“Tom wanted to reach as many people as possible and be mindful of exploring a Patti Smith/Robert Mapplethorpe relationship.” Oliver wanted to be clear that it’s “a film about individuals, not just gender identity. It’s about having the courage to be yourself. Gerda’s compassion went out to Lili and she painted portraits of her up until she died.”
Although The Danish Girl is based on the 2000 book by David Ebershoff, Oliver revealed that Hooper also liked to refer to Lili’s diaries. Lili Elbe (played by Oscar winner, Eddie Redmayne), formerly Einar Wegener, pioneered the transgender community. Her life was complex and tragic and she had planned on killing herself as a means to end the internal turmoil of feeling as though she was two people within the same body. With the encouragement of a progressive doctor and Gerda, Lili’s plans were thwarted and she was able to live in an unconventional marriage for a time. In Lili’s diaries, she thanks Gerda for being stronger than she could ever be.
Oliver confessed that this film, out of all her work with Hooper was especially challenging to work on, because there was no storyboarding. “Tom shoots very intensely, like a documentary. He doesn’t shoot in a systematic way. As an editor, that’s a lot of material to get through.” Throughout it all, she was “trying to get to the honesty. It’s empowering, but not a celebration. The assemblies are long and I was sculpting it down.”
Although Oliver noted that she didn’t know much about the subject matter at first, she didn’t want the film to be an alienating world. To her, the story is about individual courage, and the wherewithal to stand for who you truly are in life.