Self-doubt is a constant reckoning in our lives. From the time we become self-aware of our skills and understanding, the first thing we do is to question every decision we’re about to make. Many times, we hop from one thing to another to find what we love. Or leave the decision for our elders to decide only to regret it later. But it’s all part of life. Joachim Trier knows that. With The Worst Person in the World, he takes us on a journey with Julie (Renate Reinsve) who navigates the troubled waters of her love life and career, leading her to take a realistic look at who she is.
We meet Julie as a medical student which she leaves to become a psychologist only to pivot and study photography. Staying committed to one thing is something Julie struggles with. She meets Aksel (Anders Danielsen Lie) with whom she starts a relationship. Aksel is fifteen years senior and a popular graphic novelist for the politically incorrect and sexist comic series Bobcat. Slowly and steadily, she finds herself settling into a routinely simple life until she meets Eivind at a party she crashes. Then, we go through twelve chapters in her life over four years.
When you’re in a relationship with a person much older than you, one thing you’re constantly going to do is play catch-up. With forty-four years under his belt, Aksel has been through many relationships and he is at a point in his life where he knows what he wants, namely kids—which Julie isn’t ready for. She faces constant pressure to lock her future as she closes on her 30th birthday. As a society, we have these unwritten rules that at a certain age you have to hit this target. By the age of thirty, you should be married with a good job and a child on the way. But no one knows what to do when you don’t achieve that. It also has negative psychological ramifications. Trier opens up that conversation as we go further into the complicated life of Julie, emphasizing that it is okay that you don’t have life figured out. Because life isn’t about milestones, but of moments.
One thing that makes The Worst Person in the World unique is how Trier manages to inventively capture the brief occasions of happiness and tenderness in Julie’s life. One of the moments is the time when Julie meets Eivind. With both of them being in a relationship yet attracted to one another, they spend the whole night trying not to cheat. At one point they pee in front of one another to kill the momentum.
Insecurity is an important theme Trier explores through his characters. It’s not just Julie who is going through a crisis of identity: Aksel finds himself in a heated debate about his comic books and how sexist they are and Eivind is torn between his current girlfriend and Julie. We start to relate to these characters quite easily.
Leading The Worst Person in the World by giving one of the best performances of this year is Reinsve. You can’t help but fall in love with her and her performance. She is phenomenal as Julie and captures every beat of her complicated life, leaving the audience in awe of her. Also giving equally great performances are Danielsen Lie and Nordrum, who plays Julie’s boyfriends Aksel and Eivind. Trier manages to give both Aksel and Eivind their arcs away from Julie to emphasize the fact that it is not just her that is going through an existential crisis.
We’ve all been in Julie’s shoes one or way or the other. Or we still are. The feeling of being the worst person in the world over a decision we make or not is something we can all relate to. It is easy to fall in love with this movie and Julie. Trier creates a magical experience of reality that makes you feel good about life. The Worst Person in the World is one of the best movies to come out this year.
[Blu-ray/DVD Review—June 24, 2022—Criterion, 131 min., in Norwegian w/English subtitles, R, Blu-ray: $39.95, DVD: $29.95—Making its debut on Blu-ray and DVD, The Worst Person in the World (2021) is transferred from a 2K digital master and features extras including new interviews with director Joachim Trier, co-screenwriter Eskil Vogt, actors Renate Reinsve, Anders Danielsen Lie, and Herbert Nordrum, cinematographer Kasper Tuxen, and sound designer Gisle Tveito; on-set footage from the creation of the film’s time-freezing sequence; deleted scenes, and a leaflet with an essay by critic Sheila O’Malley. Bottom line: this Oscar-nominated romantic comedy is one of 2021’s best films.]
Chicago International Film Festival Review