It is 1926 and noted Danish painters Einar and Gerda Wegener (Eddie Redmayne - The Theory Of Everything, Alicia Vikander - Testament Of Youth) are hopelessly and helplessly in love with one another. They're something of a power couple on the creative circuit, especially once Gerda's emerging talent finds its muse. What neither of them could foresee was just how destructive that muse would become.

The Danish Girl is the highly anticipated follow-up by Tom Hooper, director of multi-award winning The King's Speech. Based on the novel by David Ebershoff, it is already picking up a slew of nominations that are super-charging audience expectation. The film also rides high on the Zeitgeist and it's enthusiasm for all things transgender, a path paved by Transamerica nearly a decade ago and more recently by TV's Transparent. As it turns out, this is the fly in Gerda's ointment. In asking Einar to pose as a woman for one of her paintings, then to take 'her' to a social function for a laugh, they release his long suppressed true-self. Goodbye Einer, hello Lili.

What follows is one woman's journey to personal happiness as she navigates bigotry, discrimination, institutional ignorance and a marriage in free fall. She also takes the extraordinary step to embark on corrective surgery, the first person in the world to do so at a time when the chances of success were less than low. Powerful stuff.

The Danish Girl is a truly fascinating story yet for all its promise, one that doesn't quite meet expectation. Favouring a melodramatic tone and extravagant production (here is an eye-wateringly beautiful film), the result is something to be appreciated rather than wallowed in. Gerda's unfailing support as she looses a husband but gains a wife is indicative of the ultra-positive, (Danish?) world in which Lili emerges. It is enhanced by super-supportive characters such as Einar's old friend, now Gerda's confidant, Hans (Matthais Schoenaerts - A Little Chaos). All this may well be historically accurate but the lack of grit, this lack of edge, creates a sense that the story has been air-brushed (and often with treacle).

Fortunately, Redmayne is on hand with a daring, enlightened performance. Although criticised for not being 'womanly enough' in some quarters, his Lili is never less than convincing. For here is a presence that resonates as a person struggling to kill the outer man while learning to become a woman. Despite the lavish costuming (Lili always looks her very best), it's an elegant, stripped-down interpretation that turns on the simplest of gestures and is amassing well deserved award nominations.

Like so many sweet treats, The Danish Girl is tasty but not particularly filling. And while it doesn't hit the mark (it's too long and ultimately too soft for that), it remains a compelling portrait of a transgender trailblazer. Add an uplifting love story anchored by strong performances neatly wrapped in sumptuous production, and you could go a lot, lot further to get much, much less.

// COLIN FRASER

Previewed at Verona Cinema, Sydney, on 18 January 2016