Movie review : "The Worst Person in The World" (Norwegian Film)
I watched a Norwegian film The Worst Person in the World two years ago, and for long time, its story and ideas stayed with me. I thought that someday I would have the opportunity to write a review of this extraordinary and deeply meaningful film. Now, I feel that I have found a genuine platform to share my thoughts and reflections on this life-changing piece of drama.
Sometimes a movie dazzle us not because its story , but because the directior tells a familiar story in a way that makes a mixed feelings. The Worst Person in the World is exactly that kind of film. Directed by Norwegian filmmaker Joachim Trier and written with Eskil Vogt, the movie looks like a romantic comedy at first, but gradually becomes something much deeper when you continue watching forward. It is about love, relationships, confusion, ambition, mistakes, and most importantly, the difficult journey of identifying who we really are. The film follows Julie, wonderfully portrayed by Renate Reinsve. She doesn't have a straight forward plan for her life. She changes her career ambitions several times, moving from one discipline to another discipline such as medicine to psychology, photography, and eventually writing.
The movie is divided into 12 chapters. I particularly liked the story, is structured because each chapter feels like another stage in Julie's emotional journey. As she gets closer to thirty, she begins to question almost everything her career, her relationships, her choices, and even the person she is becoming.
Julie seems to be experiencing exactly that. She isn't necessarily unhappy with everything around her. Rather, she feels that something inside her a hollowness is haunting. Her relationship with Aksel, played by Anders Danielsen Lie, is one of the most important parts of this remarkable story. Aksel is older, successful, and more confined in his professional life. He seems to understand Julie and genuinely cares about her. Their relationship feels believable. They love each other, but they are also moving toward different futures. Sometimes two people deeply care for each other and still notice that, they want different things in life & they will be better without each other.
Then comes Eivind, played by Herbert Nordrum. Julie meets him unexpectedly after leaving an event connected to Aksel and wandering into a wedding reception. Their encounter develops into a strange but fascinating flirtation. Both are already in relationships in their personal life, which makes their interaction ethically complicated. The movie doesn't simply tell us whether what they do is right or wrong. Instead, it allows us to watch the situation and make our own judgment.
Renate Reinsve gives an outstanding performance as Julie. What I enjoyed most was how natural she feels. Julie can be confident, confused, selfish, affectionate, impulsive, and vulnerable, sometimes within the same scene. She doesn't feel like a traditionally perfect movie actress. She feels like a real person who makes mistakes while trying to understand her own life. Anders Danielsen Lie also deserves special appreciation. His performance as Aksel is silently powerful. His character becomes increasingly emotional as his relationship with Julie changes, and the actor manages to communicate a lot without excessive dialogue or dramatic expressions.
Joachim Trier also uses some very creative visual ideas. One of the most memorable moments comes when Julie runs through Oslo and, suddenly, the entire world seems to stop around her. It’s a wonderful way of absorbing emotions at any particular situation. Another unusual sequence takes us through Julie's experience after taking psychedelic mushrooms. These scenes give the film a dreamlike quality while also helping us understand Julie's state of mind. What I found most interesting about The Worst Person in the World is that it doesn't try to give us an easy answer. Julie makes mistakes. Sometimes she behaves selfishly. Sometimes she hurts people. But she is also trying to find a place for herself in a world where everyone seems to expect her to know exactly what she wants.
The title itself is also interesting. Julie isn't literally the worst person in the world. She is just imperfect, such like everyone else. She makes wrong decisions, changes her mind, falls in love, becomes confused, regrets things, and tries to move forward with respect to personal & professional life. Perhaps the title is meant to reflect the way we sometimes judge ourselves when we make mistakes. Life doesn't always follow a neat storyline, and relationships don't always have simple happy endings solution. Sometimes we have to leave people we love. Sometimes we choose the wrong path. Sometimes we discover what we want only after making several mistakes.
In the end, The Worst Person in the World is a thoughtful, funny, emotional, and occasionally painful film about growing up and trying to understand thyself. Julie's journey is messy, uncertain, and sometimes frustrating, but that is exactly what makes it feel human. Most probably we don’t know in all our life, what we are doing & what we want exactly. We simply make choices, live with their consequences, learn something from them, and continue moving forward. And maybe that is what makes us human rather than "the worst person in the world."
Some important information are given bellow about the movie.
| Subject | Information |
|---|---|
| Movie name | The Worst Person in The World |
| Release date | March-25, 2022 |
| IMDb Rating | 7.7/10 |
| Metascore | 91/100 |
| Countries of origin | Norway, France, Sweden, Denmark |
| Languages | Norwegian, English |
| Filming Location | Oslo, Norway |
| Director | Joachim Trier |
| Writer | Eskil Vogt, Joachim Trier |
| Genre | Psychological Drama, Dark Romance |
| Leading Actress | Renate Reinsve as Julie |
| Leading Actor | Anders Danielsen Lie as Aksel |
| Sopporting Actor | Herbert Nordrum as Eivind |
| Budget | €5,000,000 (estimated) |
| Gross worldwide | $13,124,988 |
| Runtime | 2h 8m |
| Sound mix | Dolby Digital |
| Aspect ratio | 1.85 : 1 |
I highly recommend to watch this movie, If anyone missed it out.
Thank you so much for indulging me...