‘It’s not even nostalgia, it’s fear of death…’
After a successful festival season that culminated in a Best Actress award at Cannes and an Oscar nomination for Best International Film, writer-director Joachim Trier’s sleeper hit The Worst Person in the World has become the kind of word-of-mouth success that has the film industry talking. A Norwegian film running at over two hours will put some people off, but this is the kind of movie that everyone can enjoy…
Julie (Renate Reinsve) is a free spirited but confused young woman attempting to find herself in a world in which people are defined by their job or their family. Comic book artist Aksel (Anders Danielsen Lie) and a potential new lover Eivind (Herbert Nordrum) come along for the ride.
As a number of people have pointed out, Julie is the kind of flawed female protagonist that is all the rage following the success of Fleabag, I May Destroy You and Promising Young Woman. We have seen this kind of reckless and confused character before, but Reinsve’s performance is so intoxicating that it really doesn’t matter. Whilst Nordrum and particularly Danielsen Lie more than hold their own, it is Reinsve that ensures that The Worst Person in the World is a film destined to break through to the mainstream.
Having said that, Trier’s script contains a number of unforgettable scenes including Reinsve and Nordrum pushing the limits of what is or isn’t cheating and a mushroom trip that will go down in cinematic history. There is no denying that Reinsve is the glue that holds these scenes together however, and there is surely a career waiting in the bright lights of Hollywood if she chooses to take that path.
The Worst Person in the World is funny, entertaining and surprisingly poignant. A film that has something for everyone.