Direction: Joachim Trier
Country: Norway
Told in 12 chapters, The Worst Person in the World marks the return of the prodigious Norwegian writer-director Joachim Trier to top form and the in-depth dramas, after a likable exercise in the supernatural thriller genre with Thelma (2017).
Packed with rare sensibility, the film follows Julie (Renate Reinsve), a sympathetic 29-year-old photographer who was wrong when she though she had found stability in life with Aksel (Anders Danielsen Lie), a bestselling 44-year-old comic author. After crashing into a party, she meets Eivind (Herbert Nordrum), who offers her what she just needed: a break from routines and a new personal adventure. This woman is unafraid to change her life whenever she feels it's the right time to do so. She can even make the time stop, freezing everything around her while running from her boyfriend’s apartment to her lover’s arms and back - a clever metaphoric gimmick from the director. Her imperfections feel awesomely authentic, and that’s why she’s so likable.
In total control of his resources, Trier conceived a focused screenplay with a vivid, shiny radiance on character. This is the second time he and Reisve work together, 10 years after she had been given a minor role in Oslo, August 31st (2011), a film in which Lie plays the lead. Facing her most challenging role to date, she pulls it off beautifully.
Trier’s ability to compose a frame that oozes dramatic credibility while following a narrative that holds your interest from start to finish is something to be applauded. It's all very voluptuous and amazing during this persistently romanticized passage of time.
Yearning and confident, funny and sad, this is a film that deftly combines the tender and the fierce of life.
