‘The Worst Person in the World’ REVIEW: On the definition of happiness
‘The Worst Person in the World’ REVIEW: On the definition of happiness
Renate Reinsve and Herbert Nordrum are Julie and Eivind in Trier’s The Worst Person in the World.
Have you ever thought of doing what’s best for you? Despite what other people might say, have you decided, once and for all, to listen to that echoing inner conscience and choose yourself? And why can’t choosing yourself mean choosing others too, as if your satisfaction can’t be their satisfaction as well? On the definition of happiness, we explore a map of a character study in The Worst Person in the World, a 2021 Norwegian film that takes us into an existential ride of a lifetime.
Joachim Trier’s latest venture to his Oslo Trilogy takes form in a light-hearted, dark romantic comedy, attacking the audience to tears at some parts. Compared to Reprise and Oslo, August 31st, the latest film is the most accessible and easiest to relate to, and some critics even pegged it as an instant classic. It was part of the 2021 Cannes Film Festival selection, premiering in competition for the Palme d’Or. Although it did not win the Golden Palm, it definitely won the hearts of the audience.
The film is structured à la von Trier, divided into 12 chapters, a prologue, and an epilogue. Each chapter is marked by a name that gives a sneak peek of the things to come, and one of the witty titles even manages to get some laughs from the audience. This way, the important events get highlighted which makes the overall movie more entertaining. Trier’s decision to arrange the film as such shapes the viewing experience of people as the film presents itself as an omnibus of sorts with our woman of the hour at the center.
Renate Reinsve won the Best Actress award in the 2021 Cannes Film Festival for her role in the movie.
The Worst Person in the World deals with Julie, a woman in her late 20s suffering from a condition we all know about and have experienced one way or another: indecision. She is introduced to us as a medical student who decided to shift to psychology and later on to photography. As Julie wants to achieve more with her life shifting from one field to another, so does the movie as it offers a multilayered moral story that, at its heart, delineates the human desire to be happy. It puts the characters in a box of hypotheses to see how things work out for them given the hilarious and depressing circumstances.
The story is quite easy to follow as, again, the movie is divided into chapters. And with a character like Julie at the forefront, the space for the male gaze is overcome by her feminist wit. Played by Renate Reinsve who won the Best Actress award for the movie at Cannes, Julie is free-spirited, representing the modern-day woman who doesn’t take no for an answer; instead, she runs toward what she knows is best for her, taking the film’s poster figuratively.
We are also introduced to Aksel, played by Anders Danielsen Lie who serves as a thread to connect the three films as he stars in all of them. He gives a powerful performance complementary to Reinsve’s as Julie’s older partner, and says to her something reminiscent to that of Swift’s lyrics in All Too Well in the beginning, “If we had been closer in age, maybe it would’ve been fine.” Their love-hate sequences are no Scenes from a Marriage, but they sure know how to stir the audience’s emotions.
Reinsve’s Julie is a great example of an Epicurean character in the 21st century, seeking her happiness in every step of the way. Going back to Aksel and Julie’s exchanging of lines, there is one part of the conversation in particular that struck the most. As Aksel stops Julie from doing an irreversible act to which he persuades her with, “You’re gonna regret this,” Julie says that she knows. She might not know what she wants in the future, but she knows what she wants now, and that’s all that matters to her.
Julie running in the neighborhoods of Oslo as the world around her is put to a halt.
Our heroine knows better than to settle for less as she chooses herself time and time again in the movie. Not happy with her field? She changes her profession. Not convinced that her father still has some ounce of love for her? She doesn’t bother stressing herself out, not even engaging in a confrontation. Feeling secondary to her partner? She leaves. And with Eivind (Herbert Nordrum), she still asserts her independence, not changing a part of her identity to please him.
There are two parts in the movie that stay true to its genre and stand out: Chapter 2 (Cheating) and Chapter 5 (Bad Timing). Cheating introduces us to Eivind in a refreshing, party-crashing way as Julie meets this complete stranger in some random people’s house. Both of them are in a relationship but obviously like each other, and Trier spins this in a sexual tension-driven sequence of, “Where do we draw the line with cheating?” Bad Timing, on the other hand, takes the “Suddenly, the world stops,” trope in a literal way as Julie runs to see her lover with all the people around her standing still. This was an effective way to showcase the beauty of Oslo and the cinematography of the film as well.
Aside from the outstanding performance of the cast and the breathtaking cinematography, the soundtrack is also noteworthy. The songs were placed as if they were puzzle pieces that fit the scenes. Another thing to behold from the movie, which one would appreciate more if given the chance to watch Trier’s previous works beforehand, is the editing. The pacing of the film is fast in some of the playful parts and slow in tearjerker ones. In addition to the Bad Timing chapter, Chapter 8 (Julie’s Narcissistic Circus) is also a fun experience that tinkers with visual effects in a Noé-esque carnival of magic shrooms.
Choosing her own comfort and happiness, can you really say Julie’s the worst? Murphy’s Law has got nothing on her as it ends perfectly with our main character wearing a smile. Jam-packed with life lessons about family, relationships, pressures and more, The Worst Person in the World is definitely a must-see entry from this year. The movie will surely play with your emotions, making you laugh your heart out and bawl your eyes to the brim.
The trailer for ‘The Worst Person in the World.’
The Worst Person in the World is part of the ‘Screen International’ section of the ongoing QCinema film festival. Catch the last screening of the film on December 3, 2021.
