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Film Review: The Worst Person in the World

by Joyce Remo

Warning: This might contain spoilers.

THE 2021 Norwegian film The Worst Person in the World is a romantic comedy-drama film that received numerous nods and recognitions from various award-giving bodies across the world.

This is the third and final film in the director’s Oslo Trilogy, following Reprise (2006) and Oslo, August 31st (2011).

Directed by Joachim Trier, the film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in 2021, where it received critical acclaim, with many praising its unique blend of humor, drama, and romance. 

The film’s lead actress, Renate Reinsve, won the Best Actress award at the festival.

It was also nominated for Best International Feature Film and Best Original Screenplay during the 94th Academy Awards.

The Worst Person in the World has gained positive reviews from both audiences and critics, with many praising its well-crafted storyline, strong performances, and overall emotional depth.

Photo courtesy: Oslo Pictures

‘The Worst Person in the World’ at a glance

The film follows the life of Julie, played by Reinsve, a young woman who struggles to find her place in the world and her true identity while navigating various romantic relationships.

The Worst Person in the World consists of 14 parts — the prologue, epilogue, and 12 other chapters — that narrate the female lead’s journey as she navigates through life-altering events in her life and relationships with people. 

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Julie has changed college courses, jobs, haircuts, and even boyfriends in the hopes to figure out which decisions, lifestyle, and relationship would make her feel alive.

Photo courtesy: Oslo Pictures

The definition of a ‘millennial anguish’

Teenagers go to a rebellious phase where they feel most anxious, rejected, misunderstood, detached, and overwhelmed because of the changes they experience physically, mentally, and emotionally. People often call this life crisis teenage angst.

But teens aren’t the only ones encountering the blues accompanied by life changes.

If there is one film that would perfectly describe what a millennial anguish is, it would definitely be The Worst Person in the World.

In the film, Julie, who recently turned 30, can be seen aimless and indecisive as she shifted from medical school then decides to try psychiatry, highlighting her interest in the mind and soul of the people around her. Later, she would find herself venturing into photography then writing as a way to detangle the chaos inside her head.

Photo courtesy: Oslo Pictures

The female lead has also changed from one partner to another during the first parts of the film. But she then settles with an older man, Aksel (portrayed by Anders Danielsen Lie), a graphic novelist who wants to have children with her.

While audience may assume Julie might find contentment and completeness with her passionate relationship with Aksel, she finds herself attracted with a guy she met in a wedding reception she gatecrashed into, compelling her to leave her current partner to be with the mellow-minded bartender, Eivind (played by Herbert Nordrum).

Photo courtesy: Oslo Pictures

The film shows how Julie is stuck in the act of chasing things — careers, men, desires — without actually having a concrete notion of what she truly wants.

With this dilemma laid on the table, viewers can easily relate to the film and empathize with its characters as they, too, have been in a similar situation once in their lives.

The Worst Person in the World is not just a typical boy-meets-girl-falls-in-love and they-live-happily-ever-after kind of love story. It is an intricate visualization of how several relationships, failures, agony, grief, love, and loneliness affect a woman as she tries to realize what her heart truly desires.

Photo courtesy: Oslo Pictures

This film is bolstered by a screenplay that feels so natural that one would wonder if they ever had these conversations with a partner or a friend — the kind that makes one feel a lump in their throat or makes it hard for them to sleep at night.

It is a frisky love-letter, could be a confession, full of uncertainties but also filled with hope, that despite doubts and inconsistencies, one’s mistakes couldn’t and wouldn’t make them the worst person in the world.

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