Anders Danielsen Lie and Renate Reinsve in The Worst Person in the World, in cinemas now.
Anders Danielsen Lie and Renate Reinsve in The Worst Person in the World, in cinemas now.
The ups and downs of a young woman's life and loves drive this winning Norwegian comedy-drama that stands as revitalising reminder of cinema's unrivalled ability to capture the melancholic joy of living.
Julie (Renate Reinsve, who deservedly won the Best Actress award at last year's Cannes Film Festival for herwork here) is a restless 29-year-old student in Oslo who changes career paths three times within five minutes of being introduced.
Settling into a job in a bookstore, Julie begins seeing gently acerbic cartoonist Aksel (Anders Danielsen Lie), but her tendency to focus on her own discontent continues to rear its head.
From this relatively straightforward set-up, director/co-writer Joachim Trier offers up authentic ruminations on the challenges inherent to romantic relationships, gender politics, career stress, the pressure to have children, the impersonality of the digital age, parental trauma and Freudian analysis. Heck, even #metoo gets a look-in.
Julie is by no means the person referred to in the title, but this is a film that knows we all feel that way sometimes. The sense of interiority projected here is truly wondrous and stretches beyond Julie into the other characters in her life. It feels contemporary in a way few modern films do, and I eagerly lapped up every moment.
I don't think I can recall a single actual joke, but there is such a breezy, light touch applied here that you'll find yourself smiling for much of its running time. You'll also do the opposite of smiling, but it's no less sweet.
Described elsewhere as "the rom-com for people who hate rom-coms", this has more of a beating heart than that description allows. But by artfully incorporating the failings we all over-perceive in ourselves, Trier and his collaborators have created a work of profound empathy, curiosity and love.
Cast: Renate Reinsve, Anders Danielsen Lie Director: Joachim Trier Running time: 128 minutes Rating:R16 (Sex scenes, nudity, drug use & offensive language) Verdict: A life-affirming wonder of a movie.
