The Worst Person in the World
The chronicles of four years in the life of Julie, a young woman who navigates the troubled waters of her love life and struggles to find her career path, leading her to take a realistic look at who she really is.
- Released: 2021-10-13
- Runtime: 127 minutes
- Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance
- Stars: Renate Reinsve, Anders Danielsen Lie, Herbert Nordrum, Maria Grazia Di Meo, Hans Olav Brenner, Marianne Krogh, Helene Bjørnebye, Vidar Sandem, Anna Dworak, Thea Stabell, Deniz Kaya, Lasse Gretland, Karen Røise Kielland, Karla Nitteberg Aspelin, Sofia Schandy Bloch, Savannah Marie Schei, Eia Skjønsberg, Nataniel Nordnes, Rebekka Jynge, Gisle Tveito, Ruby Dagnall, Ine Jansen, Torgny Amdam, Sigrid Sollund, Are Skeie Hermansen, Siri Forberg, August Wilhelm Méd Brenner, Tumi Løvik Jakobson, Jonathan Nielssen, Maren Emilie Haagenrud Buskoven, Olav Stubberud, Martin Gran, Geir Ørnholt, Tobias Klemeyer Smith, Trygve Indrelid, Trude Schjelderup Iversen, Zoe Maland Rogers, Jonas Lund, Hildur Kristinsdottir, Johanna Brym Ryg, Thomas Teige, Margrethe Glambek
- Director: Joachim Trier
Comments
- ealcalay - 13 May 2024
Exceptional writing and acting
One of the most worthwhile films I watched recently. It is at times funny, at times introspective, at times sad, at all times interesting.
I have read many reviews from people who see this as Julie's (the character marvelously played by Renate Reinsve) voyage to find herself, to discover her true calling, and to gain her independence.
I must be in the minority here, although the title suggests I may have the right angle. I saw Julie as an immature young adult, changing university majors as if they were evening dresses. Nothing wrong here: many young adults try out many education and career paths. And nobody is hurt along the way.
Where I began having trouble was when Julie was older. Pushing 30, then in her 30s. Still looking to find herself but hurting people. She chewed through Aksel, then through Eivind. I found myself thinking that Julie is no more a lost girl, but an egotistical monster, a blood-sucking vulture, someone who destroys whatever she touches. She was lucky to meet two supportive, emotionally mature, and kind men, whom she stepped all over thinking of nobody but herself. If not The Worst Person in the World, at least the worst person of 2021. - grinningelvis - 29 January 2024
A very small world
It never seems to occur to anyone in "Worst Person In the World" that a different Oslo may exist. This is a day-glo version of the universe where everyone's pithy soul-searching is inseparably synced to their privilege. Julie is worthy of our interest but not our judgement, and if you accept that, you've passed a certain cinematic purity test and get to playfully wallow in life's hard lessons.
As a result, Ari Kaurismaki's Oslo simply doesn't exist. It can't. Then life would be icky and unfair and good people would live quiet, desperate lives.
I thought more about that other cinematic universe than I did Julie's in Trier's long, often mannered film, mostly because these very aloof characters are generally busy obsessing over cartoon buttholes and the gentlest subversion of the rom-com standards to really warrant much consideration on their own. While that may give them the aura of "authentic", no one is particularly likable. Nor should we expect them to be. But investing in Trier's universe also means that you have to care more about cocktail dresses and the drunken whims of a self-serious, twenty-something chameleon who supposedly finds equal merit in surgery, psychology, and fine art. Meeting Julie, I ain't buyin' it, and one wonders why the cynical artist and supportive shadow-mother don't just turn away like her callous father has.
I mention Kaurismaki not because his should be the only Olso narrative to exist but because his is so very unique and suggests a world that is simultaneously more mundane and fascinatingly deeper than Julie's bourgeois existence. In his films, morose types struggle with identity and disappointment in equally specific ways. They rarely speak to their own fugue states but we understand them with laser focus. "TWPITW" has a slew of narrators, none more grating than the actual voiceover who tells us exactly what we should know about Julie when the film needs to hone in on one of it's many writerly ironies. In Triers world, class certainly exists, but only insofar as it serves Julie's next act of alienation.
I wish I found any of these characters as interesting as every other critic seems to have, but by the time "TWPITW" is rushing toward its conveniently syrupy Cancer Year revelations I was actively rooting for a hard comeuppance. We know all along that Julie will succeed because there is never a second's doubt. Everyone wants her to win because otherwise the film wouldn't exist at all. - Filmcrook - 21 October 2023
I'm the best person in the world now
This film is lively, energetic, abstract, and captures both the happiness and sadness, reflecting the various dualities and tones of one person's life in all its essence. I am a bit late to the party, but Joachim Trier's movie felt refreshing, reigniting my numb brain and reminding me what it's like to truly feel something when watching a film.
Certainly, this film deserves all the praise it has received over these few years. Renate Reinsve delivers an amazing performance, as do other members of the cast. Relatability can significantly enhance the impact of a story on the audience. It's the little snippets of our memories, the good and the bad moments, and everything in between that truly make a narrative resonate. - wijajo-72563 - 4 December 2022
Fantastic Script
The Worst Person in the World eschews the one-dimensional characters or predictable plots found in many romantic films. It's a gritty film that is deep in character exploration and the complexity of love and finding fulfilment in modern life.
One of the first things that struck me was how talented the scriptwriters were. The arguments and debates between the characters were really emblematic of the issues and situations that exist in romantic relationships. Most romances focus on finding love, but the Worst Person in the World is deeper - it focuses not only on attainment but on maintenance of romantic relationships.
It's a great film that explores our relationships with our friends, families, and partners, while questioning what is required to make an individual happy. - katharinaruiss - 22 October 2022
Explorative messiness of life
Although there happened a lot and the story was packed full with new experiences. It did not feel like an overload, it rather lead to the 2 hour movie passing by in a blink. I liked the structure in different chapters of the protagonist's life.
The childish and curious exploring of Julie's world within her 20ies was such an entertainment to watch. I was getting the message of exploring life being presented as something that is not only legitimate, but maybe even the best way to live life. I enjoyed it a lot, one of my favourite movies, it was funny, romantic, artistic and sad. The music was great and felt very harmonious and suitable to the mood of the scenes and chapters. The end felt a bit forced in order to bring in more depth with the Story of her ex boyfriend getting cancer. But overall I enjoyed it a lot. - zala-44259 - 12 September 2022
Lost, love, passion.
The film reflects the reality that each person goes through at a certain stage in his life! Starting from the stage in which you are looking for the passion that suits you, through the search for the relationships that make you satisfied with yourself and a sense of balance!
The thirties stage is one of the difficult stages to adapt to, especially for a girl for whom we did not find a suitable relationship! He has a good job!
Twelve chapters were enough to bring up a lot of topics, some of them are interesting and others draw surprise on your face! Because of the boldness of the proposal and its benefit! But the common thing is that they all left different feelings from the previous chapter! The first section of this miracle is the way to choose the path of life! A diligent person thanks to his high marks and some of the opinions around him that make him choose a specialty that is likely to be very far from what he wants just to satisfy others! He makes himself a prisoner in a state of misery! High grades always mean taking the path of medicine as your life's profession, and this is what the heroine did, but she did not find herself, so she tried to change from a doctor to a photographer to a writer! Which made her completely lost!
The first chapter that came under the title! "Others": naturally reflects toxic relationships and how each person deals with them; I raised various sexual topics that reflect the Norwegian culture! It reminded me many times of Greek culture! The subject of children and how to deal with them! It varies from person to person!
The scene of her walking alone and her collapse, one of the best scenes in the work as a whole, conveyed all her feelings!
The second chapter, "Betrayal": One of the favorite chapters in the movie, it gave another look at the heroine, who was drawing a false smile in the last chapter, in contrast to this chapter, who was feeling happy and gave a different concept of betrayal! Lived a night that made up for a lot! It gave her a dose of hope at her age! She lifted the curtain on daring things about the heroine's character and how she was able to share them with someone she didn't know completely, but she felt comfortable with him! Most of the time.
Chapter Three "Oral Sex": This chapter in particular drew astonishment on my face! And I was surprised to put it up while watching frank nudity! And I think all this is to reveal her passion for writing.
Then comes the family chapter: the thirties are finally coming! And how the family affects most children's feelings, starting with a turbulent relationship in which divorce prevails, and a father prefers one girl over the other! And he misses her birthday party, which makes her disappointed every time because of his lie! And this justifies her broken feelings because of her surroundings!
The next chapter was a coincidence that she hoped would happen, which is to meet the person who drew a smile on her face one night, so she wanted time to stop to practice that betrayal that did not happen in the previous chapter! And gave her the courage to separate from her lover! That was the end of the relationship with sex! The strangeness of the separation was reflected in my facial features while watching; And try to justify the separation.
The sixth chapter was like giving another angle to scenes that we have seen before, but from the perspective of "" who also cheated on his wife, but he is still affected by her thoughts on the environment.
New chapter! A new beginning and as the beginning of any relationship in which an atmosphere of happiness prevails, full of passion for love and enthusiasm.
We are coming to the eighth chapter full of weirdness! Under the title "Circus of Yulia Narcissist" I do not want to write a lot in this chapter because it is fantasies due to eating mushrooms and fears for a female character of childbirth and its impact on her appearance in general! Mostly this is one of the reasons why Yulia did not think about having a baby! To evade corruption that may tamper with it!
A quick chapter brings us back to her previous relationship and how her ex-boyfriend became without her. Whether from his successes or disappointments, which makes her feel a kind of nostalgia! She discovers that he has cancer, which messes with her feelings and sends a feeling of sadness.
The penultimate chapter: Back is the most understanding person for her! A person she escaped from, but returned to him to escape from another person, especially after hearing about his illness; The course of the dialogue was smooth without getting bored! What she was most afraid of actually happened and that she was pregnant! She told her ex-boyfriend first to see his reaction and make him feel comfortable, but he made him more lost than before! And the confrontation was always trying to escape instead of facing its circumstances.
We come to the last piece that messed with my feelings "everything ends" every relationship ends and every life ends with death. She was the companion of her ex-lover in the last stages of his life, and it was her first loss with his death! And then, without warning, that fetus falls, and the third loss comes and ends with the end of their relationship. Everything happened to the worst person in the world from her point of view! After all, we are all bad people who have a bad influence on the people around us.
Excellent movie! Attract your attention and actors deliver all the feelings to be conveyed! With the help of distinctive musical pieces in many cases! The only thing that upsets my balance is the language. I found it difficult to adapt because it was the first time I heard it.
