A Peak Into Reality Through the Lens of a Camera

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MOVIE REVIEW
The Worst Person in the World (Verdens verste menneske)
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Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Year Released: 2021
Runtime: 2h 8m
Director: Joachim Trier
Writer(s): Joachim Trier, Eskil Vogt
Cast: Renate Reinsve, Anders Danielsen Lie, Herbert Nordrum
Where To Watch: In Select Theaters Now

"Once you overcome the one-inch tall barrier of subtitles, you will be introduced to so many more amazing films." – Bong Joon-ho, easily one of my favorite quotes. There was a time that I wouldn’t watch anything with subtitles. Thankfully I was given multiple opportunities to overcome this bias and have, in return, seen so many films that I would never have seen otherwise.

I don’t hand out five-star reviews regularly; they’re reserved for indeed what are my favorite films each year. To put it in perspective, the only other film I gave five stars to this past year was “Last Night in Soho.” Cinema is personal, and I don’t know what makes one better than the next to each person; no one does. My favorite films from last year maybe someone else's least favorites. That’s fine; if we all liked the same movies, the world would be a pretty dull place.

This film defines why I do the Oscar Death Race each year. I know that not everyone is a big fan of the Oscars (I currently have a pretty big issue with them handing out what they consider lesser awards before the ceremony, but that’s a topic for another post.) You don’t have to be the biggest fan of The Academy to appreciate still the films that get nominated. Each year I get to watch so many notable movies, I’ve been on the hunt for this one for a while now, and I was ecstatic when I saw that it was being released at a theater local to me.

Renate Reinsve (Julie), the lead of the film, and the glue that holds it together give what I would consider one of the year's best performances. The fact she wasn’t nominated for best actress blows my mind. I will say that The Academy has made some significant strides this year, getting international films nominated in multiple categories (especially with this and “Drive My Car.”) Reinsve was able to capture my imagination precisely by giving a realistic performance. I felt like I was almost watching a documentary rather than an acting performance. It should go without saying that a lot of this appreciation indeed goes to the writers and director.

The other two most vital roles in the film were Anders Danielsen Lie (Aksel) and Herbert Nordrum (Eivind), who played critical roles that worked together to complete the story. I was shocked how both were able to go from villains to heroes in my eyes throughout the film. The film is beautifully broken into 12 parts (as well as a prologue and epilogue) with a runtime of just a little over two hours; it makes the entire movie very digestible to any audience.

As I’ve covered before, I’m not a massive fan of films that are artsy just because, thankfully, we see a grounded approach to the imagination here. A few scenes are “beyond belief” but are given reasons as to why. They’re not just fantastical without purpose; I have a much higher level of appreciation when there are intentional decisions to film. This allows a film that’s based in reality but one that lets your imagination wander.

The only ironic aspect of the film I found odd was that Oslo (the city the film primarily took place) is the largest city in Norway; however, Julie repeatedly runs into people she knows. I rarely run into people I know, and I live in a much smaller city. It was just an amusing little bit I picked up on.

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