The Worst Person in the World

Directed by Joachim Trier and starring Renate Reinsve is this thoughtful and smart story set in contemporary Oslo (yes it is in Norwegian, with subtitles). Reinsve is Julie, who we follow over a four year period as she tries to make sense of her life, her career and relationships. She is smart and talented and has the ability to chase whatever she wants and there’s the problem. She is also directionless, we see her at university change her studies at a whim, surgeon to psychiatrist to photographer. This is reflected in her realtionships as she shys away from long term commitment. And as she reaches 30 she seems as unsure as ever or is she just pursuing a version of life that doesn’t exist.

I really enjoy a cinematic portrait of life, a film which potrays characters you believe in, empathise and sympathise with. You get all of that here, in this smart well told story. It feels very much like Richard Linkletters outstanding “Before” series of films, as we spent time following a character who is chasing a version of life and while chasing it perhaps it is passing her by.

Built around three excellent performances alongside Reinsve’s outstanding performance as Julie, we also have Anders Danielson Lie as Aksel and Herbert Nordrum’s Eivind. While this is very much Julie’s story, we get enough time with all of the main characters to care for them. There is no good or bad guys, no rollercoaster of a plot, what we get is a depiction of life, its mundanity at times, and its personal difficulties at others. We see Julie’s difficult relationship with her father, beautifully and painfully shown when she visits him after her birthday. We also see how life changes, as people mature and their asperations change with them. All of this done in a gentle and wonderfully engaging way.

This is a really well done look at life with all its complexity and nuance. Carried by three excellent performances, we get a thoroughly engaging story with a set of characters you care for. You don’t believe any of them are the worst of us, more they are just us. Well worth seeking out.