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                THE DANISH GIRL


                  Written by

                 Lucinda Coxon



             Based on the novel by

               David Ebershoff
              




EXT. KATTEGAT SEA, JUTLAND, DENMARK, 1920'S, DAY

FADE IN:

A rectangle of ferociously stormy sea viewed from battered
cliffs. Silver waves are whipped by a wind that flies at us,
stinging, relentless. Somewhere, unseen in the barren
landscape, something is at its mercy - we hear the RUSTLE and
PUNCH of the weather going at it...

                                                       DISSOLVE TO:


INT. WOMAN'S EYE

The same scene reflected across the surface of a woman's
brown eye, intense with emotion, curiosity. Gradually, the
WEATHER SOUNDS are overtaken by VOICES coming up. At first
the SOCIAL CHATTER is PERIPHERAL, then the VOICES grow more
STRIDENT, OPPRESSIVE. The eye blinks.


INT. GALLERY, COPENHAGEN, DENMARK, EVENING

A painting of the same sea, captured with remarkable accuracy
of feeling. A HUBBUB OF GABBLING VOICES. Too many people in
a low-ceilinged room. One voice dominates now -

                     OLDER WOMAN (O.S.)
           Don't you wish you could paint like
           that?

We pull out to see GERDA WEGENER'S brown eyes shift from deep      *
scrutiny of the painting to polite social focus as she takes
in an excited OLDER WOMAN.

                     GERDA
           I'm sorry...?

                     OLDER WOMAN
           I said, don't you wish you could
           paint like your husband? Really - you must
           be so proud...

The woman smiles and heads into the crowd, leaving Gerda to
consider... Gerda's gaze travels across the well-dressed
gathering. Far off in a corner, there's an inner circle
where her handsome husband EINAR WEGENER is being showered
with praise. A portly goateed man dominates the scene -
RASMUSSEN, Einar's dealer.

                     RASMUSSEN
           They're all Veijle, where he grew
           up.

                                                     (CONTINUED)
                                                   26/11/15
                                                         2.
CONTINUED:

Gerda begins walking toward them through the throng...

                       RASMUSSEN (cont'd)
             And I don't say my client is
             the best landscape artist in
             Denmark... but, he is in the top
             one!

Einar cringes as the crowd laughs, delighted. An exotic-
looking woman with mischief playing on her full lips
approaches Gerda. This is ULLA FONSMARCK. They're friends.

                       ULLA
                 (a stage whisper)
             It's going very well.

                        GERDA
             Oh yes.   He'll be impossible.

The women LAUGH. As Gerda looks up, Einar looks across,
smiles, trapped in his corner. Gerda nods back, reassuring,
conspiratorial. Then Einar's pulled back into the select
circle and Rasmussen emits a ridiculous barking LAUGH.


EXT. COPENHAGEN STREET, NIGHT

Gerda and Einar, arm in arm, LAUGHING. Gerda wears a
distinctively embroidered fine wool wrap. Their FOOTSTEPS
ring down the empty street. A patina of crystallised brine
coats doorways, windows, scintillating in the moonlight.

                       GERDA
             And Rasmussen...

                       EINAR
             Oh, come on. Be kind.
             At least he agreed to see your work.


                       GERDA
             Only because he was drunk!

                          EINAR
             I know.

                       GERDA
             You were loving it!

                          EINAR
             I was not.

She mimics Rasmussen, his ludicrous excitement:

                       GERDA
             "I don't say my client is the best
             landscape artist in Denmark..."

                                                      (CONTINUED)
                                                    26/11/15
                                                         3.
CONTINUED:

                        EINAR
             "But..."

                       GERDA
             "He is in the top one!"

They LAUGH hard.     Someone calls from an upstairs window:

                       MAN AT WINDOW
             Hey - people are sleeping!

The window SLAMS. Gerda and Einar struggle to quieten down,
head for the dancing harbour lights - partners in crime.


EXT. HARBOUR, NEXT MORNING

- MAIN TITLES BEGIN -

Fishermen selling straight off the boats to early-rising
customers. Prices are loudly negotiated as the silver catch
still writhes and flaps. A city coming to life.


INT. THE WIDOW HOUSE, BEDROOM, MORNING

Gerda carries in a breakfast tray. Einar sleeps. She observes
his face: long eyelashes, cheeks hollow in repose, delicate
lips. A little dog, HVAPPE, trots beside her. She puts down
the tray and throws back the bedcover. Einar blinks in the
light, surprised. He stretches, takes in the silhouetted
outline of his wife: tall, purposeful Gerda.

                       GERDA
             Do you know what time it is?

He smiles, sweetly suggestive of pleasure to come...

                       EINAR
             Time you came back to bed?

                       GERDA
             No - I'm ready to start work.

                       EINAR
             Draw down the blinds.

She holds back, teases a little.

                       GERDA
             I told you, I...

                        EINAR
             Gerda...

                        GERDA
             What?

                                                     (CONTINUED)
                                                   26/11/15
                                                            4.
CONTINUED:

She takes him in, smiling up at her.     Shakes her head.

                       GERDA (cont'd)
             Your face... You think I can't resist
             you...

                       EINAR
             Do you want to resist me?

She approaches the edge of the bed, smiling herself now.

                       GERDA
             No. But I'd like you to ask nicely
             so I don't feel such a pushover...

Einar reaches towards her.

                       EINAR
             Gerda Wegener - my life, my wife...

He pulls her into bed... A skittish piano comes up as they
laugh, begin to make love. Continues over:


EXT. STREET OUTSIDE COPENHAGEN OPERA HOUSE

Einar crosses the road, heads for the Opera House.


INT. OPERA HOUSE, STAGE DOOR

Einar greets the doorman, THORBJORN.

                          EINAR
             Thorbjorn.

                       STAGE DOORMAN
             Mr Wegener.


INT. OPERA HOUSE, COSTUME SHOP, ONE MONTH LATER, DAY

Einar walks between racks of clothes that hang in two tiers
so the ruffled and feathered hems of jewel-coloured gowns
brush his cheeks. An explicit sensual pleasure, which Einar
is conscious of but feels no need to investigate. He pauses.
The ARIA ceases, he hears women CHATTING, sometimes DROPPING
THEIR VOICES, emitting DIRTY LAUGHS, which make him smile and
wonder. A stolen intimacy. Einar spies on Ulla, below -

                          ULLA (O.S.)
             Tighter!

Ulla is being pulled into a corset by a DRESSER. Einar leans
forward for a better view... She spots him - is delighted,
breaks free for a moment.


                                                       (CONTINUED)
                                                     26/11/15
                                                          5.
CONTINUED:

                       ULLA (cont'd)
             Einar Wegener!

The DRESSER hands Ulla a robe to cover up, but:

                       ULLA (cont'd)
             Oh don't worry about him - he's only ever
             had eyes for one woman.

                       EINAR
             My guilty secret's out.

He smiles at her, indulgent.      She calls up to him -

                       ULLA
             So - when are you two going to breed me a
             godchild?

                       EINAR
             You're an atheist.

                       ULLA
             I'll reconsider.

                       EINAR
             We're trying.

                       ULLA
             Try harder. I've been waiting an eternity.
             Have you tried drinking raw eggs?

                        EINAR
             No.

                        ULLA
             Do it.   For my sake.

Einar shakes his head.     She's impossible and he adores her.

                       ULLA (cont'd)
             Anyway what are you doing in today? I
             thought you finished last week?

                       EINAR
             I wanted to check on the scrim for the
             storm scene. And give Gerda some space.

                       ULLA
             Ah - she's got a shy one.

Einar nods, smiles.     Ulla prepares to resume her fitting.

                       ULLA (cont'd)
             You know I'm next?

                       EINAR
             So I heard.

                                                       (CONTINUED)
                                                     26/11/15
                                                           6.
CONTINUED:

                       ULLA
             I won't be shy.

                       EINAR
             I should imagine not.

                       ULLA
             Good God, she'll need all her colours for
             me!

They LAUGH and Ulla signals to the dresser to pull at the
corset once more, smiles in delighted anticipation of the
discomfort to come.


INT. WIDOW HOUSE, STUDIO, DAY

MR FONNESBECH in a chair on a slightly raised dais. He is
formally dressed, somewhat stiff. The room is oppressively
still. Gerda looks up from her canvas, goes to adjust
Fonnesbech's arm. He is clearly affected by being touched,
embarrassed. She returns to the canvas. After an
uncomfortable couple of moments:

                       FONNESBECH
             I wanted to say... I appreciate our being
             alone today. I hope your husband doesn't
             mind.

                       GERDA
             Not at all. I could see his being here
             made you uncomfortable.

                       FONNESBECH
             It wasn't personal.

Gerda smiles.      Shakes her head - he shouldn't worry:

                       GERDA
             It's not uncommon.

                        FONNESBECH
             Ah.

Fonnesbech's relieved.     Though he's left with questions.

                       GERDA
             It's hard for a man to be looked at by a
             woman. Women are used to it, of course,
             but for a man...

Mr Fonnesbech begins to look wildly vulnerable.

                       GERDA (cont'd)
             To... submit to a woman's gaze.   It's
             unsettling...

Fonnesbech nods, relieved - that's exactly it.
                                                        (CONTINUED)
                                                      26/11/15
                                                            7.
CONTINUED:

                       GERDA (cont'd)
             Although I believe there's some pleasure to
             be had from it, once you...

She smiles mischievously.

                          GERDA (cont'd)
             ...yield.

Fonnesbech swallows, cheeks pinking.       Suddenly:

                          GERDA (cont'd)
             Sit!

Fonnesbech flinches.       The dog settles.   Fonnesbech exhales.

                          GERDA (cont'd)
             Good girl.

Gerda returns to work, eyes glinting at what she's revealed
in her sitter: finally getting somewhere.


EXT. WIDOW HOUSE, MONTHS LATER

A CHINESE LAUNDRESS with a large wheeled cart makes her way
along the street, RINGING a pair of little BELLS as she goes.


INT. WIDOW HOUSE, MORNING

Einar quickly but carefully folds Gerda's chemise and puts it
in a bag of laundry, hurries to open the door...


INT/EXT. WIDOW HOUSE, EARLY MORNING, A MONTH LATER

Einar hands the bag to the laundress as she passes.


INT. WIDOW HOUSE, BEDROOM, MORNING

Gerda at the mirror, putting on her lipstick. Einar comes
in, reacts, seeing her dressed up. She's self-conscious.

                          GERDA
             Well?

Einar can't help smiling at her implied self-criticism.

                         EINAR
             Perfect.    Almost.

He approaches, uses his thumb to gently blend away a smudge
of lipstick from her bottom lip. He nods. Perfect now.

                       EINAR (cont'd)
             Good luck...

                                                       26/11/15
                                                         8.


EXT. BUSY COPENHAGEN STREET, DAY

Gerda carries her heavy portfolio, optimistic, brisk.


INT. ART DEALER'S OFFICE, DAY

Rasmussen's face - a look of slight distaste. A sea of
Gerda's work, on the desk, the floor - competent but
uninspiring naturalistic depictions of society figures.

                    RASMUSSEN
          All portraits...

Gerda hesitates a beat, the fact being so self-evident.

                    GERDA
          Is that bad?

                    RASMUSSEN
          Not per se, but... this kind of work is not
          really my...

He winces a little.   He has to end this:

                    RASMUSSEN (cont'd)
          Gerda... I don't think it would benefit
          either of us to show these.

A vein begins to throb in Gerda's neck.

                    RASMUSSEN (cont'd)
          It's not a judgement on your abilities - I
          agree with Einar: you could be a first
          class painter if you found the right
          subject matter.

It's the first time Gerda's heard this.     Her eyes shine,
stung, betrayed.


INT. WIDOW HOUSE, STUDIO, DAY

Einar works, hears the door. Gerda brings in the portfolio,
sets it down, starts taking off her coat. Einar's tentative:

                    EINAR
          How was it?

                      GERDA
          Fine.

He waits for more, but nothing comes.

                    EINAR
          I finally mixed the right colour for the
          snow.

                                                     (CONTINUED)
                                                   26/11/15
                                                           9.
CONTINUED:

Gerda glances at the canvas, hostile.

                       GERDA
             Another view of Vejle. I don't know how
             you can paint the same thing over and over.

Einar misses a beat.

                       EINAR
             I suppose I just haven't finished with it
             yet.

Gerda heads towards the door.

                          EINAR (cont'd)
             Gerda..?

                       GERDA
             Could you please not speak to Rasmussen
             about me again... My work is my business.
             Stay out of it.

But she disappears into the bedroom, the door slamming
emphatically behind her. Einar's left bewildered.


INT. BEDROOM, DAY

Gerda's already regretting the exchange with Einar. She
unfastens her dress, pulls it off. There's a bloodstain in
her underwear. Damn! She breathes.


INT. STUDIO, DAY

Einar working as Gerda reappears. She's composed now,
refocused, approaches her easel, organises her paints.      Einar
steals a look at her, but says nothing. Works on.
Eventually:

                       GERDA
             I have my period.

                          EINAR (O.S.)
             I'm sorry.

                          GERDA
             Are you?

She turns to find him approaching.

                       EINAR
             Of course I am... You know I am.

A moment of quiet intimacy between them. Gerda shies away,
returns to present concerns... her work...


                                                     (CONTINUED)
                                                   26/11/15
                                                          10.
CONTINUED:

                       GERDA
             Could you help me with something?

Einar's relieved to be able to help.

                         EINAR
             Anything.

                       GERDA
             Ulla has an extra rehearsal. She cancelled
             again. Would you try on her stockings and
             shoes?

Einar's discomfort erupts in a laugh.       Is she serious?

                       GERDA (cont'd)
             I'm just so behind. I don't know how I'll
             be finished in time for her opening...

But he cuts her off:

                       EINAR
             I'll do it. It's fine.

Gerda sets a shoebox and the stocking on the sitter's chair,
goes into the kitchen. Einar moves the box and stockings,
sits in the chair on the dais. The dog leaps up -

                       EINAR (cont'd)
             No... no, not now Hvappe...

He pushes Hvappe down, tests the mesh of the stockings between his
fingers. He rolls up his trousers.

                       EINAR (cont'd)
             He almost snagged this...

Gerda marvels at his delicacy. Scolds the dog:

                         GERDA
             Hvappe...

Gerda mixes paints.      Einar battles with the stockings.

                       GERDA (cont'd)
             That's backwards...

He fiddles with the second stocking now, a light sweat dewing
his forehead by the time he's rolled both to the knee. He
opens a shoebox: - the yellow pair from the shop window.

                       EINAR
             I saw these in the window of
             Fonnesbech's...

                       GERDA
             Smart aren't they?

                                                       (CONTINUED)
                                                     26/11/15
                                                         11.
CONTINUED:

                       EINAR
             I don't think they'll fit...

                       GERDA
             Well just do what you can.

He takes them out... Something catches in Einar's throat as
he pushes his toes into the shoe. Gerda's eyes are narrow as
she starts work. Einar looks down at his feet, partly
contained in the yellow suede, the disjuncture between the
body above and below the knee... he breathes... can't keep
his hands steady. Then:

                        GERDA (cont'd)
             No.   I need the dress.

They both look over to where Ulla's dress hangs. It is white,
weighted with beads at the hem and cuff. Beautiful.

                       EINAR
             Gerda, I'm not putting it on.

                       GERDA
             I haven't asked you to.

She get sit... lays it across him.

                       GERDA (cont'd)
             Would you just relax...? The sooner I
             start, the sooner I finish.

Einar yields reluctantly, as Gerda runs her fingers gently
down his face. Satisfied, Gerda returns to work.

Einar's breathing feels slightly laboured now. The dress
weighs heavily. His head moves slightly, feeling it brush at
his neck. His fingers curl involuntarily around the beaded
cuff. The SOUNDSCAPE becomes heightened: the creak of
Gerda's easel, the jangling of her bracelets, the sound of
the harbour, the wind in the ships' riggings. These combine,
fill his head... until:

                       ULLA (O.S.)
             Well hello, there!

Einar starts... Ulla's in the doorway, delighted, with a huge
bunch of lilies. She starts to LAUGH, and because it's Ulla,
Gerda LAUGHS also. The dog YAPS, excited, confused. Einar's
disoriented. Gerda sees this, stops laughing, but...

                       ULLA (cont'd)
             Oh, don't worry my darling...

She hands the flowers to him, kisses him:

                       ULLA (cont'd)
             We're going to call you Lili...

                                                       (CONTINUED)
                                                     26/11/15
                                                          12.
CONTINUED:

Einar manages to laugh now as the dog runs BARKING in
circles, Ulla's delight banishing the day's frustrations.


EXT. HARBOUR, NIGHT

There are lights on in the Widow House.


INT. WIDOW HOUSE, STUDIO, NIGHT

Gerda closes the book she's been reading, looks up to see
Einar, working, engrossed. An almost trance-like state. She
watches him a while, then approaches, rests her head against
his back. He's comfortable with this, but works on.

                       GERDA
             Such concentration. Sometimes when you're
             working, I think you're going to slip
             through the surface of the painting and
             vanish.

He smiles a little.

                       GERDA (cont'd)
             Sink into the bog. Like your friend's kite
             when you were a boy.

                        EINAR
             Hans.   It was Hans' kite I crashed.

Einar enjoys the memory for a moment.

                       EINAR (cont'd)
             Poor Hans. He was so proud of it...
             I couldn't believe he even let me
             have a turn...

                       GERDA
             He's probably still sitting on a
             rock, sobbing his heart out.

Einar sets down his brush, turns toward her, away from his
work, smiles.

                       EINAR
             He's a dealer in Paris, peddling
             Old Masters to rich Americans.

                       GERDA
             Oh. So we don't need to worry
             about Hans.

                       EINAR
             No we don't.

He takes her in.

                                                      (CONTINUED)
                                                    26/11/15
                                                           13.
CONTINUED:

                       GERDA
             I didn't mean to disturb you.

                       EINAR
             That's okay. I've finished.

He kisses her.

                       EINAR (cont'd)
             And don't worry, I won't disappear into the
             bog.

He widens his eyes, surprised at his own realisation:

                       EINAR (cont'd)
             The bog is in me, silly.

She pushes him off, LAUGHING.


INT. WIDOW HOUSE, BEDROOM, LATER THAT NIGHT

Einar's in bed. Gerda pulls off her dress, looks round to
see him watching her as she lays her stockings over the chair
beside her dressing table.

                       GERDA
             What?

                       EINAR
             Can't a man watch his wife get undressed?

She goes to take off her lace-edged slip, self-conscious now.

                       EINAR (cont'd)
             That slip is new...

                       GERDA
             You're very observant.

                       EINAR
             Leave it on...

She hesitates, but Einar pulls back the sheet... Gerda keeps
the slip on, climbs in beside him. He strokes her body
through the silk...

                       EINAR (cont'd)
             It's very pretty...

                       GERDA
             I might let you borrow it.

Einar shrugs, rising flirtatiously to the challenge.

                       EINAR
             I might enjoy that.

                                                     (CONTINUED)
                                                   26/11/15
                                                           14.
CONTINUED:

Gerda LAUGHS, and Einar kisses her.      She teases:

                       GERDA
             Oh really...? Is there something you'd like
             to tell me?

                      EINAR
             Why...? Is there something you'd like to
             know...?

His fingers trace, quivering, over her...

                       GERDA
             No... I'm your wife.    I know everything.

Einar thrills, pulls her on top of him, a fresh passion,
fresh risk about their union.


INT. COSTUME SHOP, LATER THAT NIGHT

A champagne cork POPS. Ulla's triumphant first night. She's
on magnificent form, working the room. Gerda's portrait hangs
in pride of place. Gerda and Einar chat with a group that
includes their friends NIELS and ELSA. Ulla swoops in,
WHISPERS something in Gerda's ear. Gerda's eyes register
delight as she looks across at two young men on the other
side of the room.

                       GERDA
             Both of them...?

                       ULLA
             And at the same time!

Einar laughs.    Gerda shakes her head.

                       ULLA (cont'd)
             Married people are so delightfully easy to
             shock.

                       EINAR
             We just pretend to be shocked because it
             encourages you.

                       ULLA
             I know. That's why you're the only
             couple in my party for the Artists
             Ball...

                       EINAR
             Out of the question.

                       ULLA
             Oh, I know Einar hates it, but he'll have
             to bear with us.


                                                         (CONTINUED)
                                                       26/11/15
                                                           15.
CONTINUED:

                       EINAR
             She can go without me.

                       ULLA
             Gerda without an escort?   It would be a
             scandal.

                       EINAR
             Gerda loves a scandal.

                       GERDA
             You've had too much champagne.

Niels and Elsa hear this, tune in...

                       EINAR
             Look at the way she dresses, flaunting her
             ankles. An invitation to corruption.

                       GERDA
             I don't think anyone is likely to be
             corrupted by seeing my ankles.

                       EINAR
             I was.

The group laughs delighted by Einar's buoyant mood.

                       EINAR (CONT'D) (cont'd)
             The first time we met, I was leaving the
             Academy, and she was on the steps,
             flaunting said ankles... And she
             propositioned me!

                       ELSA
             Is that true?!

                       GERDA
             It was a dare. But when I said hello to
             him, he actually blushed! He was so shy! So
             I asked him out.

                       ULLA
             And you said yes -

Einar scrutinises Gerda.

                       EINAR
             She made me. She seemed so sure.

                       GERDA
             I was sure. I still am.

                       NIELS
             Oh please - enough!

Elsa elbows him, turns to Gerda.

                                                      (CONTINUED)
                                                    26/11/15
                                                           16.
CONTINUED:

                       ELSA
             No - what was it about him?

Gerda looks at Einar.

                       GERDA
             I don't know...

She remembers, drawing Einar into the recollection.

                       GERDA (cont'd)
             But we went for coffee, and after, I kissed
             him... and it was the strangest thing... it
             was like kissing myself.

A look between Einar and Gerda, a connection crackling.

                       ULLA
             Well these two won't be staying much
             longer...

                       EINAR
             Unmarried people are so delightfully easy
             to shock.

She and Einar smile, make their way towards the door.


INT. BEDROOM, NIGHT

Einar comes in, Gerda's already in bed.    He starts to
undress, turns out the light.

                       GERDA
             Turn it back on.

He looks at her. She shrugs, smiles - it's her turn, after
all... He turns it back on, a little awkward now, undressing
in front of her. She sees this, toughs it out, watching him
anyway.

                       GERDA (cont'd)
             Were you really corrupted by my ankles?

Einar wears just his shirt now, begins to unbutton.

                       EINAR
             You were shameless.

                       GERDA
             I still am.

Einar peels off his shirt. Underneath, he wears Gerda's lace-
edged slip. Gerda GASPS slightly... Einar has outdone her
with this imaginative twist. But she rises to the occasion.
Feels the fabric against his body.


                                                      (CONTINUED)
                                                    26/11/15
                                                         17.
CONTINUED:

                       EINAR
             Beautiful shameless Gerda...

She traces her fingers across his chest, challenged, aroused.


INT. WIDOW HOUSE, BEDROOM, MORNING

Einar asleep, a SCRATCHING sound in the background. We see
quick charcoal strokes on paper, Gerda wrapped in Einar's
dressing gown, at the side of the bed. She's fascinated,
suddenly able to see the femininity of his features, plays
with it, creating a revised Einar... His eyes open...

                       GERDA
             Did I wake you?

He raises his eyebrows, entertained.      What does she think?
She smiles, carries on working.

                       GERDA (cont'd)
             Sorry... I couldn't sleep.

                       EINAR
             Why?

                       GERDA
             Wondering about things.

                       EINAR
             What things?

                       GERDA
             Wondering if we made a baby last night.

Einar smiles, surprised.

                       EINAR
             What d'you think?

Gerda shrugs, keeps sketching.

                       GERDA
             Wondering when you got so pretty.

                       EINAR
             Oh, I was always pretty, you just never
             noticed.

Gerda LAUGHS, keeps working.


INT. WIDOW HOUSE, STUDIO, A WEEK LATER

In the studio, Einar looks at the sketches Gerda has made of
him, darkly fascinated. He hears Gerda come in.


                                                      (CONTINUED)
                                                    26/11/15
                                                        18.
CONTINUED:

                          GERDA (O.S.)
             Hello...?

                          EINAR
             In here...

Gerda comes in, puts down her workbag, takes off her coat.
Einar's still looking at the sketches. Gerda's a little self-
conscious...

                       EINAR (cont'd)
             These are good.

                       GERDA
             Do you think?

He nods, absolutely serious. Gerda absorbs this, gratified.

                       GERDA (cont'd)
             Well thank you. Thank you.

Gerda goes out to hang up her coat, calls -

                       GERDA (cont'd)
             I had coffee with Ulla. She asked
             about the Artists' Ball.

Einar draws breath to protest, but:

                       GERDA (cont'd)
             Don't worry - I told her no.

                       EINAR
             You should go, you enjoy it.

                       GERDA
             With you I enjoy it.

Einar feels guilty.

                       EINAR
             Look - it's good to be seen at those
             things. I understand that.

                       GERDA
             And that's why you hate them.

Gerda shrugs - she gets it.       He smiles.

                       EINAR
             I feel as though I'm performing myself.

                       GERDA
             Giving them your Einar Wegener.

Exactly.   Gerda looks at him a moment.


                                                      (CONTINUED)
                                                    26/11/15
                                                             19.
CONTINUED:

                       GERDA (cont'd)
             Why not give them something different, go
             as someone else?

She tilts her head. A look between them... this is a
departure... Einar hesitates a moment...

                       EINAR
             Did you have someone in particular in mind?

A mischievous smile spreads across Gerda's face... she starts
to laugh, Einar begins to understand... laughs along...

                       EINAR (cont'd)
             No - that's outrageous!

                       GERDA
             You'd be very convincing...    You might even
             enjoy it...

Einar marvels at her... she's only half-joking.


INT. WIDOW HOUSE, BEDROOM, EVENING

Gerda sweeps a layer of foundation over Einar's face.         When
she's done, he opens his eyes. Gerda's taken aback.

                       GERDA
             You'll have to shave closer.

Einar takes in his blanked-out face in the shaving mirror.
Gerda goes to apply eyeliner...

                       GERDA (cont'd)
             Close your eyes... This is hard on someone
             else...

                         EINAR
             Here...

Einar takes the crayon, draws a couple of pretty good lines.

                       EINAR (cont'd)
             How's that?

She marvels at his reflection.      It's bizarrely compelling.

                       GERDA
             Better than I ever manage.

His reflection looks back. Gerda's energy is up...       She
drapes her scarf around his neck...

                         GERDA (cont'd)
             Oh, Lili!    I want to sketch you...


                                                       (CONTINUED)
                                                     26/11/15
                                                         20.
CONTINUED:

She hurries him through to the studio... arranges cushions on
the chaise.

                       GERDA (cont'd)
             Sit!

Einar sits - a distinctive pose.

                       EINAR
             Come on, Hvap!

Hvappe jumps onto his lap. Gerda sketches quickly, absorbed,
excited. She rearranges him, `feminising' his poses.

                       GERDA
             Knee over... head up.. Look at
             those hands... relax...

We see Einar at a series of angles... but his movements are
more and more parodically feminine for Gerda's entertainment.
The more he acts it, the more fun it is, until finally Gerda
scolds, still laughing:

                       GERDA (cont'd)
             No, don't make her a slut!

                       EINAR
             It's your fault, you excite her.

Gerda gets close to pin him still.      His face closes on hers.

                       GERDA
             Why, Miss Lili, you are forward...

                       EINAR
             You have no idea...

He falls on her, laughing, passionate... Gerda responds, but
grabs a cloth and wipes his made-up face as he kisses her.


MONTAGE BEGINS -


INT. WIDOW HOUSE, BEDROOM

We see Gerda's work around the room, now, depicting `Lili's'
progress. Einar, at the mirror, plucks his eyebrows to better
resemble the glamorous arch in Gerda's sketches.


EXT. STREET OUTSIDE WIDOW HOUSE

Einar and Gerda walk, a little way apart. He feels his way
into her gait, she checks back on his progress.




                                                    26/11/15
                                                               21.


     EXT. HARBOUR, FISH STALL, DAY

     As Gerda buys fish, Einar is distracted, observing and
     copying the movements of the female customer beside him...


     INT. OPERA HOUSE, STAGE DOOR

     Gerda and Einar arrive.   The stage doorman nods.

                         EINAR
43             Morning, Thorbjorn...                                 43

                         STAGE DOORMAN
               Good morning.


     INT. OPERA HOUSE, COSTUME SHOP, DAY

     Gerda and Einar try on wigs, surreptitious, excited, adjust
     one another's choices. Then, a long line of almost identical
     shoes, beginning in tiny sizes but gradually getting bigger.
     Einar grabs the last - biggest - pair. When he looks up,
     Gerda's showing him a dress...


     INT. OPERA HOUSE, STAGE DOOR, DAY

     Einar and Gerda head out past the stage doorman, very pleased
     with themselves. Gerda is several sizes fatter and taller -
     she wears a wig with a hat on top. Hands stuffed into coat
     pockets hide bulky shoes. Thorbjorn looks up briefly from
     his newspaper. Then as the door closes behind Einar and
     Gerda, he looks up again - ?

     - MONTAGE ENDS -


     INT. WIDOW HOUSE, EVENING

     The Lili sketches depict a gamut of moods, face and posture
     already becoming iconic. Einar in the slip and the new
     shoes, practising his walk to settle his nerves. Hears the
     front door open - quickly calls:

                         EINAR
               I wondered where you were, it's getting
               late.

     Gerda comes in...

                         GERDA
               We have plenty of time.     I bought these...

     Einar takes the stockings with interest. Gerda watches,
     entertained at his enthusiasm, but a little apprehensive..


                                                           (CONTINUED)
                                                         26/11/15
                                                       22.
CONTINUED:

                       GERDA (cont'd)
             Einar, are you sure about tonight?

Einar looks up, surprised. Nods, without hesitation.
Gerda's a little taken aback at his enthusiasm.


EXT. STREET NEAR CANAL, NEAR ROYAL ACADEMY OF ARTS, NIGHT

Dancing light and sound - up ahead, we see a glamorous,
eclectic gathering: the fun-loving, the arrogant, the
eccentric, the bourgeois - all rubbing shoulders on their
way to the Royal Academy.

Two pairs of women's feet in step: Gerda and Einar, approach
the melee. Then Gerda realises Einar has slowed, dropped
back behind her. She turns to see him transformed in a
chiffon dress with a linen sailor's collar and cuffs...

                       GERDA
             What is it...?

Einar's eyes shine animated. He cuts an ungainly figure, but
the impression is more confusing than jarring.

                       EINAR
             Am I pretty enough?

Gerda's surprised by the sincerity of the question.

                       GERDA
             Of course you are...

He takes Gerda's hand and she pulls closer.

                       EINAR
             I'll never be as pretty as you.

Gerda studies the features, the fire behind the eyes. An
intensity she had not been expecting... something new... A
charged moment... Gerda's genuinely moved... but then
Einar/Lili laughs, breaks away... leaving Gerda with a beat
of emotion that doesn't belong anywhere.


INT. ROYAL ACADEMY OF ARTS, STAIRCASE, NIGHT

Gerda and `Lili' mingle with the crowd.    A VOICE rings out:

                       ULLA
             My darling!

A flicker of fear in Lili... until Gerda interposes herself:

                       GERDA
             Ulla, let me introduce...


                                                    (CONTINUED)
                                                  26/11/15
                                                       23.
CONTINUED:

Ulla's eyes snag for a moment as they search the familiar
face and realisation dawns. Delight floods her face. Then:

                       ULLA
             It's Lili...!

                       GERDA
             That's right. Einar's cousin from
             Vejle...

                       ULLA
             My dear, you're exquisite...

She LAUGHS, thrilled, exchanges a look with Gerda. Lili's
eyelashes flutter, a picture of shyness as Ulla summons the
rest of her party - revelling in their shared secret...

                       ULLA (CONT'D) (cont'd)
             In - let's go in...

Gerda and Lili - holding hands - join the crush:

                       EINAR/LILI
             You won't leave me, will you...?

Gerda looks down at Einar/Lili's grip on her hand.

                       GERDA
                 (sincerely)
             No. No, never.

She squeezes the hand and they press forward together.


INT. ROYAL ACADEMY OF ARTS, GREAT HALL, NIGHT

A spectacular event. An orchestra plays and people dance.
Ulla's party drink and laugh. Gerda and Lili hang back a
little, observing. There's a circle of men in tuxedos nearby.
One glances across at Lili. Lili looks away, blushing.

                       EINAR/LILI
             People are looking.

                       GERDA
             Well you're a pretty girl, you'll
             have to get used to that.

But she sees Lili's really uncomfortable.

                       GERDA (CONT'D) (cont'd)
             It's fine. You're just feeling
             self-conscious.

                         ELSA (O.S.)
             Gerda - !

They spot Elsa across the crowd... Lili shrinks.
                                                     (CONTINUED)
                                                   26/11/15
                                                      24.
CONTINUED:

                       EINAR/LILI
             Go and talk to her...

                       GERDA
             No, I'll stay with you...

                       EINAR/LILI
             Go. I'll be fine. Go before she
             comes over here...

Gerda reluctantly crosses the room and greets Elsa warmly.
But by the time she glances back, Lili has gone.

Lili sits at the edge of the dancefloor on a bench carved
with mermaids, a nerve fluttering in her cheek. We see a
young man, HENRIK SANDAHL, study her closely - closely enough
to see she is not everything she appears, but this only seems
to intrigue him. He sits beside her. Lili self-consciously
takes a notebook from her bag, begins to jot things down.
Henrik leans in, his raven hair in Lili's peripheral vision,
leans forward until Lili's refusal to engage becomes comical.

                       HENRIK
             Are you a reporter?

Lili looks up.

                         EINAR/LILI
                   (flatly)
             No.

                       HENRIK
             A poetess...?

Lili packs up the notebook and hurries away... Finds a
corridor, leading off the hall - quieter, darker...

Lili feels her way along the wall, relieved to be in the
cooler air, away from the party. As her eyes adjust to the
darkness, she sees a couple kissing in an alcove. A flash of
the woman's white thigh, as the man pushes up her dress.
Lili turns away, discomfited, walks straight back into
Henrik.

                       HENRIK (CONT'D) (cont'd)
             Do you know the story of this oak
             tree?

                         EINAR/LILI
             Mm...?

Henrik indicates a tree outside, behind Lili...

                       HENRIK
             They say if you eat its acorns you
             can make a wish and become anyone
             you want for a day.

                                                    (CONTINUED)
                                                  26/11/15
                                                        25.
CONTINUED:

Einar's reaction flashes through Lili's facade.

                       EINAR/LILI
             Why would they say that...?

Henrik bows, entertained by the effect he's had...

                       HENRIK
             Henrik Sandahl. At your disposal.

A moment's hesitation, then:

                        EINAR/LILI
             Lili...

                       HENRIK
             Are you here with someone, Lili?

                       EINAR/LILI
             Yes - my cousin's wife.

                       HENRIK
             Who's your cousin?

Lili hesitates, turns back:

                       EINAR/LILI
             Einar Wegener. He's a painter.

                       HENRIK
             Rather a good one.   Better than
             most people think.

                       EINAR/LILI
             Is that right?

                       HENRIK
             Most people our age at any rate.

                        EINAR/LILI
             Well....

She makes to leave again, but:

                       HENRIK
             Don't go back in. It's cooler
             here. Besides, I'm a romantic.

                       EINAR/LILI
             Oh really...

                       HENRIK
             I prefer the shadows and...

Lili steals a look at him.     He lowers his voice... sincere...



                                                     (CONTINUED)
                                                   26/11/15
                                                        26.
CONTINUED:

                       HENRIK (CONT'D) (cont'd)
             I don't mean to presume, but I've
             been watching you.

A tremor of panic runs through Lili...

                       HENRIK (CONT'D) (cont'd)
             I think you might be the same.

Henrik holds out his hand. Lili looks at it, a sense of
connection she can't understand, previously unimaginable...
Then, trembling, Lili reaches out and rests her delicate,
manicured hand in Henrik's... and suddenly her nerves are
completely steady. Henrik leads Lili along the corridor,
away from the hall...


INT. ROYAL ACADEMY OF ARTS, GREAT HALL, NIGHT

Noisier and smokier now, too much aquavit drunk, the guests a
little out of focus. Gerda scans the dishevelled crowds,
concerned - no sign of Lili. Suddenly, Ulla's at her side.

                       GERDA
             Have you seen Einar? I can't find
             him.

                       ULLA
             Of course you can't, he isn't here!

Ulla and Gerda laugh... Ulla raises her glass... more fun!
But Gerda excuses herself, and continues looking...


EXT. ROYAL ACADEMY OF ARTS, LIFE-DRAWING ROOM, NIGHT

Lili and Henrik sit on a bench in the lee of a sculpted
classical nude. Lili's cheeks burn. Henrik is clearly
fascinated. The slight sense of playacting between them only
heightens their excitement.

                       HENRIK
             You're different from other girls.

Lili scoffs gently.

                       EINAR/LILI
             That's not a very original line.

                          HENRIK
             It's true.     You're old fashioned.

Lili takes Henrik in, decides to continue...

                       EINAR/LILI
             Provincial. I'm new to the city.


                                                      (CONTINUED)
                                                    26/11/15
                                                       27.
CONTINUED:

                       HENRIK
             No, it's more than that. I feel
             I'd need to ask permission before I
             kissed you.

A bolt of something goes through Lili. Her eyes sink, drawn
and repulsed, to Henrik's lips. She can hardly breathe...

                       EINAR/LILI
             I probably ought to find Gerda.

She heads back toward the corridor... Henrik grabs her hand.

                       HENRIK
             Why don't you tell her I'll walk
             you home...?

                       EINAR/LILI
             She wouldn't like that...

He advances, his body pressing against her, commanding,
holding her fixed in the doorway...

                       HENRIK
             Lili...

Lili pulls away, flustered, aroused...

                       EINAR/LILI
             Einar might be waiting up... he
             wouldn't like this...

                       HENRIK
             Wouldn't he...?

                       EINAR/LILI
             No...

                       HENRIK
             Lili...

He steadies her... repeating her name...

                       HENRIK (CONT'D) (cont'd)
             Lili... Lili.

Three times a charm... We see something shift in Lili...
Henrik senses it... He kisses her. When he releases her she
gasps, and he kisses her again, finds his passion returned
this time... When she finally catches her breath she can't
look at him...

                       EINAR/LILI
             You didn't ask permission...

                       HENRIK
             I couldn't risk you saying no.

                                                     (CONTINUED)
                                                   26/11/15
                                                        28.
CONTINUED:

Standing in the corridor, by the oak, Gerda watches, stunned,
as Lili clutches Henrik's arm, looks suddenly faint, upset...
Lili looks down, confused and then panicked. Blood pours
from her nose, down the front of her dress... she's appalled.

                       HENRIK (CONT'D) (cont'd)
             What's happened..? Let me...

Henrik tries to find a handkerchief... Then sees Gerda
approaching... He pulls away from Lili...

                       HENRIK (CONT'D) (cont'd)
             I'm sorry I don't know what...

Lili holds out her arms to Gerda. Henrik steps back... Gerda
reaches Lili, quickly takes her weight... Gerda wraps her
scarf around `Lili', who now looks like Einar in grotesque
drag, smeared with make-up and blood.

                       GERDA
             Quickly, lean on me...

Henrik watches, and onlookers stare as Gerda supports Einar
out of the ball... They stumble, clinging together, ashamed.


INT. WIDOW HOUSE, NEXT MORNING

Einar paints.    In a smart male suit.   He is stiffly composed.

Gerda comes into the studio, in her nightclothes. Finds
Einar deeply immersed. No trace of the night's upset.

                       GERDA
             How are you...?

                       EINAR
             You were late home last night, I
             thought I'd let you sleep. How was
             it? Did Lili have fun?

Gerda's stunned.     Goes to the kitchen, upset.

In the kitchen, Lili's bloodied clothes are soaking in a
bucket. Gerda struggles with the sight. Begins to make
coffee, then...

Gerda returns to the studio, watches Einar, anger building.
He allows it a while, then turns, braced to face her:

                       GERDA
             I think it would be better if Lili
             didn't come here again.

                        EINAR
             Fine.   I understand.


                                                     (CONTINUED)
                                                   26/11/15
                                                           29.
CONTINUED:

                       GERDA
             You know what I would like to
             understand?

Einar takes Gerda in... how furious, how shaken she looks.

                       GERDA (CONT'D) (cont'd)
             Exactly what happened between you
             and Sandahl last night?

                       EINAR
                 (quickly)
             Nothing.

Gerda HUFFS, disbelieving.        Einar repeats himself, angrily:

                       EINAR (CONT'D) (cont'd)
             It was nothing.

                       GERDA
             Did he know it was you?

Einar blushes, shies away.

                       EINAR
             It wasn't as simple as that.     It's
             hard to explain...

Gerda loses control, shouts at him:

                       GERDA
             I watched him kiss you, Einar, so
             could you please make an effort?!

Einar's shocked, ashamed.        He takes stock, then quietly:

                       EINAR
             He may have known who I was. But I
             wasn't always... me. There was a
             moment when I was... just Lili.
             And I think he could see that. Do
             you see?

Gerda struggles to comprehend this shift in the landscape.

                       GERDA
             But Lili doesn't exist.     We made
             her up.

                         EINAR
             I know...

                       GERDA
             We were playing a game!

                        EINAR
             I know we were... but then it
             changed...
                                                        (CONTINUED)
                                                      26/11/15
                                                       30.
CONTINUED:

Gerda's mind reels, panic rises...

                       GERDA
             This is absurd. We need to stop.
             Make it stop Einar.

With genuine anxiety:

                       EINAR
             I'm going to try...

She goes, still distressed, leaving Einar alone.


EXT. WIDOW HOUSE, EARLY MORNING, TWO WEEKS LATER

The Chinese Laundress RINGS her tiny BELLS along the street.


INT. WIDOW HOUSE, MORNING

The Lili portraits are gone. Einar regards a canvas. Failing
to paint. In the kitchen, Gerda chops vegetables, throws
them in a pan. She hovers in the doorway to the studio.

                       GERDA
             Another headache?

                       EINAR
             It's nothing...

She goes back into the kitchen again...

                       GERDA
             Can I get you something?

                         EINAR
             I'm fine.

Gerda returns to chopping.

                       GERDA
             Maybe you should see a doctor.

Einar grows agitated.

                       EINAR
             Gerda... I'm fine.

Gerda looks round to see Einar now in his coat. He quickly
collects a small suitcase, goes out, leaving Gerda to fret.


EXT. OPERA HOUSE, DAY

No lights on, no signs of life.



                                                   26/11/15
                                                     31.


INT. OPERA HOUSE, STAGE DOOR, DAY

Einar passes through, nods amiably to the familiar doorman.


INT. COSTUME SHOP, DAY

Einar turns on the lights, quickly pulls off his coat.    He
leans forward, bracing against the bench, looks in the
mirror. There's a desperation about him. But now he sees:
the front of his shirt gapes - reveals a cleavage, formed by
his rounded shoulders. Einar is compelled... nervously
unbuttons his shirt to the waist and leans forward again.
The effect is startling. He traces the shape of his
`breasts' with trembling hands.

With a new urgency, he quickly strips off shirt, trousers,
terrified that someone might catch him, yet driven to press
on. He pulls off his underwear, returns to the mirror, pushes
his cock back between his legs, squeezing his thighs tight
until he has an approximation of a vagina. He rounds his
shoulders, takes in the arresting transformation, breathless
with excitement, terror. A sense of impending inevitable
transgression.

He opens his case. A carefully folded silk package unfurls
into a dress, brushes against his skin.


INT. STUDIO, DAY

Gerda sits in the chair looking out of the window, face set
against terror, her sketchbook closed in her lap, brooding,
pressure building. She opens the sketchbook: Lili...


INT CAFE ON CANAL, DAY

Einar/Lili arrives inside a cafe, pushes back a headscarf. We
see Henrik waiting at a table. He quickly stands when he
spots Lili - who is consumed with shyness, real fear.

                    HENRIK
          I didn't think you'd come.

Lili settles in her seat.

                     EINAR/LILI
          No.   Nor did I.


INT. WIDOW HOUSE, STUDIO, LATER

Gerda begins to sketch, almost afraid to begin. But her
energy gathers and there is soon anger and desire in the work
as she conjures a Lili with dark erotic potential, a frenzied
relationship with the subject developing...


                                                26/11/15
                                                     32.


INT. WIDOW HOUSE, STUDIO, EVENING

Gerda lies on the chaise, exhausted. Hears the door, doesn't
move. Einar appears, in his overcoat. After a moment:

                    GERDA
          I thought you might not come back.

                    EINAR
          That's absurd...

                    GERDA
          Is it?

Einar can hardly bear the question... feels terrible, wraps
his arms around her. Then sees, at an angle, in the half-
light, the new Lili picture. A nude with female hips and
breasts. A slash of red mouth. A cigarette.


INT. ART DEALER'S OFFICE, A MONTH LATER, DAY

A door opens and Gerda sits up - a THIN YOUNG MAN appears.

                    THIN YOUNG MAN
          He won't be much longer.

Gerda sits back, too pessimistic to feel nervous.


INT. ART DEALER'S OFFICE, HALF AN HOUR LATER

Rasmussen studies a series of Gerda's portraits, his mouth
puckered with poorly disguised distaste. Gerda steels
herself to withstand the humiliation.

                    RASMUSSEN
          I just... I don't know...

And then he sees the Lili nude. He's suddenly intrigued...

                    RASMUSSEN (cont'd)
          The model...?

                    GERDA
          Einar's cousin.

                    RASMUSSEN
          Yes, the resemblance is...

Rasmussen's mind races.

                    RASMUSSEN (cont'd)
          Are there others...?

                    GERDA
          A series back at the studio.

                                                  (CONTINUED)
                                                26/11/15
                                                         33.
CONTINUED:

Rasmussen licks his lips, excited but uncertain...

                       RASMUSSEN
             These are different... For these, I don't
             know... there may be a market.

Gerda has to confirm what she's heard:

                       GERDA
             You're taking them.

                       RASMUSSEN
             Well, yes...

He's surprised as she is.


EXT. HENRIK'S HOUSE, DAY

Lili hurries past the endless orange facades of a long row of
terraced houses, Gerda's embroidered wrap flying in the wind
behind her. Knocks at a door, breathless...


INT. HENRIK'S HOUSE, DAY

Henrik welcomes Lili at the open door...

                          HENRIK
             Come in...

He closes the door against the world. Lili takes in the
space. She's delighted by it -

                        LILI
             I don't have long... Gerda's seeing
             Rasmussen.

Henrik gestures for Lili to sit.      She settles on the couch.

                       HENRIK
             I don't like all these lies.

                       LILI
             She's very protective.

                       HENRIK
             Why don't you just tell her about
             us?

                       LILI
             I couldn't do that...

Lili seems a little panicked...

                       HENRIK
             Sorry - I don't want to upset you.

                                                      (CONTINUED)
                                                    26/11/15
                                                          34.
CONTINUED:

He sits beside her, settles her...

                       HENRIK (cont'd)
             Come here...

Lili lets herself be drawn closer to him... He strokes her
face. Lili smiles, adoring. Henrik kisses her and she
responds eagerly. His hand works its way down her body,
between her legs. Lili squirms, uncomfortable. He
persists... Lili bears it as long as she can, then gently:

                       LILI
             No... Henrik...

                        HENRIK
             Yes...

                        LILI
             No...

Still in the moment of passion...

                        HENRIK
             Einar...

Lili recoils, stunned... astonished...

                        LILI
             What...?

                       HENRIK
                 (sweetly)
             Come on... it's alright...

But Lili pushes him away, upset, bewildered...

                       LILI
             I'm sorry, I don't understand...

Henrik's frustrated.

                       HENRIK
             Einar... please...

Lili panics, grabs her things to leave, horribly exposed...

                       LILI
             I don't know what you mean... I don't know
             what you want...

                       HENRIK
             I want you!

                        LILI
             No...



                                                     (CONTINUED)
                                                   26/11/15
                                                             35.
CONTINUED:

                      HENRIK
             Yes... wait... Wait!      Lili... Lili, come
             back...

But Lili bolts, away and out through the front door, leaving
Henrik powerless, bereft.


EXT. HENRIK'S HOUSE, DAY

Lili rushes away, disorientated, along the row of garish
facades, their orange now seeming grotesque...


INT. WIDOW HOUSE, DAY

Gerda struggles in with her portfolio. Heads for the kitchen,
preoccupied by her experience with Rasmussen, is taken aback
to see Lili at the table, Gerda's embroidered wrap pulled
tight about her. Then Lili looks round - her face swollen and
streaked with tears.

                       GERDA
                 (concerned)
             Are you alright...?

Lili reaches out her hand and Gerda takes it...

                         EINAR/LILI
             No...

She holds Gerda at arms length.       Takes a deep breath.

                       EINAR/LILI (cont'd)
             I've been seeing Henrik Sandahl.

Gerda reels, speechless as Lili clatters out, stumbling to
the bedroom. Closes the bedroom door.


INT. WIDOW HOUSE, KITCHEN, 20 MINUTES LATER

Gerda sits - waiting. Finally, Einar comes back, in male
clothing. Looks devastated.

                       EINAR
             I thought perhaps you knew.

                         GERDA
                   (barely audible)
             No.

                       EINAR
             You always seemed to know everything.

                         GERDA
             Not this.

                                                       (CONTINUED)
                                                     26/11/15
                                                           36.
CONTINUED:

He nods.   Gerda's desperate confusion surfaces:

                       GERDA (cont'd)
             So... are you in love with Sandahl?

Einar's appalled:

                       EINAR
             No - I love you, Gerda, only you. But
             Lili...

Angry tears well in Gerda's eyes.

                       GERDA
             Why can't you just be honest about this!

But Einar's angry too...

                       EINAR
             I'm trying! Gerda... please... I
             need you to believe me. You of all
             people to understand.

Gerda shakes her head, unable to take this in...      He looks at
her, desperate imploring... Gerda struggles:

                       GERDA
             Okay, I need you to tell me... when Henrik
             and `Lili' are together, they what...? They
             kiss - we know that...

Einar nods, awkward.    Gerda steels herself:

                       GERDA (cont'd)
             Has it gone beyond that?

                       EINAR
             No... No, Lili's never gone further than
             that with a man. She... she wouldn't...

Gerda hears the implication... a bodyblow for her:

                       GERDA
             There have been other men?

Einar sits on the bed, bites down on something difficult:

                       EINAR
             There was another, but it was a long time
             ago.

A chill runs through Gerda...    Einar gathers his courage.

                       EINAR (cont'd)
             That boy Hans... back in Vejle.

Gerda rubs her brow... everything's happening too fast...

                                                       (CONTINUED)
                                                     26/11/15
                                                            37.
CONTINUED:

                       EINAR (cont'd)
             Lili fell for him. And he kissed her. Just
             once.

Einar darkens at the memory:

                       EINAR (cont'd)
             But my father came in and he caught them...
             He knocked Hans down - he was so angry...

Einar shakes his head... Gerda absorbs this. She looks up -
Einar looks pale, dark circles under his eyes.

                       GERDA
             I don't know what to say.

He breathes suddenly, against pain...

                        GERDA (cont'd)
             What...?

His eyes close, sweat forming on his brow.

                       EINAR
             I'm so sorry...

He doubles over, clutching his stomach... moans horribly...

                       EINAR (cont'd)
             I'm so sorry... I'm not feeling
             well.

He tries to get up from the table, struggles...

                       GERDA
             Einar... what is this?   What's happening...

She rushes to catch him as his legs give out under him...

                       GERDA (cont'd)
             Einar... Einar...?


INT. RADIUM INSTITUTE, DAY

DR HEXLER closes the door firmly on Gerda, leaving her to
fret in the waiting room. She settles for a long wait.


INT. RADIUM INSTITUTE, HEXLER'S CONSULTING ROOM, DAY

Hexler sits behind a desk.     He's brisk but kind.

                       HEXLER
             So, you saw Dr Andersen after a
             bout of severe nosebleeds, which
             you have come to believe coincide
                       (MORE)
                                                        (CONTINUED)
                                                      26/11/15
                                                         38.
CONTINUED:
                       HEXLER (cont'd)
             with your stomach cramps, and on a
             monthly basis.

Einar nods as he undresses.

                       HEXLER (cont'd)
             How long have you been married?

                          EINAR
             Six years.

Hexler takes notes as Einar continues stripping.

                          HEXLER
             Children?

                          EINAR
             No.

                       HEXLER
             Is there regular copulation?

                        EINAR
             Yes.   Perhaps less now than...

                       HEXLER
             Than before you started to dress as a
             woman?

Einar's shocked to hear this out loud.

                       HEXLER (cont'd)
             Mr Wegener I'm a specialist. You
             may be embarrassed - I am not.

                       HEXLER (CONT'D) (cont'd)
             So. Tell me about Lili. Where
             does she come from?

Einar considers...

                          EINAR
             Inside me.

Hexler seeks to inject a rational note...

                       HEXLER
             You know the most likely
             explanation for all this is a
             chemical imbalance?

                          EINAR
             Really...?

                       HEXLER
             Onto the bed.

Einar climbs onto a raised doctor's couch.
                                                       (CONTINUED)
                                                     26/11/15
                                                        39.
CONTINUED:

                       HEXLER (CONT'D) (cont'd)
             That would explain the pain, the
             confused state of masculinity and
             the infertility. Let's hope it is
             that, because that we can cure.

He switches on the bright examination lamp, places his palm
against Einar's lower abdomen.


INT. RADIUM INSTITUTE, X-RAY ROOM, DAY

Einar is strapped to a hospital trolley by a couple of
nurses. Hexler watches through a window onto the room.
Einar grasps Gerda's hand, anxious, bewildered:

                       EINAR
             I don't need to do this...   There's
             nothing wrong with me..

                       GERDA
             Einar, that's not true.

The nurses nod to Gerda to leave.

                       EINAR
             This can't be right...

The nurses wait...

                       HEXLER
                 (over tannoy)
             Radiation is a miracle, Mr Wegener:
             it destroys the bad and saves the
             good.

                        GERDA
             He says it will be over very
             quickly...

The nurses lead Gerda out... Einar takes in the alien
machinery of the room. She watches helplessly through a
tinted window as the X-ray machine begins to WHIRR. Hexler
speaks into a funnel:

                       HEXLER (CONT'D)
             Lie still, Mr Wegener...

The JUDDERING of the machine fills Einar's head... an
overwhelming assault on the senses... He closes his eyes,
vanishes into himself.


INT. RADIUM INSTITUTE, RECOVERY ROOM, NEXT DAY

Einar drowses.


                                                      (CONTINUED)
                                                    26/11/15
                                                            40.
CONTINUED:

                       HEXLER (O.S.)
             Mr Wegener...?

Einar's eyes    blink open.    They are dark, unreadable.

                       HEXLER (cont'd)
             How are you feeling this morning?

Einar considers the question for a moment, then -

                       EINAR
             You've hurt Lili...

Hexler reads the distress in Einar's features.      Einar closes
his eyes again against the thought.


INT. RADIUM INSTITUTE, CORRIDOR, DAY

Hexler speaks to Gerda with new gravity.

                       HEXLER
             I'm afraid your husband's aberrant thinking
             persists. Do you keep a lock on your
             wardrobe?

                       GERDA
             Of course not.

Hexler is nervous, but his tone is threatening.

                       HEXLER
             Mrs Wegener, you haven't been encouraging
             this delusion? You do understand that your
             husband's insane?

                       GERDA
             No, that's not true...

Hexler turns, walks away.      Gerda's furious...

                       GERDA (cont'd)
             We trusted you, we came to you for help...

But Hexler keeps walking without a backward glance.


EXT. HARBOUR, MORNING, TWO WEEKS LATER

The early sun glances off the windows of the Widow House.


INT. WIDOW HOUSE, BEDROOM, MORNING

The dog looks up from the bed. Runs over to greet Gerda who
has just come in from the studio. We see now the dog is
keeping Einar company. Gerda speaks in a hushed voice.

                                                      (CONTINUED)
                                                    26/11/15
                                                              41.
CONTINUED:

                       GERDA
             I won't be long.

                       EINAR
             Don't worry about me, I'm fine.

Einar is ashen, eyes glazed, surrounded by two dark circles.


EXT. STREET OUTSIDE RASMUSSEN'S GALLERY, DAY

Gerda hurries past the window.      Inside we can make out a blur
of Lili portraits on show.


INT. ART DEALER'S OFFICE, COPENHAGEN, DAY

Gerda in Rasmussen's office.      He's unusually excited.

                         RASMUSSEN
             Gerda!    Where have you been?

                         GERDA
             Away.    Why, what's wrong?

                       RASMUSSEN
             I sold the Lili portraits!

Gerda is astonished...

                       RASMUSSEN (cont'd)
             I have enough interest to mount a full
             show.

Gerda's amazed.

                       GERDA
             Well that's wonderful...

                       RASMUSSEN
             And there's more - I had a call from the
             Etienne Dufour Gallery - they would like to
             represent you in Paris.

                       GERDA
             In Paris...?

                       RASMUSSEN
             You should go and see them.

Gerda's mind races...

                       GERDA
             Oh - I can't travel just now...

                       RASMUSSEN
                 (firmly)
             Gerda, this is your moment.      You've waited
                       (MORE)
                                                         (CONTINUED)
                                                       26/11/15
                                                          42.
CONTINUED:
                       RASMUSSEN (cont'd)
             long enough... And these dealers can be
             fickle.

Rasmussen tuts, disapproving.


INT. WIDOW HOUSE, STAIRS LEADING UP, DAY

Gerda, in a hurry, stops to collect the mail from the foot of
the stairs. There's an art magazine, a personal letter,
then, underneath an envelope from The Radium Institute...
Hexler's name on the back. Gerda freezes, then quickly opens
it, reads: "no choice... treated for perversion...". She
struggles for a moment, panic rising, then folds the letter,
stuffs it in her jacket. A dark decision resolves itself in
Gerda's face...


INT. WIDOW HOUSE, BEDROOM, DAY

Einar's asleep.    Gerda packs, driven - sees Einar sit up.

                       EINAR
             What are you doing?

Gerda gathers her courage.

                       GERDA
             I've been asked to exhibit in Paris...

                       EINAR
             That's wonderful...

                       GERDA
             Yes. We have to go. Rasmussen said it
             would make all the difference...

Einar's incredulous...

                       EINAR
             I'm not sure I can do that...

                        GERDA
             You can.   I'll take care of you...

                       EINAR
             But surely there's no rush...

                       GERDA
                 (furious)
             Can't you just do this one thing for me?

But by the time her outburst is over, she's shaking...

                       EINAR
             Gerda, what's happening?

Gerda looks at him.     He's waiting for the truth.
                                                        (CONTINUED)
                                                      26/11/15
                                                          43.
CONTINUED:

                       GERDA
             I had a letter from Hexler...

                       EINAR
             He wants to lock me up.

Gerda holds his hands, utterly determined:

                       GERDA
             But he won't. Everything will work out for
             us. Really - I know it. You just have to
             trust me...

                        EINAR
             I do...

Gerda steels herself:

                       GERDA
             So. Is there anything to take care of
             before we go? Anyone you need to tell?

Einar considers a moment, then:

                        EINAR
             No.

Gerda nods, relieved. She kisses his cheek, resumes packing.
Einar concentrates on keeping breathing.


EXT. PARIS BY NIGHT

A dazzling archetypal view of the Seine and its light-studded
bridges, the Cathedral of Notre Dame a bold silhouette in the
background. VOICES come up, an EXCITED SOCIAL SOUND.


INT. ETIENNE DUFOUR GALLERY, NIGHT, 6 MONTHS LATER

An emphatically chic Parisian crowd admires a triumphant
series of Lili portraits - a couple that we saw at
Rasmussen's, and then several nudes, Lili imagined as an
anatomically correct woman. A small group gathers round
Gerda, their new star, and a still pale Einar.

                       GERDA
             Einar's a painter too...

                        MAN IN GROUP
             Oh?   Do you exhibit in Paris?

                       EINAR
             I think my work is a little...
             introspective for French taste.

An ENTHUSIASTIC AMERICAN WOMAN interrupts...

                                                    (CONTINUED)
                                                  26/11/15
                                                          44.
CONTINUED:

                       ENTHUSIASTIC AMERICAN WOMAN
             Excuse me - is the model here?

Einar rides it out.    Gerda doesn't miss a beat.

                       GERDA
             No, she stayed behind in Denmark.

                       ENTHUSIASTIC AMERICAN WOMAN
             Oh, I was so hoping to meet her.

Einar looks down, away, affected... Gerda's swept off by the
gallery owner, leaving Einar in the company of the paintings
of his own banished self.


INT. PARIS APARTMENT, BEDROOM, NIGHT

Gerda and Einar in bed, close, tenderness on both sides.
Gerda gently kisses Einar, then begins to work her way down
his torso. He closes his eyes, wills himself to let this
happen... Gerda begins to fellate him... He struggles with
his breathing, intensely challenged

                       EINAR
             Gerda... please... I can't.

She continues... He's overwhelmed with panic, pushes her off.

                       EINAR (cont'd)
             No...

The attempt at intimacy is over, failed. Einar's full of
guilt, distress. Gerda's hurt, lost. Neither moves -
emotional paralysis.


INT. PARIS APARTMENT, STUDIO,    - NEXT DAY

Gerda works on a self-portrait. Einar appears. Gerda
hurries, to greet him, summons a playful mood, born of
desperation.

                       GERDA
             Will you sit for me? Just as you
             are. We haven't done that since
             art school. You enjoyed it then...

He smiles.    She strokes his face, encouraged.

                       GERDA (cont'd)
             The teacher suddenly at the mercy of the
             student. You found it exciting.

Gerda curls in to him.    He gently extricates himself.

                       EINAR
             I... I can't just now.   I'm sorry.
                                                       (CONTINUED)
                                                     26/11/15
                                                               45.
CONTINUED:

Gerda feels ashamed, can't help herself:

                       GERDA
             I miss you. I miss you working beside me.

Einar hesitates, then admits:

                       EINAR
             I can't remember the landscape any more.      I
             can't remember Vejle.

Gerda struggles to adjust to this, then:

                       GERDA
             Well you could help me with this
             background. What does it need...?

Einar looks at the painting, can hardly pull it into focus...

                       GERDA (cont'd)
             An kettlehole lake? A farmhouse, far off?                  *

He gently stops her -

                        EINAR
             Gerda...

He's not going to do it.        Turns away, goes out.


INT/EXT. PARIS APARTMENT

Gerda watches from the window: Einar in the street below, on
through the crowds until he's out of sight.


EXT. RUE DE NUIT, DAY

Different part of town, different atmosphere. Prostitutes on
the corner CLUCK indulgent as Einar passes. He looks self-
consciously about, enters a dingy house as another man comes
out. They barely acknowledge one another.


INT. 22 RUE DE NUIT, 1ST FLOOR LANDING, DAY

A hatch in a door slides open, and MADAME CARTON's eyes flash
greedily from behind an iron grille.


INT. 22 RUE DE NUIT, ROOM NO. 3, DAY

The tiny room contains a chair and a bin. We hear GROANS from
an adjoining room. There are two small windows with black
shades drawn. Einar settles, slowly lifts one of the shades.
Behind smudged glass, a worn-out girl in a corset and
stockings grinds against a chair, sullen. Beyond her, we see

                                                          (CONTINUED)
                                                        26/11/15
                                                           46.
CONTINUED:

another dark window, another man with his nose pressed
against it.

Einar studies the girl and gradually his body begins to
mirror hers, a parody of female abandon. We see his
reflection in the glass now, gradually eclipsing her... He
breathes, an almost orgasmic GASPING breath of relief.


INT. HANS OFFICE, QUAI D'ORSAY, PARIS, A WEEK LATER, DAY

HANS AXGIL on the telephone. An impressively upholstered man,
quixotic, appealing. The emphatically masculine room - dark
wood infused with Hans' cigar smoke - overlooks a
breathtaking view of the Seine. A sense of space, freedom.

                       HANS
             Hey, he's playing with us!   He knows the
             price...

Hans laughs, shakes his head. A quiet KNOCK and a secretary
pulls a face around the door. Hans waves her away, impatient.

                       HANS (cont'd)
             Look, I have to go. I have some Danish girl
             waiting to see me. But tell him we'll find
             another buyer, no problem. He's always the
             same!


INT. HANS AXGIL'S OFFICE, RECEPTION, DAY

Gerda's immediately on her feet, her strong right hand
stretched towards Hans, unavoidable. She's no girl.

                       HANS
             Hans Axgil..

He shakes her hand, intrigued.    Gerda's a little over-eager.

                       GERDA
             Thank you so much for...

                       HANS
             Don't thank me yet - I can't represent you.
             I don't handle any contemp...

                       GERDA
             Of course, no, I know that...

                       HANS
             The reviews for your show were terrific,
             but your work is way out of my...

                       GERDA
             Perhaps if you let me speak, things would
             be clearer...?

                                                      (CONTINUED)
                                                    26/11/15
                                                           47.
CONTINUED:

Hans stops, surprised.      His secretary suppresses a smile.

                       HANS
             Let you speak?

Hans takes her in, the tough fragility of her.     Smiles.

                       HANS (cont'd)
             I'm a much better listener when I'm eating.

He nods goodbye to his secretary, shows Gerda the door.


EXT. STREET NEAR HANS' OFFICE

They hurry along the street, approach the restaurant...

                       HANS
             Well, I don't know why Rasmussen
             gave you my number, but I'm happy
             he did...

                       GERDA
             I asked him, I wanted to meet you,
             put a face to a name...

Hans smiles, encouraged. He holds open the door to a smart
brasserie. Gerda goes through ahead of him. As she does:

                       GERDA (cont'd)
             I believe you were a childhood
             friend of my husband.

Hans is left holding the door, alone.

                       HANS
                 (crestfallen)
             You have a husband?


INT. SMART BRASSERIE, DAY

Gerda and Hans settle at a table.     He nods to the sommelier.

                       HANS
             A bottle of the Mersault...

The sommelier hurries away.     Hans studies Gerda.    Who is she?

                       GERDA
             I'm married to Einar Wegener.

Hans is amazed.

                         HANS
             To Einar?


                                                        (CONTINUED)
                                                      26/11/15
                                                          48.
CONTINUED:

                       GERDA
             You remember him?

                       HANS
             Of course I remember him. My God - we were
             such friends. How is he?

Hans is excited, a boy again. Gerda can't help it, blurts:

                       GERDA
             He told me that you kissed him once.

Hans is taken aback...

                       HANS
             I what...??

But his amazement shifts as it comes back to him...

                       HANS (cont'd)
             Oh no! You're right... We were fooling
             in the kitchen. Einar was wearing his
             grandmother's apron...

Hans laughs, amazed at his younger self:

                       HANS (cont'd)
             We were just little boys, you know,
             playing around? Anyway, Einar just
             looked so pretty in that apron - I
             kissed him! Next thing I know, his
             father's chasing me out.

Hans shakes his head...

                       HANS (cont'd)
             God - Einar. Hey - why didn't he come
             today?

                       GERDA
             He doesn't know I'm here. I don't think
             he'd like me asking for help.

Hans' eyes flash, focused. This is what she's come for, then:

                       GERDA (cont'd)
             We don't really know people here. And
             Einar's... he's lost his way. He's not
             working. He needs someone to represent
             him - someone who knows, him. He needs a
             friend.

Hans scrutinises Gerda, her pride at odds with her need. And
for the first time in her life, Gerda looks away, unable to
hold someone's gaze.




                                                     26/11/15
                                                        49.


INT. PARIS APARTMENT, KITCHEN, DAY

Gerda on her way out, a little anxious.    Hears the racket of
Einar hammering at a frame.

                       GERDA
          Einar...?

She finds him stretching a fresh canvas.   He scarcely pauses.

                    GERDA (cont'd)
          I've a new dealer coming over later.    I'd
          like you to meet him.

                    EINAR
          I don't want a new dealer. It doesn't make
          sense for me. I'm hardly working anyway.

                    GERDA
          That might change.

                    EINAR
          I don't think so.    I'm happy helping you.

She goes to contradict, but he cuts her off:

                       EINAR (cont'd)
          No dealer.     Thank you.

                    GERDA
          It's Hans Axgil.

Einar stops, astonished.

                    GERDA (cont'd)
          Dinner at La Dauphine at eight, then back
          here to see the paintings.

Gerda's out of the door, leaving Einar alone with the news.


INT. LA DAUPHINE RESTAURANT, NIGHT

An intimate place by the Pont Neuf. An empty chair at the
table. Gerda and Hans wait. Hans smokes.

                    GERDA
          You know, Einar's still stricken
          with guilt about crashing your
          kite.

                    HANS
          It was handmade, and I've had it
          since I was four! I'm glad you
          reminded me. I'll tease him about
          that.


                                                    (CONTINUED)
                                                  26/11/15
                                                          50.
CONTINUED:

                       GERDA
             No - it's too cruel.

                       HANS
             If he ever gets here. Perhaps he
             doesn't want to see me?

                       GERDA
             No - no, it's not that.   We should order
             without him.

                       HANS
             Does he abandon you often?

                       GERDA
             Of course not!

Hans is surprised at her strength of reaction.

                       HANS
             I was joking.

A waiter stands over them, amplifying the moment.


EXT. MARAIS STREET, NIGHT

Hans' car rolls down the street.


INT. PARIS APARTMENT, NIGHT

Gerda takes out keys to open the apartment door...

                       HANS
             I can come back another time, if you think
             Einar would prefer it...

                       GERDA
             Really. He's expecting you... and it will
             do him good...

But they're both a little apprehensive as they enter.

                         GERDA (O.S.) (cont'd)
             Einar...?

Gerda noses into the living room, Hans following. He spots a
painting - his face brightens -

                       HANS
             I know this... the fjord at
             Vejle... not far from our houses!

                       GERDA
             Yes, Einar painted it just before we
             left...

                                                      (CONTINUED)
                                                    26/11/15
                                                              51.
CONTINUED:

She goes ahead of Hans, sees: Lili on the chaise, in
imitation of a pose in a painting on the wall behind her...
dangerously charged, her cheek flushed, eyes shining. A tray
with crystal glasses.

                          GERDA (cont'd)
             Lili...

Gerda reorientates herself in the proceedings, turns to Hans
who stands struggling to make sense of the scene before him:

                       GERDA (CONT'D) (cont'd)
             Hans, may I introduce Lili Wegener -
             Einar's cousin from home.

Now Lili's up, her hand held out.          Hans takes it...

                       LILI
             You can't imagine how happy I am.

He holds on to her hand, instinctively kind...

                       LILI (cont'd)
             We met before in Vejle, but you probably
             don't remember...

Hans is utterly wrongfooted...

                       GERDA
             Can I take your coat Hans?

                       HANS
             Of course...

He comes to, allows Gerda to relieve him of it. She takes it
away. Lili continues, frighteningly animated...

                       LILI
             A digestif, Hans? It's so chilly all of a
             sudden. I feel the cold these days. I
             don't know why...

                          HANS
             Thank you.

Hans sits, but his eyes wander to the portraits that are now
ranged around the room. A kaleidoscope of Lili.

                       LILI
             I'm so sorry Einar couldn't be here. He
             told me: in Vejle you were his great
             friend. Both always plotting to getting
             away!

                       HANS
             That's true...


                                                          (CONTINUED)
                                                        26/11/15
                                                             52.
CONTINUED:

                       LILI
             Such a tedious place! He said you'd sit
             and look out together, beyond the fjord..
             to the sea... to the future.

                       HANS
             Oh, we had big dreams...

                        LILI
             And you were the only one who let him paint
             in peace, who told him it was alright to be
             a painter.

Gerda returns to the room. Hans searches Lili's face for the
remains of his old friend Einar.

                       HANS
             He... used to sketch my portrait. Take a
             stone and draw me on the rocks at the side
             of the road.

                       GERDA
             I didn't know that.

                        LILI
             Oh yes.

Gerda turns to Hans:

                       GERDA
             Would you like to see more of Einar's
             work...?

                       LILI
             Do we have any?

Gerda's surprised, unsettled by the question.

                       GERDA
             Yes, of course, Lili...

                       LILI
             Oh, but couldn't we see it another time?    I
             so want to hear more from Hans... Hans,
             are you married?

                        HANS
             No...

                        LILI
             Why not?

Gerda flinches, but:

                       LILI (cont'd)
             He doesn't mind, do you...?

Gerda looks helpless.     Hans takes over:
                                                       (CONTINUED)
                                                     26/11/15
                                                           53.
CONTINUED:

                       HANS
             I've... been on my own a long time now.
             I'm too set in my ways.

                       LILI
             I think marriage is the single thing we
             should all hope for in life.

                          HANS
             Really?

Lili looks utterly buoyant...

                       LILI
             It creates someone else, more than just the
             two of you. It would be terrible never to
             know that...

Her expression crumbles... Hans looks to Gerda...

                          GERDA
             Lili...

Lili's dissolving...

                          LILI
             Excuse me.

She hurries out towards the bedroom, clearly in distress.
Hans struggles to comprehend the situation...

                       GERDA
             You... you ought to go...

                       HANS
             No - let me help...

She turns, holds Hans' hands... the intimacy, intensity of
connection surprises him:

                       GERDA
             Please - please - I'm sorry...

He resigns himself to leaving... as he reaches the door:

                       HANS
             Goodnight Lili...

                       LILI (O.S.)
             Goodnight...

Hans lets himself out.

In the bedroom, Gerda, still shocked, looks at Lili -
bewildered, afraid, head hanging.

                       LILI (cont'd)
             I don't think he noticed anything, do you?
                                                     (CONTINUED)
                                                   26/11/15
                                                             54.
CONTINUED:

                       GERDA
             I don't know...

                       LILI
             No, I think I got out just in time.

                          GERDA
             Sleep now.     We'll talk more tomorrow.

                       LILI
             Can I borrow a nightdress?

Gerda's shocked.

                       GERDA
             No... we've never done that.     Lili's never
             spent the night...

Einar confesses:

                       LILI
             It doesn't matter what I wear. When I
             dream, they're Lili's dreams...

Gerda struggles to accommodate this, very reluctant... but
she gives in, nods. What else can she do?


INT. PARIS APARTMENT, BEDROOM, LATER

Gerda in bed. Lili's sleeping head on the pillow next to
her, where Einar's once was. Gerda turns out the light.


INT. PARIS APARTMENT, BEDROOM, DAY

Gerda arrives to find Lili in a bright dress with matching
scarf. Shopping bags everywhere. Slight tension in the air.

                       GERDA
             A new dress...

                          LILI
             And this.     Do you like it?

She hands Gerda a bright scarf...

                        GERDA
             Yes.   It's perfect for you...

Gerda hands it back.

                       GERDA (cont'd)
             We're actually a little short of money at
             the moment.

Lili hangs the scark back round Gerda's neck, hardly misses a
beat:
                                                          (CONTINUED)
                                                        26/11/15
                                                          55.
CONTINUED:

                       LILI
             I know, but now I'm back, I can sit
             for you again, can't I...?   That
             worked well before, Gerda, didn't
             it...?

Lili and Gerda take each other in, on a new footing...


INT. PARIS APARTMENT, STUDIO, DAY - MONTAGE

Gerda paints Lili who has found a new stillness. A more
serious spirit beneath the translucent skin. A sense of her
growing into herself.

We see on the wall now a number of double portraits, telling
the story of a developing negotiation - Gerda and Lili
depicted together, with a sense of close friendship or a
wistful attempt at coupledom.

Now Gerda paints with Lili advising... The two
collaborating, a sense of shared vision.

And throughout, we see Lili fully imagined as a woman, and an
increasingly idealised one - unrealistically lovely...


INT. ETIENNE DUFOUR GALLERY, RAINY NIGHT, ONE MONTH LATER

Another show of `Lili' paintings. A lot of the paintings of
the two as a couple, but Gerda is here alone. She feels it.
She works the room, determined, then sees Hans, across the
crowd. Misses a beat. They make their way toward one
another. An awkward social kiss. Gerda's unusually brittle.

                       HANS
             It's a good crowd.

                       GERDA
             She's a popular girl.   Thank you for
             coming.

                       HANS
             Thank you for asking me.   I thought you'd
             forgotten all about me.

                       GERDA
             We've been busy.

                       HANS
             Is Einar here?

                       GERDA
             Einar hates this kind of thing.

                       HANS
             That's a shame.    For you, I mean.

                                                       (CONTINUED)
                                                     26/11/15
                                                          56.
CONTINUED:

                       GERDA
             I don't mind.

Hans wonders about this... lets it go.

                       HANS
             Is he well...?

                       GERDA
             He's excited. We have an old friend coming
             to town: Ulla Fonsmarck, the dancer. Do
             you know her?

                       HANS
             I don't think so. Could I take you to
             dinner? To celebrate? Someone ought to.

                        GERDA
             No.   Thank you.

Hans absorbs this, regroups.

                       HANS
             Gerda, have I offended you?

                        GERDA
             No.

                        HANS
             Gerda...

He rests his hand on her arm, pressing for some honesty...
Gerda's cornered, the heat of the room, the nearness of Hans.

                       GERDA
             I am still Einar's wife.

She brushes past him, into the crowd.       A MAN'S VOICE calls:

                        MAN
             Hans!

Hans' social mask slips quickly back into place.

Later: CLOSE ANGLE on Gerda, watching as a flirtatious woman
WHISPERS something in Hans' ear. His eyes widen, he LAUGHS.
Gerda looks away. Quickly sets down her drink and moves
through the crowd toward the door...

A GALLERY EMPLOYEE frets as Gerda pulls on her coat.

                       GALLERY EMPLOYEE
             At least take an umbrella...

                       GERDA
             I'm fine, honestly...


                                                       (CONTINUED)
                                                     26/11/15
                                                          57.
CONTINUED:

                       GALLERY EMPLOYEE
             If you just wait a minute someone will
             drive you...

But Gerda's out in the rain, the party still in full swing.


INT. PARIS APARTMENT, KITCHEN, NIGHT

Gerda lets herself in, breathless. Lili's just arranging a
supper table, is surprised to see Gerda home so early...

                       LILI
             Gerda...? Oh - you're wet through.

Gerda seems angry.    Lili tries to stay buoyant...

                       LILI (cont'd)
             Did it go well...? Tell me - how
             was it?

                       GERDA
             You'd know if you'd been there.

Lili falters, then points to the table... set with flowers...

                       LILI
             I've made us a supper...

                       GERDA
             You should have come.

                       LILI
             A little sort of celebration...

                       GERDA
             This is not how it goes!   We do
             these things together!

                       LILI
             That's you and Einar.

Gerda's pent-up frustration begins to boil over...

                       GERDA
             Stop playing that stupid, stupid
             game!

                       LILI
             Don't you say this is a game!

                       GERDA
             You should have been there!

                       LILI
             How could I be?   Look at me!

This further enrages Gerda -
                                                        (CONTINUED)
                                                      26/11/15
                                                           58.
CONTINUED:

                       GERDA
             Not everything's about you!

Gerda is suddenly overwhelmed with emotion -

                       GERDA (cont'd)
             I need to see Einar.

Lili flinches, shakes her head, touches Gerda, tender.

                       LILI
             Let me help...

Gerda cuts her off sharply, desperation building:

                       GERDA
             I need my husband.   Just get him!

                          LILI
             I can't...

Lili's eyes cloud.    Gerda moderates, already losing hope...

                       GERDA
             I want to talk to my husband.   I want to
             hold my husband. I need him.    Can you get
             him? Can you at least try?

Lili's pained by the request. Her eyes     plead, but Gerda's
desperate, won't give up. Finally Lili     shakes her head,
desperately sorry. Gerda turns on her      heel. The front door
BANGS as she heads off into the night,     leaving Lili alone and
deeply sad.


EXT. JARDINS DE LUXEMBOURG

Gerda sits in the dark, watching the rain on the pond.


EXT. HANS AXGIL'S APARTMENT, NIGHT

Hans heads for his building, is amazed to see Gerda on the
front step...

                       HANS
             Gerda... what is it?

She gets to her feet...

                       HANS (cont'd)
             You're soaked...

He goes to comfort her, and she embraces him... initiates a
desperate snatched kiss before breaking away, upset. Hans
pursues her...


                                                      (CONTINUED)
                                                    26/11/15
                                                              59.
CONTINUED:

                       HANS (cont'd)
             Gerda... wait...

                          GERDA
             I can't...

                          HANS
             Wait...

He hurries to catch up.


INT. PARIS APARTMENT, BEDROOM, NIGHT

Lili transitioning to Einar. It happens awkwardly, and when
Einar looks in the mirror, he's baffled by his reflection.


I/E. HANS' CAR/RAINY STREETS, NIGHT

Hans drives an exhausted Gerda, pulls up outside their
building.

                       HANS
             Will you be alright?

                       GERDA
             I'm always alright.

He reaches for her hand.          Gerda stiffens.

                       HANS
             For God's sake.       Take some kindness where
             you can.

He keeps hold of her hand. Gerda feels the warmth of him.
Her eyes fill.

                       GERDA
             Einar always comes back in the end.      He
             always has...

                       HANS
             Maybe this time... he just can't.

                          GERDA
             I'm sorry.

Gerda shakes her head, gently rejecting Hans.

                       GERDA (cont'd)
             I've never not finished a painting, I don't
             know how to give up.

Hans smiles, rueful.       Finally lets Gerda take back her hand.




                                                        26/11/15
                                                      60.


INT. PARIS APARTMENT, BEDROOM, NIGHT

Gerda appears in the doorway. Sees Einar sitting in the
chair by the bed. She's struck by how vulnerable he looks.
He looks up, and with genuine regret:

                    EINAR/LILI
          I don't think I can give you what you
          want...

He looks away, ashamed. It's unbearable. Gerda approaches
him. He looks like Lili dressed as Einar.

                    EINAR/LILI (cont'd)
          I don't know how long we can go on like
          this.

                     GERDA
          No.

She pushes in beside him. Einar/Lili lies in Gerda's lap.
They hold each other into the night.


EXT. OPERA GARNIER, PARIS, TWO WEEKS LATER, NIGHT

Establishing shot.


INT. OPERA GARNIER, STAGE, NEXT DAY

Einar watches a group of dancers rehearse on stage. Sitting
in the stalls, Gerda and Ulla are talking, as Ulla unbinds
her feet. We see callouses over the knuckles of her toes,
toenails broken and sore. She's used to this.

                    ULLA
          He needs to see someone.

Gerda checks Einar's well out of earshot.

                    GERDA
          You know what happened with Hexler.

                    ULLA
          But he's so thin, Gerda...?   There's
          something wrong with him.

Gerda looks across at Einar.

                    GERDA
          Lili watches her figure...

Ulla lowers her voice -

                    ULLA
          Look, there's a doctor - he runs the
          Women's Clinic in Dresden.
                                                    (CONTINUED)
                                                  26/11/15
                                                           61.
CONTINUED:

Gerda's face changes as she hears what Ulla's telling her.

                       ULLA (cont'd)
             He's interested in men like Einar. Men who
             are... different. Who are... confused.

Gerda's surprised.

                       ULLA (cont'd)
             He's often in Paris.

Before Gerda can reply, Ulla is writing a name on a card -

                       ULLA (cont'd)
             Just talk to him? It couldn't hurt, could
             it?

- "Prof. Kurt Warnekros". She gives the card to Gerda. Gerda      *
looks up at Einar. Finds him looking back, plainly exhausted.


INT. PARIS APARTMENT, MORNING

Gerda has made coffee.    Einar comes in, dressed and with some
energy.

                       GERDA
             Oh good... you're awake... how do
             you feel?

Einar nods - pretty good.      She pours him coffee.

                       GERDA (cont'd)
             Come.

                       EINAR
             I can't - I have somewhere to go...

He pulls on a jacket.

                       GERDA
             Where?

He recoils from the question.     Gerda gives up -

                       GERDA (cont'd)
             I'm sorry - I don't know how to hold on to
             you any longer.

                       EINAR
             I know. But I love you and I'm
             going to find an answer.




                                                       26/11/15
                                                        62.


INT. BIBLIOTEQUE NATIONALE, DAY

Einar at a desk piled high with books. He reads, driven,
fascinated. We see the books: The Normal and Abnormal Man, A
Scientific Study of Sexual Immorality...


EXT. PARK, LATER

Einar makes his way through the park. He looks bizarre in
daylight, like a woman dressed as a man. He passes a couple
of rough-looking younger men. One HISSES under his breath:

                       YOUNGER MAN
          Lesbian...

Einar looks round, amazed, almost amused at the mistake...
when the men recognise that Einar is - in fact - a man, they
LAUGH, shocked. Einar keeps walking, conscious of the men
shadowing him, making silly obscene noises and comments.

Einar presses on, anger and anxiety building as the men
pursue. Now the men pull level with him, jostle, one moving
ahead and rubbing his crotch.

                    YOUNGER MAN (cont'd)
          You speak English? Are you a boy...

                    YOUNGER MAN 2
          Or a girl...?

The first Young Man leers and LAUGHS and then we suddenly see
his nose burst with blood as Einar's fist connects. The two
men are caught by surprise as he lashes out with terrific
energy, but they regroup and then Einar's down, fists and
feet flying, the men beating him furiously, until they
finally run away.


INT. HANS AXGIL'S OFFICE, QUAI D'ORSAY, PARIS DAY

Animated discussion between Hans and another man.

                    HANS
          But I'm worried that will be too late.    I
          can't hold the buyers much longer...

Hans' secretary puts her head around the door. He glances
up, annoyed, but something in her face gives him pause.
Behind her, a man appears... A beat before Hans recognises
the badly swollen face.

                       HANS (cont'd)
          Einar...




                                                   26/11/15
                                                         63.


INT. HANS AXGIL'S OFFICE, BATHROOM

Hans tenderly cleans Einar's face with iodine.

                    EINAR
          You're good at this.

                    HANS
          I boxed for a while.

                    EINAR
          Shame you weren't with me earlier.

Einar smiles at his own humour, but it hurts too much.

                    EINAR (cont'd)
          Sorry I've never been to see you before.

                    HANS
          That's alright.   You're here now.

                    EINAR
          I couldn't let Gerda see me this way. She
          has enough to put up with.

Hans acknowledges the truth of this, carries on.

                    HANS
          Let me know if you feel light-headed.

                    EINAR
          I'm permanently light-headed.

                    HANS
          God, Einar, what's happened to you?    I
          don't understand...

                    EINAR
          Ha - nor do I. But I don't think it's
          anything new... Even in Vejle...

                    HANS
          What?

                    EINAR
          Well I was different.

                    HANS
          It didn't take much to be different in
          Vejle! Surely, that's why we became
          friends?

Einar nods, accepts Hans' generosity. They take each other
in, the absurdity of their situation settling between them.

                    EINAR
          I wanted to thank you for looking after
          Gerda.
                                                       (CONTINUED)
                                                     26/11/15
                                                                64.
      CONTINUED:

      Hans is slightly uneasy.

                             HANS
                   It's no great hardship.

                             EINAR
                   I've let her down.

                             HANS
                   She doesn't think that.

      Einar struggles a moment, then:

                             EINAR
                   Every morning I promise myself I'll spend
                   the whole day as Einar. But there's so
                   little Einar left.

                             HANS
                   You need building up...

                             EINAR
                   No. I think Lili's thoughts. All the time.
                   Even here, now, I'm having to work so hard
                   just to... to be me. To be this.

      He gestures, hopeless.    But Hans won't be defeated.

                             HANS
                   You think these things because you're
                   exhausted...

      Einar confesses.

                             EINAR
                   I think sometimes about killing Einar.
                   It's only the thought that I'd be killing
                   Lili too that stops me.

      Hans is appalled, struggles for words.

                             HANS
                   You need to see someone.   A doctor.

                             EINAR
                   No doctors.

      Hans lays his big hand heavily on his friend's shoulder.

                             HANS
130                Yes, Einar. You have to try.                       130


      INT. DR BUSON'S CLINIC, ONE WEEK LATER, DAY

      Einar in a reclining chair, beside a pull-down chart of the
      human brain. He's focused, engaged. BUSON seems excited.

                                                             (CONTINUED)
                                                           26/11/15
                                                           65.
CONTINUED:

                       BUSON
             A confused state of identity.

He snaps down a diagram of the frontal lobe.

                       BUSON (cont'd)
             I drill small holes - here, here and
             here...

He touches Einar's forehead...    Einar blanches, surprised.


INT. DR MCBRIDE'S ROOMS, ONE WEEK LATER

A CLOCK TICKS in the self-conscious reconstruction of Freud's
consulting room. MCBRIDE adjusts his pince-nez.

                       MCBRIDE
             I've listened carefully and I'm afraid it's
             not good news.

From the couch, Einar waits for the diagnosis.

                      MCBRIDE (cont'd)
             You're a homosexual.

Einar fails to stifle a bitter laugh.


INT. ETABLISSEMENT HYDROTHERAPIQUE, ONE WEEK LATER, DAY

Dr Mai observes Einar, fascinated, over tented fingers.

                       EINAR
             Well, I don't really know what kind of help
             I need, but I can't go on living without
             knowing who I am.

                       DR MAI
             Mm... very good...

Dr Mai nods vigorously, scribbles definitively onto a pad.

                       MAI
             Please excuse me a moment...

He nods politely goes out, leaving Einar alone. Curiosity
gets the better of Einar and he works his way to the desk,
looks at the pad. As the sun falls across it, he can clearly
see the imprint of a word: schizophrenic... Einar panics,
grabs his coat...


INT. ETABLISSEMENT HYDROTHERAPIQUE, CORRIDOR, DAY

Dr Mai hurries down the corridor flanked by male nurses.



                                                    26/11/15
                                                            66.


INT. ETABLISSEMENT HYDROTHERAPIQUE, DR MAI'S ROOM, DAY

Dr Mai and the men look on, impotent, as the lace curtain
floats at the window onto the courtyard. Einar has gone.


INT.   PARIS APARTMENT, STUDIO, NIGHT

Gerda comes home. The place is in darkness.      She startles.
Einar's been waiting for her. Gerda sits.

                     EINAR
           Do you think I'm insane?

                     GERDA
           Did a doctor say that?

                     EINAR
           I'm sorry, I know we agreed no more... but
           look at me.

She does - carefully, seeing Lili, just below the surface.

                     GERDA
           You're not insane.

Einar's grateful.     Gerda fights emotion...

                     GERDA (cont'd)
           Did I do this to you?

Einar doesn't understand...

                       EINAR
           What...?

                     GERDA
           Sometimes I think if it hadn't been for the
           paintings...

                      EINAR
           Oh no... no, no. You helped bring Lili to
           life, but she was always... she was
           waiting...

                     GERDA
           But now she's making you ill.

                     EINAR
           I don't know what to do.     The doctors can't
           help me.

Einar's at the end of the road.     Gerda broaches the subject
she most fears:

                     GERDA
           Do you want to try one more...?

                                                      (CONTINUED)
                                                    26/11/15
                                                          67.
CONTINUED:

Einar is surprised.    What does Gerda have in mind?


INT. RESTAURANT, DAY

Gerda and Einar sit, both nervous. Opposite, Warnekros
observes Einar closely. A nervous tension in the air.

                       WARNEKROS
             So what do you think would explain what
             you've been experiencing Mr Wegener?

                       EINAR
             Professor Warnekros... the fact is... I                *
             believe I am a woman inside.

                       GERDA
             And I believe it too.

Einar looks to Gerda, grateful to hear her say this out loud.

                       EINAR
             You probably think I'm insane.   That we
             both are...

Warnekros smiles.    He lights a cigarette, taking his time.

                       WARNEKROS
             Well, there are people who think that I'm
             insane. But I think you're probably right.

Einar's amazed.    Warnekros breathes, begins:

                       WARNEKROS (cont'd)
             I've met another man like you.

Einar grasps Gerda's hand, filled with hope...

                       WARNEKROS (cont'd)
             I pursued his case - against the
             wishes of my colleagues, of course.

Warnekros considers a moment, then:

                       WARNEKROS (cont'd)
             I told him I could operate. To make                    *
             him fully a woman.

                       EINAR
             Is that really possible?

Einar and Gerda struggle to take in the idea.

                       GERDA
             What happened to the man?   Was the
             operation successful?


                                                      (CONTINUED)
                                                    26/11/15
                                                           68.
CONTINUED:

                       WARNEKROS
             It never took place. On the morning of the
             first operation, he ran away. He was too
             frightened.

                       EINAR
             I wouldn't do that.

Warnekros manages a grim laugh.      Sounds a warning -

                       WARNEKROS
             Perhaps he was the smart one. The surgery
             has never been attempted before.

Gerda tries to get a grip on things:

                       GERDA                                     *
             Professor Warnekros, what is this                   *
             surgery...?                                         *

                       WARNEKROS                                 *
             Two operations... The first to                      *
             remove the male parts entirely.                     *
             The second - once you were strong                   *
             again - to construct a vagina.                      *

Gerda looks to Einar - Einar's rapt.                             *

                       WARNEKROS (cont'd)                        *
             An irreversible change, and a high                  *
             risk of failure, of infection,                      *
             complications.                                      *

Warnekros's hand waves through the air, suggesting the           *
worst...                                                         *

                       GERDA                                     *
             It's too dangerous...                               *

                       EINAR
             It's my only hope.                                  *

Gerda and Einar exchange a look.     Warnekros observes.

                       WARNEKROS
             I leave for Dresden at lunchtime tomorrow.

He warns them, an unmistakably serious tone:

                       WARNEKROS (cont'd)
             Mrs Wegener, I do believe I can                     *
             help your husband. But he won't be
             your husband when I've finished.                    *




                                                    26/11/15
                                                            69.


EXT. TRAIN STATION, MORNING

A NOISY bustling platform. People rushing in all directions.
Einar checks his ticket, about to board the train. Hans and
Gerda are with him, almost swept away by the tide of people.
Hans carries his case. They find a space in the crowd.
Einar strains at his starched collar - his suit is
emphatically masculine.

                    EINAR
          I feel strange going dressed like this.

                    GERDA
          It's important. Hans says the Germans will
          check your papers.

                    HANS
          Don't take any chances.       You're nearly
          there.

Hans and Einar embrace, then Hans holds him at arms length.

                    EINAR
          I won't be seeing you again.

                    HANS
          You know, I've only really liked a handful
          of people in my life and you've been two of
          them.

Einar half-laughs.   Hans twinkles.

                       HANS (cont'd)
          Take care.     Take care.                                     *

The men part. Hans withdraws. Einar turns to Gerda. What
can he say? They hold one another close, intensely private.

                    GERDA
          I wish you'd let me come with you.

                     EINAR
          I can't.   You love Einar. And I have to let
          him go.

They kiss, an emotional parting.       She removes her bright
scarf.

                    GERDA
          Here, take this...

He takes it, smiles, and boards the train - just in time.
The air fills with steam and NOISE. Gerda raises her hand to
wave as the train pulls out, carrying Einar away. Einar
fights tears as he moves off... Gerda runs alongside a
little way, the gap that's opening between them suddenly
unbearable. And then... the train has gone. Gerda turns to
leave, finds Hans waiting. She walks past him, bereft.
                                                          (CONTINUED)
                                                        26/11/15
                                                                70.
      CONTINUED:

                                HANS
                   Gerda...?     Let me give you a lift.

      She barely turns, hands stuffed firmly in her pockets.

                             GERDA
                   I'm going to walk.

      She strides down the platform, trying to outpace the pain,
      face set, body strong. She could walk like this forever.


      INT. TRAIN COMPARTMENT, DAY

      Einar watches the scenery fly by outside.


      INT. PARIS APARTMENT, STUDIO, EVENING

      Gerda prepares a fresh canvas.


      INT. TINY BATHROOM ON TRAIN.

      Einar opens a document - his passport.       Takes a long look -

                             GUARD (O.S.)
148                Next stop, Dresden. Dresden is the                 148
                   next stop...


      INT. PARIS APARTMENT, STUDIO, DAY

      Gerda, charcoal in hand, the canvas before her, waits to
      begin. Then there's a swift line on the canvas - the curve
      of a flank - conjures a nude Einar or Lili... Whatever name
      is attached to it now. She sketches the form of a body she
      loves. Strong magic to keep it from harm.


      EXT. STREET, DRESDEN, AFTERNOON

      Lili walks into town, a high road that gives her a panoramic
      view of the river.


      INT. WARNEKROS'S CLINIC, RECEPTION, EARLY EVENING

                                RECEPTIONIST
                   Hello...?

                             LILI
                   Yes, my name is Lili, I'm here to see
                   Professor Warnekros.                                     *

                                RECEPTIONIST
                   Lili what?

                                                             (CONTINUED)
                                                           26/11/15
                                                            71.
CONTINUED:

Lili wonders, surprised at the question...

                       LILI
             Oh... Lili Elbe. Yes.    Like the river.

The Receptionist nods.      Writes it down.

                       RECEPTIONIST
             Please take a seat...

Lili settles... looks around.      A sanctuary.   For women.


INT. WARNEKROS'S OFFICE, EVENING

Lili sits with Professor Warnekros. Behind him, anatomical
models of women's reproductive parts, plastic foetuses.

                       LILI
             Must I really wait?

                        WARNEKROS
             It's only a week, We need you to rest and
             gain some weight. We can't risk an
             infection.

Professor Warnekros rises, rests his hands on Lili's
shoulders, paternal. Lili pats his hand, tender, submissive.

                       WARNEKROS (cont'd)
             For what I'm attempting, you'll need to be                 *
             strong.

                       LILI                                             *
             This is not my body, Professor.                            *
             Please take it away.                                       *


EXT. WARNEKROS'S CLINIC, DRESDEN, GARDEN, DAY

Lili amidst other young women patients, many pregnant. She
concentrates on balancing a teacup on her knee. A VOICE:

                       URSULA (O.S.)
             Do you think Spring will come early?

Lili looks round.       A delicate blonde, URSULA, sits nearby.

                       URSULA (cont'd)
             I saw you looking at the crocuses.

                         LILI
             Oh - yes.    You're having a baby.

Ursula nods, cradles her round belly.

                         URSULA
             And you?
                                                          (CONTINUED)
                                                        26/11/15
                                                              72.
CONTINUED:

                       LILI
             No - I'm ill inside. But Professor                        *
             Warnekros's going to make me better.      He's
             operating tomorrow.

                       URSULA
             Will you be able to have children after?

The question catches Lili by surprise, sets her thinking...

                       LILI
             I don't know.

                          URSULA
             I hope so.

Lili smiles, full of optimism.


INT. WARNEKROS'S CLINIC, DRESDEN, LILI'S ROOM, EVENING

A particularly solicitous NURSE gives Lili a white pill.

                       NURSE
             To help you sleep tonight.

Later - Lili at the sink, wipes a washcloth over her face.
The water runs a peachy colour as powder and rouge rinse
away. Lili looks in the mirror at Einar for the last time.


INT. PARIS CAFE, EVENING

Hans smokes his cigar.       Picks a speck of tobacco from his
tongue.

                       HANS
             Rasmussen called. The Dufour people want
             you in their group show. I like the idea.

Gerda looks across at him, hasn't heard anything.

                          GERDA
             I'm sorry?

                       HANS
             The Dufour Gallery?

But Gerda shakes her head.         Hans SIGHS, considers, then:

                       HANS (cont'd)
             Gerda, why don't you go...?

                       GERDA
             He asked me not to.



                                                         (CONTINUED)
                                                       26/11/15
                                                         73.
CONTINUED:

                       HANS
             He wanted to protect you. You
             should be there. I'll go with you.

Gerda turns on him:

                        GERDA
             No.   If I go, it'll be alone.

                       HANS
             Now you're sounding like Einar.

                       GERDA
             I am like Einar.

Hans seethes, frustrated.

                       HANS
             What do you want me to do Gerda?

                       GERDA
             I want you to go away.

Hans is surprised, hurt.

                        HANS
             Really?

Gerda looks down, fixes her eyes on a burn mark on the
tabletop. She senses movement as Hans chair is pushed aside.

                       GERDA
             No, I'm sorry...

But it's too late.     Hans is gone.


INT. WARNEKROS'S CLINIC, DRESDEN, NEXT DAY

Einar/Lili sleeps a deep sleep. We pull out to see the
operating theatre around her, Warnekros prepped to begin.


INT. PROFESSOR WARNEKROS'S CLINIC, DRESDEN,                       *
CORRIDOR/LILI'S ROOM                                              *

Warnekros escorts Gerda along the corridor.

                       WARNEKROS
             She only regained consciousness very                 *
             briefly. We're having to give her a great
             deal of morphine, of course, so that's to
             be expected.


As they reach Lili's room, a CRY fills Gerda with fear.           *


                                                    (CONTINUED)
                                                  26/11/15
                                                           74.
CONTINUED:

                       WARNEKROS (cont'd)                           *
             It's nothing, I assure you...                          *

Gerda is stunned to see Lili held down by ropes weighted with       *
sandbags. She looks terrible, grey-green, exhausted. A
nurse administers morphine, another soothes.

                       NURSE
             You mustn't move Lili.   It only makes it
             worse...

                       GERDA
                 (under her breath)
             My God...

The nurse pushes a paralysed Gerda gently aside -

                       NURSE
             Excuse me...

The nurse slips a mask over Lili's face. She sucks
gratefully at the numbing gas. Gerda comes to, galvanises
herself, moves the nurse aside, takes hold of the mask.

                       GERDA
             I'll do that. I'm here now. Don't worry,
             I'm here...

The nurse looks to Warnekros - he nods. She withdraws. Gerda        *
smooths Lili's brow, determined, devoted.


EXT. WARNEKROS'S CLINIC, GARDEN, TWO WEEKS LATER, DAY

Lili dozes in her wheelchair. Gerda sketches. Lili smiles a
little but her eyes don't open. Gerda notices, stops.

                       LILI
             I can feel I'm getting better when I listen
             to your pencil.

She opens her eyes.

                       LILI (cont'd)
             You've always sketched me better than I
             was.

                          GERDA
             Have I...?

                       LILI
             What you draw, I become. You made me more
             beautiful, now you're making me strong.
             Such power in you.

Gerda smiles. Lili reaches out and touches her hands.
Lili's eyes shine, full of anticipation.

                                                      (CONTINUED)
                                                    26/11/15
                                                                    75.
      CONTINUED:

                             LILI (cont'd)
                   Shall we go back to Denmark then, Gerda?
                   Shall we go home?


      INT. WIDOW HOUSE, COPENHAGEN.       STUDIO, 1 MONTH LATER, DAY

      Gerda CRACKS the lock on the shutters, pushes them open,
      flooding the long-dark room with light. Outside, the bustling
      harbour -

                              GERDA
166                Lili!   Lili, you're late...                           166

      Lili appears. She's excited - dressed, made up...        Gerda
      holds out a little pill-box.

                             GERDA (CONT'D) (cont'd)
                   So, these...

                             LILI
                   Every two hours. And I have to eat
                   something first. I have a few
                   macaroons in my bag all ready.

                                GERDA
                   And these,     only if you need them.

      Lili salutes like a girl guide.       Gerda marvels at her... so
      alive.

                                GERDA (cont'd)
                   Good luck.

      Lili leaves.    Gerda breathes again.      A new beginning.


      EXT. STREET OUTSIDE THE WIDOW HOUSE, DAY

      Lili makes her way down the street, her confidence slowly
      building. A man lifts his hat as she passes and she looks
      away, surprised and pleased.


      INT. FONNESBECH'S DEPARTMENT STORE, DAY

      Lili hangs on the glamourous Manageress's instructions. Fits
      perfectly with the other painted dolls behind the perfume
      counter.

                             MANAGERESS
                   And remember, making a purchase at
                   Fonnesbech's is not merely
                   shopping. It's an experience! You
                   lived in Paris, yes?

                                LILI
                   Oh yes...
                                                              (CONTINUED)
                                                            26/11/15
                                                       76.
CONTINUED:

                       MANAGERESS
             Let everyone know! The store is a
             stage - we are here to perform.

Lili looks out over the cut-glass bottles and endlessly
reflecting surfaces, thrilled ...


INT. FONNESBECH'S DEPARTMENT STORE, DAY

Lili at work.    She explains to an older female customer:

                       LILI
             And in Paris, a lady would never
             dream of spraying the scent
             directly onto herself.

The woman listens, entranced by Lili's animated lecture.

                       LILI (CONT'D) (cont'd)
             No, you spray the air, see, and
             walk into it...

Lili skips into the mist of scent.

                          LILI (CONT'D) (cont'd)
             Voila..!

Lili skips into the mist of scent.

                          LILI (cont'd)
             You try...

The woman is shy, but Lili's enthusiasm is so infectious...

Later: Lili rearranges the perfume bottles on the counter
until they are perfectly aligned... a real satisfaction in
the aesthetic endeavour.


INT. FONNSBECH'S DEPARTMENT STORE

Lili and her colleagues pour out of the store, demob-happy.
Lili offers them sweets from her handbag.

                       GIRL
             It's so unfair - you've got the
             sweetest tooth and the narrowest
             hips in the whole store...

                       GIRL 2
             How do you manage it, eating so
             much sugar?

                       LILI
             Oh, the trick is to eat nothing
             else...

                                                     (CONTINUED)
                                                   26/11/15
                                                        77.
CONTINUED:

They all LAUGH.    Lili moves to go...

                       GIRL
             See you tomorrow!

The Girl hurries into the arms of her waiting boyfriend.
Lili watches, intrigued. Until -

                       GIRL 2
             Lili - are you coming...

And Lili rejoins the throng.


EXT. STREET RUNNING PAST CANAL, DAY

Lili walks along the canals, savouring the journey. The sun
sparkles on the water, and all around people are meeting and
talking, a world of life that she finally feels part of...


INT. WIDOW HOUSE, GERDA'S SIDE OF THE ROOM, NIGHT

A quiet, dreamy atmosphere. Gerda lies awake, watches Lili's
lamplit silhouette on the other side of the dividing sheet.
Lili writes in her notebook. After a while:

                       GERDA
             You know one night last week, I had
             the strangest dream.

                        LILI
             What...?

                       GERDA
             I dreamed you were getting married.

Lili's silhouette sits up...

                       LILI
             Do you think I ever will...?

                       GERDA
             Who knows? So many strange things
             have happened.                                         *

                       GERDA (cont'd)
             It's not so long ago we were
             married... you and me.

Gerda waits in the silence for some response.

                       LILI
             You and Einar.

                       GERDA
             I know it was Einar.   But really it
             was you and me.
                                                      (CONTINUED)
                                                    26/11/15
                                                          78.
CONTINUED:

They both absorb this idea...

Lili's silhouette waits a moment, then lies back down. Gerda
curls into herself.


EXT. CAFE ON HARBOUR, DAY

Lili passes the cafe on the Harbour as usual, glances over...
Her footsteps slow... Sitting alone at a table is a familiar
face: Henrik looks up from his newspaper: Lili. He looks
shocked... then delighted...

                       HENRIK                                        *
             Is it really you...?                                    *

Lili smiles...                                                       *

                       LILI                                          *
             I believe so.                                           *

They begin to laugh, lit up with euphoria.       Henrik hurries to   *
pull out a chair for Lili to sit down...                             *

                                                        LATER:       *

Lili and Henrik at a table together.      Henrik is stunned.         *

                       HENRIK                                        *
             So what you're suggesting is..                          *

Lili tilts her head, waiting, pleased with herself...                *

                       HENRIK (cont'd)                               *
             That a doctor...                                        *

Henrik glances around, lowers his voice...                           *

                       HENRIK (cont'd)                               *
             ...intervened...                                        *

                       LILI                                          *
             To correct a mistake in nature. I                       *
             have a passport to prove it.                            *

                       HENRIK                                        *
             He made you a woman...?                                 *

Lili bridles slightly, corrects him kindly -                         *

                       LILI                                          *
             God made me a woman. The doctor                         *
             cured the sickness that was my                          *
             disguise.                                               *

Henrik pushes, still struggling.       Lili's confidence ebbs...     *


                                                       (CONTINUED)
                                                     26/11/15
                                                          79.
CONTINUED:

                       HENRIK                                        *
             A real woman?                                           *

The question hangs between them.


INT. WIDOW HOUSE, STUDIO, NIGHT                                      *

Lili sits writing in her notebook, all seriousness. Gerda
looks up from reading. Lili takes a pill, resumes writing.

                       GERDA
             You're going to need a new notebook
             if you carry on like this.

                       LILI
             When Professor Warnekros suggested                      *
             I keep a diary... well, I thought
             I'd never have anything to write.
             But it helps, to make sense of
             things.

                       GERDA
             Perhaps I should try it.

Lili almost smiles.                                                  *

                       GERDA (cont'd)
             Do you never think of painting?

Lili's surprised.

                       GERDA (cont'd)
             You might be good at it.

                       LILI
             I want to be a woman, not a
             painter.

                       GERDA
             Well, people have been known to do
             both. I'd be curious to see what
             you painted, that's all. Sometimes
             it's hard to know what's in your...

Lili takes a pill, testy.       Gerda's can't help herself:

                       GERDA (CONT'D) (cont'd)
             Didn't you just take one of those a
             minute ago?

                       LILI
             Gerda, I know what I'm doing.

Gerda backs off.

                       LILI (CONT'D) (cont'd)
             I'm going to get some fresh air.
                                                       (CONTINUED)
                                                     26/11/15
                                                         80.
CONTINUED:

Lili gets her coat and Gerda's wool wrap.      But as Lili heads
for the door -

                       LILI (cont'd)
             You know sometimes I wonder why you
             let me go through all this if you
             thought everything would be the
             same afterwards.

Gerda's wrongfooted...

                       GERDA
             I didn't. But I promised Einar I'd
             take care of you.

                       LILI
             For goodness' sake, Gerda - Einar
             is dead. We both have to accept
             that. You took care of me, now I
             have to take care of myself. I
             have to have a life of my own. And
             you need to do the same.

Lili calls the dog, heads for the door, and is gone.     Gerda
is left alone to process this exchange...


INT. WIDOW HOUSE, NEXT DAY

In the studio, Gerda reorganises, determined - paints,
brushes, solvents everywhere. She has already taken down
most of the sketches from her studio wall. It is blank - a
clean sheet.   She considers...


EXT. PHONE KIOSK ON HARBOUR, DAY

Gerda paces, exercised, all nervous indecision.     Resolves to
enter the booth... We hear a PHONE RINGING.


INT. HANS AXGIL'S OFFICE, PARIS, RECEPTION, DAY

The Receptionist at her desk, on the phone:

                       RECEPTIONIST
             Yes, in London... Is it urgent?
             Should I could ask him to..?


EXT. PHONE KIOSK ON HARBOUR, DAY

Gerda, on the phone, disappointed, wrong-footed.

                       GERDA
             Oh, no that's fine.   Just tell
             him... just say...

                                                      (CONTINUED)
                                                    26/11/15
                                                        81.
CONTINUED:

She struggles to compose a message.

                       GERDA (CONT'D) (cont'd)
             It's a beautiful day in Copenhagen.

She hangs up, discomposed. Feeling like a stupid teenager.


EXT. HARBOUR

Gerda passes the fish stall, greets the female fishmongers -
then sees Lili, up ahead, on Henrik's arm. Henrik sees
Gerda... alerts Lili. Gerda nods politely and quickly heads
in the opposite direction.


INT. WIDOW HOUSE, NIGHT

Food cooking on the stove. Gerda drinks a glass of wine,
thoughtful. Lili arrives home, on eggshells...                      *

                       LILI
             It's not what you think. Henrik is                     *
             homosexual. There's nothing between
             us. But I should have told you I'd                     *
             seen him.

                       GERDA
             No you shouldn't...                                    *

                       LILI
             He's just a friend, Gerda.   Someone
             to talk to.

                       GERDA                                        *
                 (without rancour)                                  *
             Because you can't talk to me.                          *

Gerda pours wine for Lili. She accepts the glass.                   *

                       LILI
             About some things, no.                                 *

Gerda lifts her glass, proposing a muted toast, but Lili has        *
something more on her mind...                                       *

                        LILI (cont'd)
             I've made a decision. I'm going                        *
             back to Dresden. For the second
             operation.

Gerda's blood runs cold.

                       GERDA
             It's too soon.



                                                      (CONTINUED)
                                                    26/11/15
                                                       82.
CONTINUED:

                       LILI
             No, it's time. I need to finish
             what I started.

                       GERDA
             You're not strong enough...

                       LILI
             Professor Warnekros thinks I am...                    *

                       GERDA
             Warnekros...? He hasn't seen you.

                       LILI
             I've made up my mind.

Gerda shakes her head, disbelief...

                       GERDA
             It could kill you.

                       LILI (CONT'D)
             I'm going on Friday. Will you come
             with me?

Gerda's mind races to absorb the announcement...

                       GERDA
             I won't help you to hurt yourself.

Lili bites down on it:

                       LILI
             Gerda, will you come...?


INT. WARNEKROS'S CLINIC, LILI'S ROOM, RAINY NIGHT                  *

Lili's sitting up in bed, Gerda's bright scarf around her          *
shoulders.    Warnekros holds Lili's wrist, checks the pulse.      *

                       WARNEKROS                                   *
             This will be harder than the last                     *
             operation? You understand that.                       *

                         LILI                                      *
             Yes I do.                                             *

A note of warning.                                                 *

                       WARNEKROS                                   *
             It's complex surgery.                                 *

                       LILI                                        *
             And I'll sleep all the way through                    *
             it!                                                   *


                                                     (CONTINUED)
                                                   26/11/15
                                                        83.
CONTINUED:

                       WARNEKROS                                   *
             Yes you will, but...                                  *

                       LILI                                        *
             You'll be there when I wake up.                       *

Lili half-jokes:                                                   *

                       LILI (cont'd)                               *
             I want a husband who looks just                       *
             like you!                                             *

Then, more thoughtful:                                             *

                       LILI (CONT'D) (cont'd)                      *
             And maybe a child. Like a real                        *
             woman.                                                *

Warnekros nods, kindly, but...                                     *

                       WARNEKROS                                   *
             One step at a time.                                   *

He gets up.

                       WARNEKROS (cont'd)
             Get some rest, now. Goodnight.

He smiles, goes to the door. Gerda's waiting outside.    They      *
cross in the doorway, polite but not warm.                         *

Lili smiles, seeing Gerda. Gerda sits on the bed.                  *

                       LILI
             You're still angry with me.

                        GERDA
             I'm not angry with you, I'm worried
             about you.

Gerda lays her head in Lili's lap, tired with anxiety. Lili
strokes her hair. We feel the depth of love between them.

                       LILI (CONT'D)
             You heard my wish Gerda. When no
             one else could hear me, you did.

Gerda's eyes begin to fill.    She collects herself.

                       GERDA
             Come. We both need our rest. I
             can sleep in the chair, there...

                       LILI
             Off to your little hotel.

                       GERDA
             I don't mind...
                                                     (CONTINUED)
                                                   26/11/15
                                                          84.
CONTINUED:

But Lili insists.

                       LILI
             Are there chocolates on the pillow?

                       GERDA
             Cigarette burns.

Lili laughs, kisses Gerda's cheek.

                       LILI
             Take this... There's a chill in the
             air.

Lili goes to hand over Gerda's scarf, but:

                       GERDA
             You keep it. For now.

Lili smiles, a little mischievous.       But then a look between
them. Gerda's afraid.

                       LILI
             I'm going to be fine.

Gerda nods, determined to believe it.

                          GERDA
             Yes.

                       LILI
             Sleep well.

                          GERDA
             Goodnight.

Lili is determinedly bright. Gerda takes her coat and bag.
The door closes behind her. A couple of moments pass and
then Lili begins to dissolve, releasing tears of overwhelming
fear and anticipation...


INT. DRESDEN HOTEL, RECEPTION, NIGHT

The CONCIERGE approaches, solicitous.

                          GERDA
             Room 9.

The concierge turns to get Gerda's key. The sound of a
cocktail piano in an adjacent room serves to reinforce her
isolation. But then she sees reflected in the mirror - a
familiar face -

                          GERDA (CONT'D) (cont'd)
             Hans...?


                                                       (CONTINUED)
                                                     26/11/15
                                                       85.
CONTINUED:

Gerda turns, barely holding herself together... he catches
her in a heavy, passionate embrace. A huge sense of relief,
reunion, trust.

                       HANS
             It's alright.

Gerda nods, greatly comforted by his presence.

                       GERDA
             Yes.

                       HANS
             Everything will be alright.

Gerda hangs on to Hans, desperately wanting it to be true.


INT. WARNEKROS'S CLINIC, LILI'S ROOM, DAWN

A nurse helps a quietly determined Lili into a surgical gown.


INT. OPERATING THEATRE

Warnerkros, scrubbed in, serious, ready to begin.

                       WARNEKROS
             Good luck, everybody.

Lili anaesthetised. We stay on her face, hear voices, the
clank of instruments. Rain beginning... the sound of it
increasingly intense as the wind comes up too...


INT. WARNEKROS'S CLINIC, RECEPTION, NEXT MORNING

Morning light streams in, harsh, unforgiving. Hans holds the
door for Gerda. She's barely inside when the Receptionist
jumps urgently to her feet.

                       RECEPTIONIST
             Professor Warnekros would like a                      *
             word...

Gerda's faces register anxiety. Hans gestures - he's backing
off. He'll wait. Gerda hurries away.


INT. WARNEKROS'S CLINIC, DRESDEN, MORNING

Warnekros and Gerda walk purposefully along the corridor -         *

                       WARNEKROS
             She lost a lot of blood. Now we're
             struggling to keep the fever down.
             There's a chance it will burn
             itself out, but...
                                                     (CONTINUED)
                                                   26/11/15
                                                         86.
CONTINUED:

They arrive at the doorway to Lili's room. Warnekros shows           *
Gerda in. Lili sleeps fitfully, slick with sweat.                    *
Warnekros's clearly worried. Gerda's astonished at how ill
she looks.

                       WARNEKROS (CONT'D) (cont'd)
                 (deeply regretful)
             I'm sorry... I have to be honest.
             The prognosis is not...

He can't finish, but Gerda barely hears him anyway...

                       GERDA
             Go away... thank you.   Leave us                        *
             alone.

Gerda hangs in the doorway, blocking it, until Warnekros is          *
obliged to turn away. We follow him, walking back down the           *
corridor, alone, excluded, burdened by failure.                      *


INT. WARNEKROS'S CLINIC, DRESDEN, GARDEN, NIGHT

Heavy spots of rain begin to splash down. Most of the
hospital in darkness. A light glowing in one room.


INT. WARNEKROS'S CLINIC, DRESDEN, LILI'S ROOM, NIGHT

Gerda in the chair at Lili's bedside, mopping her brow. The
rainstorm beating outside. A nurse enters with a jug of
water. Gerda nods, grateful.


INT. WARNEKROS'S CLINIC, DRESDEN, CORRIDOR, DAWN

A cleaner works her mop and bucket down the corridor.      Hans
sleeps in a chair up ahead.


INT. WARNEKROS'S CLINIC, DRESDEN, LILI'S ROOM

Lili sleeping, calmer now. Her face translucent in the
morning light. Gerda sleeps in the chair beside her. Gerda
wakes, disoriented for a moment, then looks at Lili, sleeping
peacefully, clearly cooler now... Gerda feels her brow - no
heat there any more...   Gerda's relief is palpable. She
smooths Lili's fringe, then gets up, opens the curtains -
wide - the sun just starting to show in the rain-washed sky.
She turns back to see Lili's eyes open.

                        GERDA
             Lili...?

Lili struggles to speak.



                                                       (CONTINUED)
                                                     26/11/15
                                                          87.
CONTINUED:

                        GERDA (cont'd)
             I'm here... just lie still... It's
             alright...

Lili smiles through her medicated haze.       She sees Hans hurry
in... thrilled to see her awake...

                         HANS
             Oh, Lili.    How are you?

Her voice is faint, cracked.      She takes in Hans and Gerda:

                       LILI
             I am... entirely myself.

Hans laughs gently.

                       HANS
             I'll tell Warnekros she's awake.

Hans goes.    Gerda sits back beside Lili, fixes her hair.

                       GERDA
             You know you had us worried...

Lili's frail, otherworldly, but her eyes burn bright.      She
looks to the window.

                       LILI
             Can I go outside, Gerda?    Into the
             garden?

                       GERDA
             I think you should rest...

But Lili takes Gerda's hand, a great sense of calm in her.
She looks at Gerda. Gerda still there, always there.

                         LILI
             Please...


EXT. CLINIC GARDENS

Gerda wheels Lili out in a wheelchair, Hans holding the door
open for her to pass. A glance between him and Gerda, then
he leaves the women alone.

Gerda is settles herself in a chair beside Lili, rests her
hand on Lili's arm. The birch trees in Spring leaf. A light
breeze makes them quiver. Lili's breathing is shallow. We
feel the depth of love between the women, and the
precariousness of their situation.

                       LILI
             You mustn't worry about me any
             more, Gerda.

                                                       (CONTINUED)
                                                     26/11/15
                                                          88.
CONTINUED:

                       GERDA
             It's an old habit.   I'm slow to
             change.

                       LILI
             How have I ever deserved such love?

Gerda struggles to remain composed.

                       LILI (cont'd)
             I'm sorry you were frightened.
             There's nothing to be afraid of any
             more.

                        GERDA
             No.

                       LILI
             You know, last night, I had the
             most beautiful dream... I dreamed I
             was a baby in my mother's arms...
             and she looked down at me... and
             called me Lili...

Gerda is amazed, deeply moved...

                        GERDA
             Lili...

Lili's features arrange themselves into an expression of
perfect joy as she sinks back into something which Gerda
gradually sees is deeper than sleep...

                        GERDA (cont'd)
             Lili...

Gerda clutches the hand... No response...       Smooths the
brow... still nothing...

                        GERDA (CONT'D) (cont'd)
             Lili...?

Gerda presses Lili's hand against her cheek, overwhelmed with
grief. Lili looks blissfully happy. The dawn light grows
stronger in the garden...


INT/EXT. JUTLAND, DAWN, TWO WEEKS LATER

Hans' car rolls into the bleak landscape. Hans and Gerda
inside. Gerda looks out - at a landscape she knows with
absolute intimacy, although she's never been here before.
It's all here... the imagery from Einar's paintings, singing
with life... A wild stretch of rocky green under soft
northern light, a row of beautiful black-limbed trees, bent
over, but not broken, by the wind...



                                                     26/11/15
                                                     89.


EXT. CLIFFS OVERLOOKING KATTEGAT SEA, JUTLAND, MORNING

Hans tails Gerda. She battles the incredible gusts of salt
air, the bright scarf flying like a flag at her throat. She
pushes on, closer to the cliff edge... Finally she reaches
an amazing vantage point, is stunned by the view: a rectangle
of ferociously stormy sea, silver waves whipped by a wind
that stings, relentless. We hear the RUSTLE and PUNCH of the
weather going at her. Hans joins her. They stand there
looking out until they can hardly breathe any more.

Hans takes her armto steady her, but as she turns toward him
the wind rips up under the bright scarf, snatches it into the
air. Gerda GASPS - a moment of loss - but then, something
else... As Hans hurries to try and catch it -

                    GERDA
          No - leave it..!   Leave it..

She pulls him back, watches it dance, tears of joy in her
eyes...

                    GERDA (CONT'D)
          Let it fly...

The scarf swoops up and dives down, curls and rolls, as free
as child... a girl at play. Gerda clutches her coat at her
breast, almost delirious at the beauty of it. Hans watches
with her - the absurdly joyous spectacle of it, a stunning
farewell. And as the scarf dances out from the cliff, out to
sea... into eternity...



                    ENDS




                                                26/11/15

Danish Girl, The



Writers :   Lucinda Coxon  David Ebershoff
Genres :   Drama  Romance


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