{"id":6669,"date":"2024-10-25T23:12:38","date_gmt":"2024-10-26T03:12:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/?p=6669"},"modified":"2024-10-25T23:12:38","modified_gmt":"2024-10-26T03:12:38","slug":"the-worst-person-in-the-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/2024\/10\/25\/the-worst-person-in-the-world\/","title":{"rendered":"The Worst Person in the World"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"The Worst Person in the World <\/strong>(2021)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Neon\/Comedy-Drama\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 RT: 128 minutes\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Rated R (sexual content, graphic nudity, drug use, some language)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Director: Joachim Trier\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Screenplay: Eskil Vogt and Joachim Trier\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Music: Ola Flottum\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Cinematography: Kasper Tuxen\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Release date: February 4, 2022 (US)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Cast: Renate Reinsve, Anders Danielsen Lie, Herbert Nordrum, Hans Olav Brenner, Helene Bjorneby, Vidar Sandem, Maria Grazia Di Meo, Lasse Gretland, Karen Roise Kielland, Marianne Krogh, Thea Stabell, Deniz Kaya, Eia Skjonsberg. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Spoken in Norwegian w\/English subtitles<\/strong><\/p>\n

Rating<\/strong>: *** \u00bd<\/p>\n

\u00a0Does anybody really have it all figured out? Life, that is. By what age should somebody have their act together? When does \u201cadulthood\u201d actually begin? Those are some real toughies, no? They\u2019ve been considered by many a young person down through the ages. Director Joachim Trier (Oslo, August 31st<\/sup>) explores these big questions through the prism of the capricious protagonist of his insightful yet whimsical rom-com\/drama The Worst Person in the World<\/strong>, one of this year\u2019s nominees for Best International Feature.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Said protagonist is Julie (Reinsve, Oslo, August 31st<\/sup>), a young woman still navigating life and love at age 30. It\u2019s pretty common these days for young people to take their time in choosing the right path for their lives. Like Julie, they drift from one thing to the next, never settling on one thing for too long. They need time to decide which career or romantic partner suits them best. It\u2019s a process. This wasn\u2019t the case for previous generations. In one of the film\u2019s most defining moments, Julie observes where her female ancestors were at her age. They were already married with children. Why can\u2019t she get it together? Is there something wrong with her?<\/p>\n

\u00a0Right away, Trier makes The Worst Person in the World<\/strong> his own by dividing it into 12 chapters bookended by a prologue and epilogue. Some last longer than others; each one presents a different episode in Julie\u2019s life. The prologue shows her constantly redefining herself as she constantly changes career goals. Each time, she changes her appearance as if to signify the birth of a new Julie. She switches the focus of her education from medicine to psychology. Then she decides she wants to be a photographer. It\u2019s during this time she becomes romantically involved with Aksel (Lie, 22 July), a controversial comic book artist 15 years her senior. This huge age gap comes with the expected issues like being in different places in life. He expresses a desire to start a family; she\u2019s not sure if she even wants to have children. Of course, that could change. Who knows?<\/p>\n

\u00a0Aksel isn\u2019t the only man in Julie\u2019s life. Early on, she leaves a publishing event early and spontaneously decides to crash a wedding where she meets Eivind (Nordrum), a barista with no real ambition. Like Julie, he\u2019s drifting through life looking for something he\u2019s unable to define. They spend a meaningful night together. They\u2019re intimate, but they never actually cheat on their respective partners. They part ways without learning full names lest they\u2019re tempted to look each other up on social media. Chance brings them together again. Now Julie has a choice to make. Should she stay with Aksel? He\u2019s the safe choice, but stability isn\u2019t what she thinks she wants right now. What if she follows her impulses and chooses Eivind? He makes more sense as a romantic partner, but will their relationship work without a solid foundation? Of course, it\u2019s something she\u2019ll have to explore for herself.<\/p>\n

\u00a0The title The Worst Person in the World<\/strong> does NOT refer to Julie. Eivind describes himself as such as he recounts the decline of his relationship with environmental activist girlfriend Sunniva (Di Meo, Gritt) in the one chapter that doesn\u2019t focus on Julie. Here\u2019s the thing. Julie isn\u2019t a bad person. Sure, she can be self-centered and impulsive, but she\u2019s not a narcissist. Quite the opposite, she cares about others. Yes, she often puts her needs and desires first, but she means no harm. That\u2019s the way I see her anyway. She\u2019s one of the most interesting main characters I\u2019ve encountered in a while.<\/p>\n

\u00a0WHY THE HELL ISN\u2019T REINSVE UP FOR AN OSCAR?! She delivers a phenomenal performance as Julie, a work in progress seeking direction. She has unresolved issues like the father (Sandem) who consistently neglects her. He always has an excuse for not being there for her. It\u2019s been that way all her life. It\u2019s one of things holding her back. Reinsve\u2019s abundance of talent can be clearly seen all throughout her character\u2019s evolving arc. In allowing us to observe Julie over time and in distinct facets, Trier allows his leading lady to show her full range while building a character in small but immensely emotionally telling modulations. If this doesn\u2019t make Reinsve a star, nothing will.<\/p>\n

\u00a0As Aksel, Lie brings his A-game. A man of a certain age, he has more life experience than Julie. Being significantly older, he\u2019s afraid he\u2019s losing his edge. The comic book he created, a Fritz-like feline named Bobcat, is now problematic. He\u2019s fighting a losing battle with feminist critics who regard him as misogynistic. A movie adaptation has turned the edgy character into a kid-friendly cartoon. He\u2019s lost in a world that no longer makes sense to him. Despite being in different places emotionally, Aksel and Julie clearly love each other. Sadly, \u201cbad timing\u201d dooms their relationship. Lie makes you feel for Aksel, a decent person who wants to take care of Julie even if he doesn\u2019t fully understand her mindset.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Nordrum is also quite good as Eivind, a young man who also doesn\u2019t know what he wants out of life. He and Julie share remarkable chemistry, but are they right for each other? Will he help her to grow or prevent growth?<\/p>\n

\u00a0The Worst Person in the World<\/strong> is just about perfect. The acting, writing and directing are all brilliant. Trier is a genius when it comes to flights of fancy. There\u2019s this one great scene where the world literally stands still as Julie races across Oslo for a romantic encounter with Eivind. In her mind, time stops for her to make a big life decision. It perfectly illustrates the mindset of all young people as they make decisions that will alter the course of their lives.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Unlike most Nordic films, The Worst Person in the World<\/strong> isn\u2019t a dreary, gloomy affair. Cinematographer Kasper Tuxen infuses it with plenty of light while the music of Harry Nilsson gives it a deceptively cheery tone. It\u2019s darkly funny and sad at the same time. It can be deeply felt as we follow Julie though big and small episodes from her life as she idles at a crossroads. At the same time, her restless spirit keeps her moving. There\u2019s no design to life and it doesn\u2019t always go where we hope, but we keep on going. We must embrace our own timeline. That\u2019s the message of The Worst Person in the World<\/strong>. It\u2019s one that millennials need to hear.\"\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Worst Person in the World (2021)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Neon\/Comedy-Drama\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 RT: 128 minutes\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Rated R (sexual content, graphic nudity, drug use, some language)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Director: Joachim Trier\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Screenplay: Eskil Vogt and Joachim Trier\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Music: Ola Flottum\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Cinematography: Kasper Tuxen\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Release date: February 4, 2022 (US)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Cast: Renate Reinsve, Anders Danielsen Lie, Herbert Nordrum, Hans Olav Brenner, Helene Bjorneby, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":7514,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18,28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6669","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-comedies","category-foreign"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/The-Worst-Person-in-the-Wor.jpg?fit=620%2C348&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6669","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6669"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6669\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7516,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6669\/revisions\/7516"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7514"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6669"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6669"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6669"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}