Occasionally a film comes along that is so simple in its premise, yet so intelligent in its execution that it manages to stand by itself in the pantheon of genre films. The Worst Person in the World, a Norwegian film directed by Joachim Trier, is one of those movies that has broken through and made itself notable among the countless romantic comedy-dramas out there.
Divided into twelve chapters (bookended by a prologue and an epilogue), Worst Person follows Julie (Renate Reinsve), a medical student-turned-writer who is finding her own way in the complex world of relationships, conflicting feelings, and the brutality of the real world. It’s more a series of interconnected vignettes, further punctuated by the use of chapter titles, showing us what may be the most important four years of Julie’s life.
I’ll just say it right out of the gate — if I had seen this last year, my rankings for 2021 would definitely be different. Reinsve is giving one of the year’s best performances, and the film is genius in its depiction of the feeling of being in love, side-by-side with the practicality of reality, which can sometimes be unfortunate and disappointing.
