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

2. There's No Bigger Point

The Danish Girl is about Lili. And no, I don't mean just in terms of the story being about her - the entire moral of the film seems to be simply that she was an impressive trailblaser, changing the world in her own, personal way. Which, in all fairness, she did, but it doesn't quite strike as an expansive point to make. There is a cursory attempt at making it a parable about the strength of the human spirit, but the loggerheaded decision to keep things so tight ensure that this only comes across as an increasingly desperate attempt to imbue the story with more importance when there isn't any. This is one of the biggest, most hollow elements of Oscar bait - the cynical attempt to try and make something impactful that falls flat thanks to coasting on an already innately emotive event. There's nothing wrong with having a film that simply and plainly tells a great story, but when it's trying to be something more without actually doing anything it's nauseating.