthusiasm in this movie is what led it to get three Oscars. As seen in the movie, the moral is nothing more complicated than, “don’t give up,” which DiCaprio delivers beautifully.