The Danish Girl marks the second year in a row that Eddie Redmayne has been caught up in all that award’s business due to a transformative performance. While last year’s Theory of Everything saw him playing Stephen Hawking, The Danish Girl has him step into the life of Einar Wegener, who went on to be known as Lili, after she became the first person to undergo gender reassignment surgery.
Testament of Youth
Testament of Youth is based on the First World War memoir of the same name, which was written by Vera Brittain. The novel has been widely proclaimed as a classic, as it represented the one female voice among a plethora of males ones looking at the war. It has previously been presented as a TV production, but this is the first time it has made its way to the big screen, under the direction of James Kent.
Ex Machina
Making the leap into the directorial chair has scuppered many respected figures within the film industry. Last year, Wally Pfister made the transition from cinematographer to director with Transcendence, a science fiction film that was universally panned. This year, we see Alex Garland, the writer of films like 28 Days Later and Sunshine, make a similar jump with his debut directorial feature, Ex Machina.