The Danish Girl Review - 5 Reasons It's Nothing But Oscar Bait

4. An Opening That Makes No Sense

A key side effect of the incredibly tight narrative focus is that the movie barrels straight into the story without really setting up the location, situations or characters. Instead we get it all given in expository back-story, and it's here where the film makes it's most inexplicably bizarre creative choice. When we're introduced to Einar, his agent proclaims "I'm not saying he's the best painter in Denmark, but he's definitely in the top one." After the event, the Wegener's saunter back home and repeat the praise in a mocking tone. Now this is just plain weird. That's a self-aggrandising quote from Brian Clough, legendary football manager, repurposed as a coy bit of promotion. Now it's clearly on in-joke on Hooper's part, shouting out to his own Clough biopic The Damned United (which still stands as his best movie), but why? It immediately pulls anyone who's going to get it out of the movie, while those unfamiliar with the link will just find it a bit brash. You have to admire the frugality of course - the line manages to provide the location, vocation, ability and social standing of its main characters in so few words - but it's utterly pointless and sets the drab opening off to a poor start.