First things first. The Worst Person in the World is a terrible name for a movie, especially a slightly heavy drama that centers around the indecisiveness of a 30-year-old woman named Julie (Renate Reinsve) and those affected by her actions. The title of this movie suggested it would be some stupid comedy. It took 30 seconds of the trailer to realize that my initial perceptions were entirely wrong and that I had to see this film as quickly as possible. I ended up watching it the next day. It was a terrific decision. Ignore the movie’s dumb movie title. You should see this movie too.
The third installment of Norwegian Joachim Trier’s unplanned Oslo trilogy (Reprise – 2006, Oslo, August 31st – 2011), The Worst Person in the World chronicles the life of Julie through 12 chapters (each comprising an event or a theme) over a year in which Julie turns 30 years old. There is also a prologue (of Julie during her college years) and an epilogue (a few years after the film’s 12th chapter).
The film is told almost entirely through the eyes, but not always the mind of Julie. What we learn about her is how we would observe her through the eyes of other characters. Mostly. Likewise, Julie is in just about every scene. However, there is one short chapter where she is absent (I’m still wondering what the point of chapter 6 was and if it was the best way to present it) and two others where her part is mostly negligible. She’s merely an observer, though her non-verbals, as she watches, reveal much about her growth and maturity. In this regard, however, Trier exhibited some novice, inconsistent directing. Others may disagree.
We never lose sight of Julie, though, as she dashes from career path to career path and relationship to relationship, all hoping to find happiness. The prologue sets the tone for our deeper dive into Julie’s character as we attempt to understand her best. It’s not fair to call her flighty. She’s indecisive and doesn’t know what she wants. Or at least she thinks she knows what she wants, just for those feelings, sometimes intense, to disperse. When we meet her, she goes from a desire to be a surgeon to aiming towards studying psychology to an interest in photography. However, she is most skilled in writing and seems happy enough to work in a bookstore while still figuring out/chasing her long-term aspirations.
Julie is beautiful, funny, aware, flirtatious, engaging, and well-versed in various subjects. In short, there’s an allure in her that would bring in a whole host of suitors. But she’s also abrupt, uncertain of what she wants, and her feelings can fluctuate with a change in the wind. Still, she’s a catch to Aksel (Anders Danielsen Lie) and Eivind (Herbert Nordrum), her two love interests in the movie. Aksel is the person Julie is dating in chapter 1. Some fourteen years his senior, he has reservations about the relationship for that reason. He believes they are two different stages of their lives, but she initially assures him they are not. It’s enough for him to give the relationship a chance, and the pair falls in love. But, soon enough, as she meets his friends, some with children of their own, others bickering in what seems like relationships that they don’t want to be in, she begins to have doubts. Aksel does, too, but he is confident he loves Julie and they will figure out their lives together.
Enter Eivind, whom Julie meets at a party that she decides to crash while walking home from a publishing event. The two instantly hit it off, but each is in a relationship (neither partner is present). They spend the night together, but they don’t cheat, at least by their definition. However, what they did is almost worse, as they struck an emotional connection rather than a physical one. Eivind is closer to Julie in age, and their chemistry is magnetic. Whether this is enough to draw her away from Aksel, we don’t know. Maybe it’s just the infatuation and excitement of something that attracts her to the unexplored. Her uncertainty isn’t a flaw. It’s a part of her personality. Someone like that isn’t for everyone, but Julie has so many admirable qualities. She has good intentions, though her decision-making sometimes is not. Julie is kind and can put herself in another’s shoes. She understands that not knowing what her heart desires can indirectly hurt those she cares for. She’s far from the worst person in the world.
In a very real way, The Worst Person in the World felt like a mashup of 500 Days of Summer, Take This Waltz, and Rachel Getting Married, the first of which you may have seen, while the latter two you likely did not. (Note: All three are incredible movies in my top 250 all-time list.) There is the same decisiveness between the two lead characters in the first two movies and maybe a sense of Bipolar Disorder comparable to the third. However, I certainly don’t want to insinuate that is what Trier was going for regarding Julie. I do, however, feel like I know the illness well enough to say that she exhibited some of the traits associated with Bipolar I. While it is not essential in the trajectory of her character, I felt that it was something I wanted to mention. In either regard, hurt, unintentional or not, can cause harm to those who love her, especially those with whom she romantically connects.
I loved this film. It will continue to stick with me for a long, long time.
Plot 9.5/10
Character Development 10/10
Character Chemistry 9.5/10
Acting 9.5/10
Screenplay 9/10
Directing 8.5/10
Cinematography 9/10
Sound 9.5/10
Hook and Reel 10/10
Universal Relevance 10/10
94.5%
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