Movie Review: The Worst Person in the World

4 stars out of 5

As I already boldly announced that Drive My Car was the best film of 2021, I guess I have to also vote for it as the best International Feature at the Oscars. But Norway’s entry, The Worst Person in the World, is really good too. I was quickly charmed by Renate Reinsve, who plays our protagonist Julie (and, spoiler alert, is not the titular worst person). The actress and character give off a Greta Gerwig air: carefree, quirky, unsure what she wants to do with herself and totally OK with that. I also felt a Woody Allen influence in the urban light comedy of the early going here, but in Oslo instead of New York.

Director/co-writer Joachim Trier (no relation to Lars von) adds a couple of artful, clever sequences that add to the fun without distracting from the story. He certainly understands and is able to convey the thrill of being young(ish) in a city as we rush along with Julie’s life — divided here into 12 chapters, plus prologue and epilogue with an occasional narrator.

The not-yet-30 Julie connects with north-of-40 acclaimed comic-book artist Aksel (a terrific Anders Danielsen Lie) and another dimension is confronted: whether or not to follow the marriage-and-children track. Sweet, dumb Eivind (Herbert Nordrum) provides less drama for her but is that necessarily a good thing? It’s a testament to Trier and co-writer Eskil Vogt that I was able to relate a lot to two very different characters, Julie and Aksel. Or maybe that’s a testament to me, I don’t know.

Julie bounces through life to an appealing yet unfamiliar indie soundtrack. And like most “better” films, her tale gets a bit heavier in the later chapters, taking the movie to another level. OK, so my current rankings are Drive My Car, The Worst Person in the World, The Hand of God….