Joachim Trier’s film The Worst Person in the World (Norwegian: Verdens verste menneske) is a romantic black comedy-drama released in 2021. Following Reprise (2006) and Oslo, 31 August, it is the third instalment of the director’s “Oslo Trilogy” (2011). Renate Reinsve won the award for Best Actress for her role in the film, which opened in competition at the Cannes Film Festival in 2021.
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The film was nominated for Best International Feature Film and Best Original Screenplay at the 94th Academy Awards. Ola Flttum composed the score for the picture.
Plot
Julie is a medical student in Oslo who has an epiphany and decides to pursue psychology instead of her lover after experiencing an epiphany. She started dating one of her teachers after that. She decides to become a photographer after looking through her phone’s camera roll.
She meets Aksel Willman, an accomplished comic artist fifteen years her senior, while out with her next lover, a model. Despite their age difference, the two hit it off and start dating.
The Others (Chapter 1)
Julie spends a weekend with Aksel at his parents’ place, now that she’s dabbling in writing. Julie admits she is not ready for a family and is unsure when she will be, especially after seeing Aksel’s niece have a tantrum.
Later, a drunken party ends in disaster when Aksel’s brother’s wife is hit in the head with a lamp, sparking a furious debate that Aksel and Julie overhear. Julie, on the other hand, sees the couple reunite the next morning, as well as Aksel colouring with his nephews.
Cheating (Chapter 2)
Julie crashes a wedding reception on her way home from an Aksel publishing event and meets Eivind, a barista. Despite the fact that they are both in relationships, they spend the entire night together, sharing intimate details but never cheating on their partners. They merely exchange first names and have no plans to meet again.
Oral Sex in the Age of #MeToo, Chapter 3
Julie discusses feminism and oral sex in a blog article. It impresses Aksel, who pushes her to put it online, where it will garner attention.
Our Own Family (Chapter 4)
Julie, Aksel, and Julie’s grandmother gather at her divorced mother’s house to celebrate Julie’s 30th birthday. Julie’s estranged father fails to show up, claiming a back injury. Julie and Aksel pay a visit to her father a few days later.
When Julie asks if he’s seen her piece, he claims he couldn’t open the link. Julie’s adolescent half-sister unwittingly confesses that on Julie’s birthday, her father was watching her play in a football tournament. He makes up reasons not to accept Aksel’s offer to join him and Julie in Oslo. On the drive home, Aksel informs Julie that she needs to start a family of her own.
Bad Timing (Chapter 5)
Julie meets Eivind and his girlfriend Sunniva while working at a bookstore. Sunniva waits outside as Julie and Eivind converse. Aksel rants about the cinematic version of his comic series Bobcat, in which his politically incorrect series is changed into a family-friendly Christmas picture, while having dinner with his brother and sister-in-law, leading to a complete monologue that makes Julie feel bored and ignored.
Julie, who is disillusioned, thinks of going on a date with Eivind and falling in love with him. She breaks up with Aksel as a result of this, but they have sex one final time before she leaves his apartment, implying that they might reunite at some point.
Finnmark Highlands (Chapter 6)
The relationship between Eivind and Sunniva is depicted. Sunniva is motivated to study her lineage after a near brush with a reindeer while camping and discovers that she is 3.
1 per cent Sámi. As a result, she has become a passionate advocate for climate change and indigenous peoples’ rights. Eivind is becoming frustrated with their constrained lifestyle when he runs into Julie in the bookstore.
A New Chapter (Chapter 7)
\Julie and Eivind have decided to live together. Sunniva has now broken up with him, but he still follows her on Instagram, which Julie doesn’t mind.
Julie’s Narcissistic Circus (Chapter 8)
Eivind throws a modest party at which one of his friends discovers Eivind’s psychedelic mushroom stash. Julie sees herself entirely naked, older, and with a child at her breast, feeling vulnerable in the presence of all her prior lovers, including Bobcat, who consumes her child with a hot dog, and then she sees her father sitting on a couch, furiously throwing her bloodied tampon in front of him. She finds she’s created a mess in Eivind’s place when she wakes up. She tells Eivind the next night that she can be herself around him, but he appears to dismiss her assertions.
Bobcat Wrecks Xmas, Chapter 9
Julie watches an NRK TV interview in which Aksel defends his Bobcat comics against a feminist critique while working out at the gym. When the host accuses his comics of being sexist, Aksel defends his work vehemently.
First Person Singular (Chapter 10)
When Aksel’s brother runs into Julie at work, he informs her that his brother has incurable pancreatic cancer. Eivind stumbles upon a short piece Julie had written afterwards. Julie lashes out at him when he guesses it’s based on her real-world experiences, accusing him of being content with never accomplishing anything in his life.
11th Chapter: Positivity
Julie discovers she is pregnant but waits to inform Eivind. She pays a visit to Aksel in the hospital, where they talk about their lives apart. Julie reveals that she is pregnant, and Aksel confides that he is distraught by the possibility of no longer having a future.
Despite his assurances that she would make an excellent mother, she is undecided about keeping the child. When Julie returns home, she eventually informs Eivind of her pregnancy, and the two decide to split while she considers whether or not to keep the kid.
Everything Comes to an End in Chapter 12
Julie is taken to the building where Aksel grew up and was motivated to pursue a career as an artist. He tells her that he wishes he could live with her again rather than just exist as a memory.
Later, she receives a voicemail from Aksel’s brother, informing her that his condition has deteriorated and that he is unlikely to survive the night. She takes a sombre walk through Oslo’s streets and watches the sunrise the next morning. Julie has a miscarriage while showering.
Epilogue
Julie is working as an on-set photographer on a film shoot sometime later. She pictures an actress and then sees the actress outside with Eivind and a baby through a window.
She returns home to edit the images from the day.
Cast
- Julie is played by Renate Reinsve.
- Anders Danielsen is a Danish writer. Assume the role of Aksel.
- As Eivind, Herbert Nordrum [no]
- Ole Magnus is played by Hans Olav Brenner [no].
- Karianne is played by Helene Bjrneby.
- As Per Harald, Vidar Sandem
- Sunniva is played by Maria Grazia Di Meo.
- Kristoffer is played by Lasse Gretland.
- Tone (Karen Rise Kielland)
- Marianne Krogh [no] in the role of Eva
- Thea Stabell is a pseudonym for Thea Stabell.
- Anna is played by Deniz Kaya.
- Synne is played by Eia Skjnsberg.
Release
In February 2021, MK2 Films signed a contract to sell the film.
On July 7, the film made its global debut as part of the competition for the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival 2021.
The film’s US distribution rights were sold to Neon a week later, while Mubi got the rights to India, the UK, and Ireland.
The Worst Person in the World had its North American premiere as part of the 2021 Toronto International Film Festival’s Gala Presentation on September 11th.
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Memento Distribution released the film theatrically in France on October 13, 2021, SF Studios in Norway on October 15, 2021, and TriArt Film in Sweden on November 19, 2021.
Reception
96 per cent of 196 critic reviews on the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes are positive, with an average rating of 8.6/10. “The Worst Person in the World” finishes Joachim Trier’s Oslo Trilogy with a romantic comedy that wonderfully subverts the genre’s well-worn conventions, according to the website’s consensus. The film received a score of 90 out of 100 from Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, based on 41 critics, indicating “universal acclaim.”
Will the Worst Person in the World Be on Netflix?
This movie is not available on Netflix, which is a bummer. Actually, the movie isn’t currently accessible to stream on any service.
Final Remarks
Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian called the film “one of Cannes’ greatest” and “an immediate classic.” Vanity Fair’s Richard Lawson described it as “exquisite, wistful (and plain sorrowful).” The Worst Person in the World was named the best film of 2021 by Vanity Fair and The Atlantic.